OFF THE WIRE
FBI agents swept across Indianapolis and Fort Wayne this morning arresting dozens of member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, a source tells IndyStar.com.
A task force of hundreds agents brought in from across the United States sought 43 Outlaws named in arrest warrants.
Agents were at the gang's Eastside clubhouse at New York and Jefferson streets. Indianapolis police officers shut down part of New York Street to facilitate the investigation. Yellow crime tape surrounded the Outlaws building as several FBI agents in marked T-shirts were collecting evidence inside the clubhouse.
An FBI task force raided the Outlaw's Fort Wayne clubhouse in the 1200 block of West Main Street, the Fort Wayne Journal reported. Agents boxed up evidence and searched the building with a dog, while tactical officers stood guard out front.
Search warrants were also executed in Franklin and Martinsville.
The arrest warrants were for a wide array of charges including racketeering and mail fraud, the source said. The suspects were gxxg members and associates, the source said.
Wendy Osborne, the spokeswoman for the Indianapolis office of the FBI would not comment on the raids. U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. about the raid.
A news release from the U.S. attorney called this morning's action "a historic operation that involved more than 300 federal and local law enforcement agents and represents the largest federal bust of alleged gxxg activity in Indianapolis history."
Mary Case, who lives across the street from Outlaws Indianapolis clubhouse, said she saw FBI agents there about 7:30 a.m.
She said the people at Outlaws Indianapolis usually watch over the neighborhood.
"In my eyes, they're good people. They keep this part of this neighborhood safe," said Case, who has been living near Jefferson Avenue and New York Street for more than a year. "I feel safe within this vicinity due to them being here. They don't bother nobody."
In 2009, 14 members and associates of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club in Indiana and Michigan pleaded guilty to federal assault, drug and other charges in Detroit.
Leaders, members and associates of Outlaws chapters in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Ind., Bay City, Mich., and the Detroit area pleaded guilty to crimes including assault with a dangerous weapon, cocaine and marijuana distribution and possession of hashish.
Prosecutors then described the Outlaws as an international criminal organization.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20120711/NEWS02/120711013/FBI-raiders-hit-Outlaws-clubhouse-Eastside?odyssey=nav%7Chead
