OFF THE WIRE
By: Jack Rinehart
INDIANAPOLIS - Nine more members and
associates of the Outlaws motorcycle gxxg were arrested Thursday, bringing the
number of gxxg members facing dozens of federal charges to 51.
Federal
investigators called the Club Paradise strip club at 5200 English Ave. a central
drug distribution center for cocaine on the city's east side. Investigators
served search warrants, seized property and they plan to forfeit the
building.
"It's one thing to put them in jail. We've made arrests before
in the district with the Outlaws. But you don't shut them down until you seize
property used in their operation," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad
Blackington.
Federal authorities struck the first blow against the
Outlaws in July, carrying out simultaneous raids in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne,
Illinois and Ohio.
The three-year investigation involved the use of
wiretaps that investigators used to intercept 14,000 phone calls and text
messages.
Federal investigators called the Sidewinder Bar on the south
side the place where a Mexican drug cartel supplied the Outlaws with
cocaine.
"That's one of the bad things. There's a lot of drug activity in
the neighborhood," said nearby resident Iran Bolin. "We have a real problem with
that. They catch them in there all the time, but they're still in there a lot.
That bar right there is known for drug activity."
Prosecutors say the
latest arrests reflect their determination to dismantle a criminal enterprise
that has pumped a deadly mix of drugs and violence into the city.
"I feel
very satisfied that we have and will continue whenever the evidence is presented
to completely dismantle the Outlaws motorcycle club," said U.S. Attorney Joe
Hogsett.
Federal prosecutors have amended many of the charges to include
more serious penalties.
Some of the drug charges alone could send members
of the Outlaws to prison for life.
Hogsett said the case is expected to
go to trial in six months, but he said the case against the defendants is so
overwhelming that he expects many of them to take their chances by pleading
guilty.
