OFF THE WIRE
WHAT IS
R.I.C.O.?
Today,
governments and their agencies worldwide are classifying their "Biker"
populations as undesirable criminal organizations, slating them for harassment
and selective prosecution. Our governments are blatantly determined to
eradicate the biker lifestyle.
I will
attempt to show how all of this began, and how it is connected to the U.S.
government's "war on motorcycle clubs." No matter where you live, this "War
On Motorcycle Clubs" is a serious threat is to our
individual constitutional and human rights as citizens of our respective
countries.
In 1961,
during the John F. Kennedy administration, the office of Attorney General was
held by his brother Robert Kennedy. With help from the U.S. Congress, Attorney
General Kennedy got a special organized crime bill passed called the
Racketeering influence and Corrupt Organization Act of 1961 (RICO). This new
law was designed to prosecute the secretive organized crime organizations such
as the Mafia, Drug Cartels, and Domestic Terrorists.
The RICO
Act was designed to allow Federal Prosecutors to go outside the normal rules of
conduct and evidence to gain convictions. These new rules allowed the
government to charge unconnected criminal acts committed by individual members
of these organizations together in a single Indictment.
Since
these organizations were classified as criminal organizations, all the
prosecutor had to do was to persuade a jury that each of these independent
criminal acts were somehow committed in furtherance of the organization's
goals.
This
helped establish the necessary "Criminal Enterprise" to qualify as a RICO Act
violation. The government could do this even though it was not necessary to
prove any of the defendants knew or participated in the criminal acts of others
charged in the RICO Indictment.
In 1980,
former movie actor and governor of California Ronald Reagan was elected President of the U.S., with ex-CIA Director
George Bush as Vice President. Soon after Reagan took office, he issued an
Executive Order declaring America's top four Motorcycle Clubs to be classified
as Criminal Organizations. This new classification added the motorcycle clubs to
the list of traditional criminal organizations who could be easily prosecuted
using the special RICO rules.
President
Reagan ordered Attorney General William French Smith and his Justice Department
to set up special regional task force headquarters across America. The Justice
Department's mission was to profile and get the selected motorcycle clubs off
the streets using whatever means necessary.
In my
opinion, the reason behind President Reagan's Actions was his daughter's
supposed involvement with the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. It doesn't seem
to be just a coincidence that the Hell's Angels were the first Motorcycle Club
the Justice Department went after using the RICO Act.
It seems
obvious Ronald Reagan brought his own personal animosity against motorcycle
clubs to the office of President. He then used the power of that office to
pursue his personal vendetta against motorcycle clubs, using the broad RICO rules which almost guarantee conviction.
Over the
last 30 years federal law enforcement agencies have expanded this selective
prosecution to include more than 300 Motorcycle Clubs. These motorcycle clubs
are now classified as "Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs/Criminal Organizations."
During
my lengthy RICO sentence, I did extensive research and litigation in the courts.
I’m fully aware of the uphill battle it will take to change the classification
and profiling of the targeted motorcycle clubs, but it can be done. It is our
Constitutional right to be treated like any other citizen. The battle can be
fought and won only in the courts.
Roadblock
1%er
