agingrebel.com
The Tampa Bay Times is
reporting that “While motorcycle clubs are far from their heyday,
they’re still around in the Tampa Bay area. Many may not realize it, but
motorcycle gangs actually have a long and dark history in Tampa Bay
that includes everything from from prostitution and murders to a
shootout with deputies at their old Tampa clubhouse near Busch Gardens.”
Want to read more?
The Times editors are pretty
sure you do. The Florida newspaper has published two major features
about motorcycle outlaws in the last two weeks. The first was a 1,300
word story published on New Year’s Eve and titled “Violent feud led up
to slaying of Pasco Outlaws leader. It started with stolen biker vests.”
It rehashed the 2017 murder of Paul Anderson by members of the 69ers
Motorcycle Club. At the time, Anderson was president of the Cross Bayou
chapter of the American Outlaws Association.
The feature did not report any developments in the case because there haven’t been any. You can read it here.
Remember Jarrod
The piece was reminiscent of the sort of
television features “I-Team investigator” Jarrod Holbrook broadcast on
Tampa television station WFTS in 2016 and 2017. Those stories
were obviously inspired by quotable and informed biker cops. ““The
I-Team found there’s been a recent string of violence among local
motorcycle clubs,” Holbrook panted at his television audience in 2017.
“Law enforcement classifies some of those clubs as criminal gangs and
criminal enterprises. Florida law enforcement agencies including right
here in Tampa Bay are on high alert.” Not aware. Not watchful. Not even
on alert. “On high alert.”
Holbrook is out of television at the
moment. Sort of. He is working in politics. He is now Communications
Director for Tampa mayoral hopeful David A. Straz Jr. But his reeking
stench continues to haunt Tampa journalism.
More! Thrilling! Words!
Today the Times, for no discernable
reason other than that it needed a sexy feature, ran a 2,300 word
feature titled “An Outlaws motorcycle club leader’s assassination adds
to Tampa Bay’s bloody biker gang history.” You can read it here.
And if you do, you will learn:
“The Outlaws, or American Outlaw
Association, are the dominant outlaw motorcycle club in Florida, and one
of the “Big Four” biker clubs in the United States (the others are
Hells Angels, the Pagans and the Bandidos). They are classified as a
violent gang by the U.S. Department of Justice.”
“Club membership is limited to men who
ride cruiser-stye motorcycles with engines of 1,000 ccs or more, such as
Harley Davidsons. Women are seen as property. Outlaws have been known
to trade female supporters for items like drugs and force them into
prostitution or topless dancing.”
“In 1996, authorities carried out
Operation Silverspoke and Shovelhead and arrested seven Outlaws on
accusations that they were running a 16-year crime scheme.”
You will learn that Taco Bowman is in prison. Who knew?
And,in this investigative journalism
feature you will learn that “In 2015, a violent shootout between at
least six gangs in Waco, Texas, left nine bikers dead in a strip mall
parking lot and resulted in the arrest of 177 members. The slayings
prompted Tampa Bay Times criminal justice reporter Dan Sullivan
to investigate motorcycle gang culture in Tampa Bay. He found that
biker gangs are still dangerous and widespread in Florida, though the
gangs became more secretive after all of the public attention they
received in previous decades. An expert on biker gangs estimated that
Florida had probably 800-1,000 members. Many have day jobs, from
operating strip clubs to practicing medicine or law.”
Go ahead. Click the link. You know you want to. At least to see if your name is in there.
You might also take a couple of minutes to consider what the feds might be up to now.
