OFF THE WIRE
Criminal biker gangs are expanding rapidly into southeastern Europe, authorities warned on Friday, saying that the Hells Angels and other groups were growing bolder and more violent in their activities.
Europol, the pan-European police agency, said gangs linked to the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and the Bandidos had moved into Albania, Bulgaria and parts of Turkey to focus on drug-running and other criminal activity.
"New alliances between outlaw gangs mean that they get the capability and capacity ... to manage drugs trafficking via southeast Europe using the 'Balkan route'," the Dutch-based Europol said in a statement.
"In the race to secure the opportunities provided by the southeast European markets, a turf war is a significant threat, based on previous increases in violence observed between rival gang members in other parts of Europe."
The expansion into southeastern Europe began around two years ago, Europol said, and it is speeding up and creating problems for local police. Europol called for greater police cooperation and sharing of intelligence to combat the gangs.
"Some countries in southeast Europe don't really realise how big the threat is," said Europol spokesman Soren Pedersen.
The gangs were also involved in money laundering and fraud, and made close relationships with "influential people and authorities" in the region to protect their interests, it said.
"One of the most serious threats associated with outlaw motorcycle gangs is their tendency to use extreme violence, which is aggravated by their willingness to use firearms and other higher calibre weapons," Europol said, adding that it would be leading an effort to crack down on the gangs.
Outlaw bikers have been convicted for extortion, human trafficking and prostitution across Europe and are particularly active in Germany and the Netherlands.
30 July 2010, Friday
REUTERS BRUSSELS
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Jury returns conviction in threat to witness
OFF THE WIRE
Jury returns conviction in threat to witness
Updated: July 30, 2010, 7:17 AM
A jury has convicted the son of member of the Chosen Few motorcycle gang of threatening to retaliate against a man who testified against his father in a racketeering case, U. S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. reported Thursday.
Prosecutors said Chad Koschuk, 40, of Alden, threatened David Ignasiak, 42,a government witness, with bodily harm during a chance encounter at a convenience store in Alden last Sept. 11.
Koschuk’s attorney contended that his client spoke out of frustration and never actually intended to harm Ignasiak.
After the verdict, Chief U. S. District Judge William M. Skretny remanded Koschuk to the custody of U. S. marshals. Koschuk faces about 4 1/2 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines when he is sentenced Nov. 2.
Jury returns conviction in threat to witness
Updated: July 30, 2010, 7:17 AM
A jury has convicted the son of member of the Chosen Few motorcycle gang of threatening to retaliate against a man who testified against his father in a racketeering case, U. S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. reported Thursday.
Prosecutors said Chad Koschuk, 40, of Alden, threatened David Ignasiak, 42,a government witness, with bodily harm during a chance encounter at a convenience store in Alden last Sept. 11.
Koschuk’s attorney contended that his client spoke out of frustration and never actually intended to harm Ignasiak.
After the verdict, Chief U. S. District Judge William M. Skretny remanded Koschuk to the custody of U. S. marshals. Koschuk faces about 4 1/2 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines when he is sentenced Nov. 2.
Former Hells Angel gets a single day in prison
OFF THE WIRE
By Jennifer Saltman, The Province July 30, 2010 A former Hells Angel and drug addict who has turned his life around was sentenced by a provincial court judge to one day in jail Thursday.
Joseph Calendino, 44, pleaded guilty in November to one count of trafficking crack cocaine.
The crime was committed in April 2008. Calendino sold 0.1 gram of crack to an undercover officer near Surrey Central SkyTrain station. At the time Calendino was a drug addict, selling drugs to feed his habit.
Since then, Calendino told Surrey Provincial Court Judge Paul Dohm, he has hit rock bottom and put his life back together.
"I can't say that I remember much from that time in my life," he said, breaking down in sobs. "I was an addict."
Calendino has taken courses about addiction, is in counselling, has reconnected with his family and said he recognizes the impact his addiction had on himself and society.
As part of his recovery, Calendino said he was encouraged to use his experience to keep youths from following the same path.
He has worked in Surrey schools with the anti-gang Wrap program since about January 2009, and told the judge that he will soon begin work in Vancouver and Chilliwack schools. He has also been featured in a video called Yo Bro, made by Odd Squad, a non-profit society that uses real stories as an educational tool.
In the short video, which Calendino played for the court, he talks about how he was stabbed, shot at, run over, addicted to drugs and a gangster. He was a member of the Hells Angels' Nomads chapter.
When Dohm asked Calendino how he was doing with his addiction, he answered, "I'm the kind of guy where when you close that door, it doesn't open again."
Melanie Walker, agent for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, asked the judge for a three-month jail sentence. Defence lawyer Evi dos Santos suggested a suspended sentence.
"I think he is the only case I've witnessed who turned his life around," dos Santos said.
Dohm instead sentenced Calendino to one day in jail with one day of credit for time served, so Calendino was not taken into custody.
"You're going out that door to keep on doing good work," Dohm said.
Calendino, who left court with a smile on his face, declined to comment on the sentence. jensaltman@theprovince.com
twitter. com/jensaltman
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/health/Former+Hells+Angel+gets+single+prison/3340339/story.html#ixzz0vDlCBy6B
By Jennifer Saltman, The Province July 30, 2010 A former Hells Angel and drug addict who has turned his life around was sentenced by a provincial court judge to one day in jail Thursday.
Joseph Calendino, 44, pleaded guilty in November to one count of trafficking crack cocaine.
The crime was committed in April 2008. Calendino sold 0.1 gram of crack to an undercover officer near Surrey Central SkyTrain station. At the time Calendino was a drug addict, selling drugs to feed his habit.
Since then, Calendino told Surrey Provincial Court Judge Paul Dohm, he has hit rock bottom and put his life back together.
"I can't say that I remember much from that time in my life," he said, breaking down in sobs. "I was an addict."
Calendino has taken courses about addiction, is in counselling, has reconnected with his family and said he recognizes the impact his addiction had on himself and society.
As part of his recovery, Calendino said he was encouraged to use his experience to keep youths from following the same path.
He has worked in Surrey schools with the anti-gang Wrap program since about January 2009, and told the judge that he will soon begin work in Vancouver and Chilliwack schools. He has also been featured in a video called Yo Bro, made by Odd Squad, a non-profit society that uses real stories as an educational tool.
In the short video, which Calendino played for the court, he talks about how he was stabbed, shot at, run over, addicted to drugs and a gangster. He was a member of the Hells Angels' Nomads chapter.
When Dohm asked Calendino how he was doing with his addiction, he answered, "I'm the kind of guy where when you close that door, it doesn't open again."
Melanie Walker, agent for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, asked the judge for a three-month jail sentence. Defence lawyer Evi dos Santos suggested a suspended sentence.
"I think he is the only case I've witnessed who turned his life around," dos Santos said.
Dohm instead sentenced Calendino to one day in jail with one day of credit for time served, so Calendino was not taken into custody.
"You're going out that door to keep on doing good work," Dohm said.
Calendino, who left court with a smile on his face, declined to comment on the sentence. jensaltman@theprovince.com
twitter. com/jensaltman
Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/health/Former+Hells+Angel+gets+single+prison/3340339/story.html#ixzz0vDlCBy6B
July 29, 2010 Retrial begins for former guard in Pagans case
By Andrew Clevenger
The Charleston Gazette
Advertiser
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The retrial of a former federal prison guard accused of plotting to retaliate against a jailed member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club began Thursday with prosecutors retracing familiar territory.
Michael Lloyd Stevens' previous trial, held last week in federal court, ended in a mistrial after jurors could not agree on a verdict.
Stevens, 38, of Huntington, is accused of conspiring with members of the Pagans and its Huntington-based support club, the Last Rebels, to have another inmate assault Vincent "Hot Rod" Morris.
Morris, a member of the Charleston chapter of the Pagans, was convicted of robbing a Big Chimney bank in February 2004 with fellow Pagan Paul "Paulie" Hysell.
The Pagans branded Morris as a snitch because he cooperated with the FBI as it investigated the bank heist, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Loew said during his opening statement. Morris' cooperation resulted in Hysell's capture and conviction, he said.
Stevens, whose brother was president of the Huntington chapter of the Last Rebels, wanted to join the club, but his job as a corrections officer kept him out, Loew said. The Pagans and their affiliated clubs didn't want any law enforcement officers near their organization, and even required members to report any contact with police, he said.
When Morris was transferred to the federal prison in Ashland where Stevens worked, Stevens saw an opportunity to prove that he was more loyal to bikers than police, Loew said.
The jury heard surreptitious recordings of Stevens talking with David "Kicker" Cremeans, then a member of the Last Rebels, and James Ronnie "Pagan Ronnie" Howerton, a member of the Pagans, about how to keep Morris quiet.
Cremeans testified that as a member of the smaller club, he could not authorize any action against a Pagan without permission, so he talked to Howerton, who was Pagans' national vice president Floyd "Jesse" Moore's right-hand man.
The Charleston Gazette
Advertiser
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The retrial of a former federal prison guard accused of plotting to retaliate against a jailed member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club began Thursday with prosecutors retracing familiar territory.
Michael Lloyd Stevens' previous trial, held last week in federal court, ended in a mistrial after jurors could not agree on a verdict.
Stevens, 38, of Huntington, is accused of conspiring with members of the Pagans and its Huntington-based support club, the Last Rebels, to have another inmate assault Vincent "Hot Rod" Morris.
Morris, a member of the Charleston chapter of the Pagans, was convicted of robbing a Big Chimney bank in February 2004 with fellow Pagan Paul "Paulie" Hysell.
The Pagans branded Morris as a snitch because he cooperated with the FBI as it investigated the bank heist, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Loew said during his opening statement. Morris' cooperation resulted in Hysell's capture and conviction, he said.
Stevens, whose brother was president of the Huntington chapter of the Last Rebels, wanted to join the club, but his job as a corrections officer kept him out, Loew said. The Pagans and their affiliated clubs didn't want any law enforcement officers near their organization, and even required members to report any contact with police, he said.
When Morris was transferred to the federal prison in Ashland where Stevens worked, Stevens saw an opportunity to prove that he was more loyal to bikers than police, Loew said.
The jury heard surreptitious recordings of Stevens talking with David "Kicker" Cremeans, then a member of the Last Rebels, and James Ronnie "Pagan Ronnie" Howerton, a member of the Pagans, about how to keep Morris quiet.
Cremeans testified that as a member of the smaller club, he could not authorize any action against a Pagan without permission, so he talked to Howerton, who was Pagans' national vice president Floyd "Jesse" Moore's right-hand man.
Son of Chosen Few leader found guilty of threatening witness
Off the Wire
MCs in the News
The son of a Chosen Few motorcycle club leader was found guilty Thursday of threatening a witness in the racketeering case against his father.
Chad Koschuk, 23, of Alden, was accused of threatening to forcibly sodomize a witness who provided information to the FBI and testified before a grand jury about his father, according to U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr.
His father, Alex Koschtschuk, 58, of Alden, is the jailed former president of the Chosen Few.
About 20 members of the gang, the subject of a federal crackdown that began in May 2009, face charges ranging from racketeering and weapons possession to arson and assault.
Koschuk, who was prosecuted by U.S. Attorneys Anthony M. Bruce and Russell T. Ippolito, faces about 4 1/2 years in jail.
Hochul said Koschuk's threat against the government's witness took place during a chance meeting in September 2009 at an Alden convenience store.
During the trial this week, defense lawyers argued that threats were made by the witness against Koschuk and other members of his family.
The conviction was the result of an FBI investigation under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James H. Robertson.
original article
MCs in the News
The son of a Chosen Few motorcycle club leader was found guilty Thursday of threatening a witness in the racketeering case against his father.
Chad Koschuk, 23, of Alden, was accused of threatening to forcibly sodomize a witness who provided information to the FBI and testified before a grand jury about his father, according to U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr.
His father, Alex Koschtschuk, 58, of Alden, is the jailed former president of the Chosen Few.
About 20 members of the gang, the subject of a federal crackdown that began in May 2009, face charges ranging from racketeering and weapons possession to arson and assault.
Koschuk, who was prosecuted by U.S. Attorneys Anthony M. Bruce and Russell T. Ippolito, faces about 4 1/2 years in jail.
Hochul said Koschuk's threat against the government's witness took place during a chance meeting in September 2009 at an Alden convenience store.
During the trial this week, defense lawyers argued that threats were made by the witness against Koschuk and other members of his family.
The conviction was the result of an FBI investigation under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James H. Robertson.
original article
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