Friends of Ours

Feds Drop Case Against Chosen Few

Santa Claus must ride a Harley because an upstate New York motorcycle club just got an early Christmas present.

The federal racketeering case against the Chosen Few motorcycle club in Depew, NY was dropped by prosecutors on Saturday as reported by Jay Rey for the Buffalo News: 

While the government's case alleged criminal activity by the Chosen Few, defense attorneys throughout argued that there were serious credibility problems with the FBI informant and that the case should be thrown out because of what they called "outrageous government conduct." U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy eventually agreed to evidentiary hearings on the issue of government conduct. Twice in three months the judge chastised prosecutors for their handling of the case, ruling that prosecutors improperly influenced the grand jury.

The May 2009 indictment had charged twenty suspected members and associates of the Chosen Few for their alleged roles in a series of violent acts which targeted rival motorcycle clubs the Kingsmen and the Lonely Ones.

Motorcycle Club News

***  Ruben "Doc" Cavazos, former Mongols national president, was sentenced to fourteen years in prison pursuant to secret court hearing after pleading guilty to racketeering:

Calls to Cavazos' deputy federal public defender, John Littrell, were not returned. Littrell requested the judge to seal documents regarding his client, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Brunwin. The reason for sealing was due to underlying issues that Brunwin couldn't talk about.

***  Fifteen bikers from Hells Angels and its puppet club AK81 convicted of attempted murder and assault against rival immigrant gangs in Copenhagen, Denmark:

The 15 individuals were charged with having carried out four shootings, planning a further two as well carrying out assaults using weapons. Their victims were mostly young  men with immigrant backgrounds.

***  Police warn of escalating gang war with some Hells Angels on one side in Vancouver, BC Canada.

***  Prosecution drops several charges in upcoming Hells Angels mega trial in Montreal, QC Canada:  "the court was to hear the cases of over 100 bikers, each charged with 22 counts of murders, but . . . it was reduced to nine counts."

***  Bikers on the rise in Alberta, Canada:  "according to Sgt. Marc Labonte of the Edmonton Integrated Intelligence Unit for the RCMP, during the last two years, Alberta has seen one of the largest increases in outlaw motorcycle gangs across the country."

***  Hells Angels members allegedly involved with debt collection firms in New Zealand: 

Detective Inspector Grant Wormald, of the Organised and Financial Crime Agency New Zealand, said some debt collectors traded on their gang membership. "More often than not the gangs are used to collect debts in the knowledge that people will pay up through fear and intimidation," he said.

***  Gypsy gangs hook up with motorcycle clubs to deal drugs in Australia.

***  The Chosen Few clubhouse is in the crosshairs of city officials in Los Angeles, CA.

***  College professor accused of leading the local chapter of the Devils Disciples in San Bernardino, CA pleads not guilty to heading a methamphetamine ring.

Motorcycle Club News

***  Four suspected Hells Angels members and three accountants charged with $5.5 million tax fraud in Sydney, Australia, and one investigator said the alleged crime "heralded a new era for bikie gangs" by "using professional advisers or facilitators, like accountants and lawyers, to assist them with their money laundering and financial activities."

***  Reputed Hells Angels boss charged with $2.3 million mortgage fraud in Sydney, Australia, and the police's fraud squad commander said:

The notion of your stereotypical fraud offender being dressed in a pin-striped suit and carrying a briefcase is well and truly gone. It's certainly becoming a new trend. Not just outlaw motorcycle gangs but all forms of organised criminals are currently working with people with experience in the financial sector and learning from their experience. 

***  A judge in Sydney, Australia rejects police bid to declare Hells Angels a criminal organization.

***  Police investigate suspected turf war between Rock Machine and Hells Angels-affiliated Redlined Support Crew in Winnipeg, MB Canada:  "these organizations are in a battle for control of the drug trade and other criminal behaviour, the city's top cop said."

***  Two RCMP cops plead guilty to a brawl with Hells Angels at a strip club in Kelowna, BC Canada:  "the officers were given an absolute discharge and neither will have a criminal record."

***  Alleged boiler room operator in Vancouver, BC Canada used Hells Angels connection to promote his rock band.

***  Hells Angels in Hamilton, ON Canada get a new clubhouse.

***  Hells Angels in Toronto, ON Canada may get their seized clubhouse back from police after court declares the motorcycle club is not a criminal organization.

***  A Hells Angels member pleads guilty to drug charges in Spokane, WA.

***  An unsolved 1974 murder of a Hells Angels in Lynn, MA gets another look.

***  Police officer in Santa Clara, CA convicted for giving confidential information to a Hells Angels member in payment of a debt.

*** The LAPD targets the Chosen Few in Los Angeles, CA:  "The city attorney’s office is seeking charges against nine Chosen Few members for crimes including sale of cocaine and marijuana, assault weapons violations, and gang enhancements, officials said."

***  In South Warwickshire, England a former Outlaws biker who was convicted for role in murder of a Hells Angels now fears for life from his ex-comrads after disowning the club:  "The Outlaws live and die by a code of honour and it is almost unknown for any member to break away."

***  Undercover informant who infiltrated the Mongols and Hells Angels dies at 58.

Biker's Son Convicted On Male Rape Threat

Chad Koschuk -- the son of reputed Chosen Few motorcycle club president Alex Koschtschuk -- has been convicted  for "threatening to forcibly sodomize a witness who provided information to the FBI and testified before a grand jury about his father" as reported by Phil Fairbanks for The Buffalo News.  Twenty alleged members and associates of the Chosen Few motorcycle club, including Alex Koschtschuk, were indicted last year in Buffalo, NY on federal rackeketeering charges.

Witness Threat Arrest In Chosen Few Case

The FBI has arrested Chad Koschuk -- the son of Chosen Few motorcycle club president Alex Koschtschuk who was indicted last May on racketeering charges -- for allegedly threatening a government witness as reported by The Buffalo News: "A witness in the ongoing investigation of the Chosen Few told authorities that Koschuk recently made threats to sexually assault the victim and cut off his long hair in retaliation for testifying against his father."