In 1998 George Wegers became the International President of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club,Jeff Pikewas the Vice President for much of this time. A few nights at Mejas, then a few nights at Crystals, then back to Meja. . There was a tall front gate with a Go Away sign attached to it, but it was wide open. Pike said he wants to leave a different legacy: "The only . Having once infiltrated the Bandidos for three years in a landmark police operation, Alex Caine is uniquely positioned to reveal the untold story of the Hells Angels' fiercest rivals. A Houston dockworker and Vietnam vet started the notorious Bandidos motorcycle gang in the mid-1960s. No rules, no bullshit, just the open road.. Two fo the search warrants were for properties owned by George Wegers which resulted in 4 handguns and 33 knives being found. [35] The club also has nomad chapters, made up of members not bound by geographical location, which are responsible for security, counterintelligence and internal discipline. Everyone said to me, Lock it up. Bandidos are not exactly Bible-thumpers. The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation,[1] is an outlaw motorcycle club[6][7][8] with a worldwide membership. [5] In the United States, the majority of the club consists of white and Hispanic males. View Part 1, View Part 2 (links open in a new tab). The penalty is a far cry from what George Wegers, 53, was facing when the government charged him and 25 other Bandidos in June 2005 with a long list of crimes that included kidnapping, drug trafficking, extortion and witness-tampering. They trade guns and stolen bike parts. Texas Monthly reported that the feds considered the gang an "organized criminal enterprise" that used "intimidation, extortion, violence and threats of violence against rival motorcycle clubs" to maintain "its power, territory and profits." Youd be surprised. It was a patch-pull offense., RELATED: 'Hundreds of condoms' destroy pipe. As he turned westbound to exit onto Highway 20, the motorcycle went off the road, according to the Washington State Patrol. I assumed I would be met by one of his sergeants at arms, eyeing me suspiciously, maybe with a handgun sticking out of the back of his pants. 2006 - Jeff Pike is questioned by Canadian law enforcement in relation to the deaths of 8 Bandidos MC members, known as the No Surrender Crew and based out of Ontario, Canada, who were shot in the head by another Bandidos member on 8 April, 2006, the event was known as the Shedden Massacre.Law enforcement were attempting to determine if this was a killing ordered or organized by by the . [46], There are approximately ninety Bandidos chapters in Europe. But defense lawyers for Pike and Portillo attacked Ojemanns testimony as self-serving, or of being fabricated to wrongly accuse their clients in order to save himself from lengthy prison time in his own drug case. With heavy hearts, we announce the death of George Wagers (Manchester, Kentucky), who passed away on December 3, 2021 at the age of 71. Please help us out by hitting the Share button so that we can keep bringing you more articles and Follow us on Facebook so that you get updated when we release new articles. A Right-wing Cabal Took Over Odessas Municipal Government. [34] Prospective members must undertake a three-stage process before being initiated, beginning as a "hangaround", before becoming a "prospect" and then "probation". Benesh, who had been trying to start an Austin chapter of the Hells Angels, had been shot in the head, apparently by an unseen sniper, as he was leaving a North Austin restaurant with his girlfriend and two children. [ 186 more . The brotherhood. Upon joining the Bandidos, each member must sign their motorcycle over to the club. The phrase "Support your local bandidos" was printed on the front of the panties, according to a 2007 Texas Monthly story on the motorcycle gang. There were more bear hugs and kisses as more Bandidos arrived. We mourn with the family of George Wegers for this great loss. It circled the Double Deuceonce, twice, then three times. Several of them headed into the chapel to see Chuco in his casket. IF YOU WERENT LIVING HERE THIRTY or forty years ago, you might not have any idea who the Bandidos are. He had introduced himself only as F.O., and he was one of the most intimidating-looking men Ive ever seen. lifted one of his meaty arms and poked me so hard in the chest with his forefinger that I thought my sternum was going to crack. Wegers had no desire to flood the clubhouses with newly patched members just to boost the motorcycle clubs membership. [55], The Bandidos formed its first chapter in the Netherlands in 2014. Federal agents and local police decapitated the Bandidos motorcycle gang yesterday with the arrest of its president and at least a dozen members in a series of pre-dawn raids in and around . | gcontreras@express-news.net | @gmaninfedland. We are Bandidos forever, forever Bandidos, he said. As part of the case he admitted that he, along with other members, conspired to tamper with witnesses, traffic stolen motorcycles as well as conspire to commitother crimes. Initially indicted on drug and gun counts that would have left him facing a minimum of 15 years and up to life in prison, Ojemann said he pleaded guilty in Houston federal court to reduced charges. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. He was a fan of keeping the club out of the media, laying a low profile. Wearing high heels and miniskirts, they passed out flyers and free drink tickets, telling the Bandidos that they ought to visit later that night to watch them perform. It contained a list of all the Bandidos chapters, photos of famous dead Bandidos such as Chambers (who died of cancer in 1999) and Hodge (who died of heart disease in 1992), and a page where supporters and wannabes could purchase Bandidos T-shirts, clocks, coffee cups, tote bags, calendars, and thong panties. Careful, now, goddammit, be careful, someone said. In March 1966 Chambers founded the first Motorcycle Club with the name BANDIDOS MC in San Leon, Texas. Hi, how are you? I said to a Bandido wearing a bandanna and dark sunglasses. Unrepentant, the Bandidos insisted that they had not shot the prosecutor or the judge and that the only reason they were being harassed was because of their anti-establishment posturing. George Wegers -- national president of the notorious Bellingham-based Bandidos motorcycle gang until his arrest last June -- has pleaded guilty to racketeering . Im just a clean-cut American guy who loves riding his motorcycle. Up in Washington, one of our Bandidos is an engineer at Microsoft.. Bandido Chuco, who had died at the age of 65 from liver cancer. Ojemann said most Bandidos appeared to back Pike, who also called for a new patch to represent the club, but there was a faction who didnt, including John Galveston John Lammins, who was president of a chapter in Costa Rica, and Ernest Morgas, an El Paso chapter president. For instance, Ojemann said he attended a meeting in 2011 at the Mason Jar restaurant in Houston in which Pike and other national members talked about Pikes proposal to split the Bandidos from chapters in Europe and Australia. George Strathy, having just been sworn in as the new chief justice for Ontario, was making his first speech at the annual opening of the courts, a formal occasion where the judges of all three . However most original recruits came from the Greater Houston area, including Chambers, his right-hand man Ronnie Hodge and another founder Robert "Grandpa Bob" Shields. You knew that Jeff was concerned that with the war on terrorism, the Bandidos might get a reputation that they have terrorists? DeGuerin asked. Don wasnt looking for people who fit into what he called polite society, said one of Chamberss first members, Royce Showalter. Under cross-examination, Ojemann admitted being involved in drug trafficking with another Bandidos member. Other Tier 2 gangs include the Bloods, the Crips and the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. The last was George Wegers, who pleaded guilty in Washington state to federal racketeering charges and was sentenced to about 20 months. Read more of his stories here. Standing in the doorway to the chapel, the thin, dark-suited director of the funeral home smiled nervously, his lips as pale as milk. It is worth noting that paperback/hardback version of this book has been split into two parts for the Kindle, which just makes things confusing! This is the one and only official Facebook page for George Wegers, the former National and International President of the largest motorcycle club in. Divorced, with a grown son, two grandkids, and other family in Whatcom and Skagit counties. In that era there were already a number of hard-core biker clubs scattered throughout the country, including the Outlaws, the Pagans, and, of course, the Hells Angels, which had been formed shortly after World War II. BY SATURDAY MORNING, AT LEAST FOUR HUNDRED Bandidos were in San Antonio, gathered in the parking lot of an evangelical church for Chucos funeral. When Lenny takes off on his bike, I dont ask questions about what hes doing. [23] The American chapters began wearing a redesigned patch in 2011. Find out more on Amazon (link opens in a new tab). I attempted to eavesdrop on a conversation among some of the older Bandidos, thinking I might hear some interesting anecdotes about the club. I know theyre trying to pin everything on us, he said. The state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II will take place on Monday in London, in an occasion that will mark the world's farewell to Britain's longest-reigning monarch . He had a passion for motorcycles from a very young age, possibly spurred on by a Harley Davidson motorcycle owned by one of his neighbours that he used to see parked out the front. The men roared with laughter. Loved by many, loved by few. Weve got guys who own their own businesses, guys who work for oil companies, guys who are in the computer industry. And even if you do know who they are, you could very well have trouble believing they still exist. At recess, we swapped storiesperhaps true, perhaps notabout how Bandidos pulled out their enemies teeth with pliers and beat them with heavy metal wrenches. Conversely, if he was in a car, he had to take it off.) TRUSTED AREA FUNERAL HOMES. They walked back outside, looked up, and saw a helicopter coming right at them. Wed go flat out on our motorcycles all day long, eighty to ninety miles an hour, and then at night, wed hold our parties far out in the woods so the cops wouldnt find us. But I know he loves it so much that I would never ask him to quit., When Lenny was out of earshot, I asked Nicole what she thought about the allegations that the Bandidos were a criminal enterprise. Pike told me that he had been an altar boy at a Catholic church in California, where he was born and raised. There was booze and drugs everywhere. The one place where the Bandidos tend to draw attention to themselves are turf wars with other motorcycle gangs. Bandido George has copped a plea. San Antonio always handled business. 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