SWAT team raids Iron Horsemen location

• published: 20 Oct 2015
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LOWER PRICE HILL, Ohio (Rich Jaffe) -- In September 2015 Local 12 News reported about a new biker clubhouse established by the Iron Horsemen in Lower Price Hill. That clubhouse on West Eighth Street looked different in October than it did in September. Cincinnati has long been the territory of the Iron Horsemen. Call them a club, call them a gang, call them whatever you want; they've been a long-time problem for law enforcement. The clubhouse in Lower Price Hill represented a bold effort by the Horsemen to extend their reach and stake a claim on the community, right up until when a swat team raided it. The Iron Horsemen's new clubhouse underwent a rather sudden transformation. Gone is the big black Iron Horseman logo from the fence. Gone is the Vic's Brew and Cue sign from a famous Mount Carmel biker shootout. Gone is the bike off the roof and much more. The redecorating was the result of a raid by Cincinnati police, the SWAT team and ATF and FBI agents, serving a search warrant on the property. Capt. Paul Nuedegate with Cincinnati police told Local 12 News, They are not just a weekend motorcycle club that does Toys for Tots at the end of the year; that they are an organized criminal outfit that engages in drug trafficking, meth amphetamine trafficking." At the biker clubhouse, police took William Francis Meeker into custody. They described him as a wannabe Horseman. He already had convictions for assault and robbery. Police said he had a .38 special with him when they arrested him. When Local 12 News was at the clubhouse Sept. 10, we talked with neighbor Michelle Hodgetts and asked what it was like living next to the Iron Horseman. She said, Loud, there's probably some illegal stuff going on over there, that's what I heard. But it's mostly the motorcycles revving at 3 o'clock in the morning." Police also agreed illegal stuff was going on inside the club. So after the raid Wednesday, Oct. 14, agents paid a visit to the main Iron Horsemen Clubhouse in California on the city's east side. They told the 20 or so assembled members and Horsemen leaders why they raided the Lower Price Hill location and explained the federal law known as "Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering." The raid no doubt brought a sigh of relief to neighbors like Michelle, Nobody around here's happy that they're here, said said, because of who they are." For the last few years, as Local 12 News has reported, the Horsemen were involved in a turf war with what authorities called a rival club, the Detroit Highwaymen. While the Highwaymen, following a similar raid, disbanded, according to Local 12 sources they may be in the process of making a Cincinnati comeback. Local 12 News will keep you posted. Follow Rich Jaffe on Twitter @rajaffe, and LIKE him on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @Local12 and LIKE us on Facebook for updates!