The Mongols Motorcycle Club, sometimes called the
Mongol Nation or
Mongol Brotherhood, is a "one-percenter" outlaw motorcycle club and alleged organized crime syndicate. The club is headquartered in southern
California and was originally formed in
Montebello, California, in
1969.[1]
Law enforcement officials estimate there are approximately
1000 to 1500 full-patched members (with the expansion in
Australia in
2013). The Mongols main presence is in southern California, but also all over the
United States with chapters in 14 states, as well as international chapters in 18 countries.
Criminal activities
The Mongols members have had long-running confrontations with law enforcement concerning the illegal drugs trade (especially methamphetamine), money laundering, robbery, extortion, firearms violations, murder, and assault, among other crimes.[
6][7][8][9][10]
Current club president
David Santillan denies that the club as a whole is a criminal enterprise, and attorneys for the club state that it has changed its code of conduct to exclude drug abusers and criminals. [11]
Incidents
In
1998,
ATF agent
William Queen infiltrated the club, eventually becoming a full-patch member and rising to the rank of chapter vice-president using the undercover alias of
Billy St. John. In
April 2000, based on evidence gathered during
Queen's 28-month undercover time with the club, 54
Mongols were arrested. All but one of the accused were later convicted of various crimes including drug trafficking, motorcycle theft, and conspiracy to commit murder.[12]
In
2002, members of the Mongols and the
Hells Angels had a confrontation in
Laughlin, Nevada, at the
Harrah's Laughlin Casino, that left three bikers dead.[13] Mongol
Anthony "
Bronson" Barrera, 43, was stabbed to death; and two Hells Angels — Jeramie
Bell, 27, and
Robert Tumelty, 50, — were shot to death. On
February 23,
2007, Hells Angels members
James Hannigan and
Rodney Cox were sentenced to two years in prison for their respective roles in the incident. Cox and Hannigan were captured on videotape confronting Mongols inside the casino. A Hells Angels member can be clearly seen on the casino security videotape performing a front kick on a Mongol, which, in turn, started the ensuing melee.
Mongols member
Christopher Ablett turned himself in to authorities in
Bartlesville, Oklahoma, on October 4, 2008 after going on the run for murdering Hells Angels
President Mark "Papa" Guardado in
San Francisco, California earlier that year.
The San Francisco Police Department had issued a $5 million arrest warrant for him.[14] He was convicted of murder in aid of racketeering and three gun charges on
February 23, 2012, in
San Francisco.[15]
On
December 20, 2008, in
Las Vegas, Mongols members arrived at "A
Special Memories Wedding Chapel" for a fellow member's wedding, to find a local Hells Angels charter were just finishing up their own ceremony. It is reported by
KTNV Channel 13 news, that the Hells Angels attacked the Mongols members, sending three to a hospital, two of whom suffered from stab wounds. No arrests were made and local authorities report that they are looking for suspects said to be involved in the attack.[16]
On
October 28, 2014, in
San Gabriel, California, a Mongols member allegedly shot and killed
Pomona Police SWAT Team member Shaun
Diamond. Diamond was shot in the back of the neck with a shotgun during the service of a search warrant
- published: 30 Oct 2015
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