Hells Angels
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- This article is about the motorcycle club. For the 1930 film, see Hell's Angels (film).
The Hells Angels is a motorcycle club formed in 1948 in Fontana, California, where the local chapter remains active. A successor to the late-1940s club, the club is said to take its name from either the movie Hell's Angels, directed by Howard Hughes. [1][2] or from the U.S. Army's 11th Airborne Division.[1] It is estimated to have 2,500 members in 227 chapters, located in 30 countries.[2]
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[edit] History
The Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle club is generally viewed as the epitome of the outlaw biker counterculture of the 1960s. The Hells Angels as a group has been shown to take in large sums of money from illegal activities such as prostitution, illegal pornography, extortion, fraudulent telemarketing and drug trafficking, but the club itself has traditionally claimed that these are individuals within the club that are involved and not the club as a whole. In rural areas of the United States (especially the U.S. South and Southwest), it has been claimed by law enforcement that the Hells Angels are heavily involved with the production and distribution of methamphetamine. In Canada, the same claim has been demonstrated in the book, "Angels of Death : Inside the Bikers' Global Crime Empire" by William Marsden and Julian Sher.
The Hells Angels Chapter, Oakland, has been particularly infamous in North America, partly due to its connection with Ralph 'Sonny' Barger, who could be considered a master of public relations. His autobiography, Hell's Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club was a national bestseller. Sonny Barger, who has spent over a decade in prison, wrote biker-related fiction after his release and settled down finally as the eponym of his own brand of beer.
The HAMC organizes a number of motorcycle runs all over the world and also runs a patch system (similar to a military medal); the literal symbolic meaning of each patch is not publicly known, but it identifies warriors on the battlefield and serves as a warning to those who might approach and challenge the authority of any biker wearing it.
[edit] Altamont
Perhaps the most notorious event in Hells Angels history involved the December 6, 1969 Altamont Free Concert at the Altamont Speedway — partially documented in the 1970 film Gimme Shelter[3] — featuring Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and The Rolling Stones. The Angels had been hired as crowd security for a fee which was said to include $500 worth of beer. A shoving match erupted near the stage during a rendition of the song "Under My Thumb" (not, as is commonly thought, "Sympathy for the Devil"). A concert patron by the name of Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death after brandishing a hand gun and charging the stage. Hunter fired his weapon, striking a HAMC member with what Sonny Barger later described as "just a flesh wound." A Hells Angel member, Alan Passaro, was later acquitted of murder on grounds of self-defense. Don McLean later sang of the event in his classic "American Pie".[3]
After the concert, and critical media attention given to the HAMC, Sonny Barger went on a local California radio station to justify the actions of the HAMC and to present their side of the story. He claimed that violence only started once the crowd began vandalizing the Hells Angels' motorcycles.
In the sixties, during the Vietnam War era, the group offered its "services" to the United States Armed Forces in its conflicts abroad. Although they were never taken up on their offer, many who previously idealized the group as a counterculture began to see this alliance with the government as a betrayal. Antagonism between the Hells Angels and anti-war counter-culture groups manifested itself in physical violence when members attacked demonstrators at the Vietnam Day Committee march in Berkeley.
[edit] Canada
The Hells Angels have a more prominent presence in much of Canada than in most of the United States. In the province of Quebec, Canada, the Hells Angels have gained immense notoriety. Police claim that the club controls much of the organized crime in the province. Criminologists believe that the 1970s Royal Commission on Organized Crime (CECO: Commission d'Enquêtes sur le Crime Organisé), formed to combat the Montreal based mafia, allowed the Hells Angels to flourish by greatly reducing would-be competitors. Before the commission, the Hells Angels were reputed to be the thugs of the Montreal mafia, but in the power vacuum left in the wake of the commission, the Hells Angels managed to effectively gain control of much of the crime in the province. In the years following 1994, biker wars in the province have resulted in more than 100 deaths (including a child killed by an exploding car bomb), 84 bombings, 130 reported cases of arson, and nine missing persons. In the fall of 2001, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Sûreté du Québec conducted major raids in many different locations of the province. Many high-ranking members were arrested along with prospects and other associates. The operation was codenamed Printemps 2001 (Operation Springtime 2001). Members arrested during the operation subsequently pleaded guilty to various crimes, from drug traffic to plot for murder, others were condemned on various accounts.
Despite the continued growth of Hells Angels clubs in Canada, both in Quebec and in Ontario, various law enforcement agencies continue to crack down on the organization. While some consider Canada to be the unofficial home to a new modern Hells Angels movement—one based on the original tenets of the club (i.e., protection for those who cannot protect themselves)—the organization continues to face opposition from police forces and other elements of Canadian society.
The clubhouse for the Toronto chapter of the Hells Angels is located at 498 Eastern Ave, in Toronto's east end, and is significant because of its corporate ownership. Recently, there have been questions raised about the legal status of the club's motorcycle parking outside of the clubhouse. See http://www.torontofokus.com
In March 2005, Route 81—the official store of the Hells Angels—opened an outlet in Prince Edward Island to join existing outlets in Moncton, Halifax and Toronto. The numbers '8' and '1' correspond to where the letters 'H' and 'A' fall within the alphabet.
On June 30, 2005, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice released its verdict in the Lindsay Bonner matter, which concerned the trial of two Hells Angels members charged with extortion in association with a criminal organization. The court ruled that the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a criminal organization, I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that during the time period specified in count two of the indictment, the HAMC as it existed in Canada was a criminal organization. I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that both Mr. Lindsay and Mr. Bonner committed the offence of extortion in association with that criminal organization. wrote Fuerst J., in conclusion, R. v. Lindsay, 2005.
In January 2006, Operation Husky resulted[4] in the arrest of twenty-seven suspects, including five 'full-patch' Angels from across Eastern and Central Canada.
Media speculation has suggested that this operation, an effort conducted by a combination of agencies including the RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the Sûreté du Québec may result in the end of the club's presence in Canada. In some parts of Canada, it is illegal to wear symbols identifying yourself with a motorcycle club, while symbols of identification and recognition among other groups are permitted because of a failure by law enforcement to recognize the credentials and identifying symbols of gang culture.
On December 3, 2006 one full-patch memeber was killed and two associates (one also a full-patch member) were wounded by bullets at an adult entertainment club in Vaughan. They were all members of the Angel's Toronto-West chapter. A rival motorcycle gang member from the Bandidos was arrested in connection with the shooting.
[edit] Lindsay Bonner verdict
The Lindsay Bonner verdict finally established that the Hells Angels, at least in the eyes of the Canadian judicial system, is a criminal organization, within the meaning of the Canadian Criminal Code. A declaration of this nature against the Hells Angels had not been made in Canada, or elsewhere stated Det Sgt Alec Ovenden, when commenting on the global significance of such a verdict to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Gazette [5]. In para. 1079 of R. v. Lindsay, 2005, the court discusses the Hells Angels as a criminal organization, It is a reasonable inference from the evidence and one that I draw that one of the main activities of the HAMC as it existed in Canada during the relevant time period, January 2002, was the commission of one or more serious offences for the economic benefit of its members, in particular drug trafficking. I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of this element of s. 467.1(1).
[edit] Project Tandem
A major bust of the Ontario Hells Angels, code-named Project Tandem, occurred in the early morning of September 28, 2006. One source is quoted as stating, in a Toronto Star article titled Police target Hells Angels Inc., that the operation was the most effective one ever initiated against the bikers. [6]In a related story, the CBC News service stated that[7], Toronto hosts the highest concentration of Hells Angels in the world. According to the police, during this bust, fifteen Hells Angels were arrested and the following assets were seized: weapons, motor vehicles, and currency. As well as these alleged proceeds of crime[8], police also seized the following controlled substances, as defined under Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act[9]: 13 kilograms of cocaine, 50,000 ecstasy pills, 23 kilograms of marijuana and about two kilograms each of hashish and crystal meth. [10]
[edit] Meredith Hunter
Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death directly in front of the stage at the Altamont Music Festival during the Rolling Stones' performance. He died en route to the hospital. The killing itself was recorded in the documentary Gimme Shelter. Alan Passaro, a 21-year-old member of the Hells Angels, was charged with the crime, but Passaro claimed he acted in self-defense after Hunter, probably as a result of being accosted and being high on methamphetamines, pulled a gun (as can be seen in the film). Passaro was later acquitted.
[edit] Hells Angels vs. Disney
In March 2006, the Hells Angels sued Walt Disney Co. for allegedly engaging in trademark infringement. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of California alleges that an upcoming Disney film entitled Wild Hogs[11] uses both the name and distinctive logo of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corp. without permission. The movie, tentatively set for release in 2007 and starring John Travolta, Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence is described on the Internet Movie Database as "A group of suburban biker wannabes look for adventure hit the open road in search of adventure, but get more than they bargained for when they encounter a New Mexico gang called the Del Fuegos"
[edit] Trivia
- The united Kingdom Chapter of the Hells Angels have an anual meeting and festival called the Bulldog Bash this is held at Long Marston Airfield near Stratford upon Avon
- The Hells Angels enjoyed a special relationship with Ken Kesey, the history of which was told both by Tom Wolfe in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and Hunter S. Thompson. Hunter S. Thompson traveled with the club in the 1960s and his adventures are chronicled in the book that made Hunter Thompson's reputation as a counterculture journalist, Hells Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs.
- The popular video game Mortal Kombat features a villain named Goro, so named as a reference to a common Hells Angels tattoo, "God Off Road On!"
- During the late 1960s and early 1970s many biker exploitation films featured Hells Angels lookalikes. Usually considered better than run of the mill was Hells Angels on Wheels (1967) with Jack Nicholson and members of the Oakland Hells Angels.
- A documentary, Hell's Angels Forever, produced by the club has a soundtrack featuring Jerry Garcia and Willie Nelson.
- A soundly based recent documentary about the club was produced in 1999 for The History Channel (A&E Network): In Search of History: Hell's Angels includes an interview with Sonny Barger.
- In 'The Simpsons' Episode titled Take My Wife, Sleaze, Homer Simpson wins a motorcyle and sets out to form his own biker gang, with Ned Flanders and others in town. He names his gang "Hell's Satans" which results in the kidnapping of his wife Marge when the real Hell's Satans motorcycle gang (loosely based on the Hells Angels) come to Springfield to force him to stop using their gang name.
- The Eurythmics perform in front of beautiful women and Hells's Angels in their video Thorn in My Side (1986).
[edit] References
- ^ Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation ISBN 0060938455.
- ^ Rick Anderson, Bad Boys, Seattle Weekly, July 12, 2006. Accessed online 17 July 2006.
- ^ Adams, Cecil. "What is Don McLean's song 'American Pie' all about?" Straight Dope. May 14, 1993. Retrieved on September 25, 2006.
- The Road to Hell : How the Biker Gangs are Conquering Canada, Julian Sher and William Marsden, 2003
- Angels of Death; Inside the Bikers' Global Crime Empire, William Marsden & Julian Sher, Hodder & Stoughton 2006
- The Biker Trials: Bringing Down the Hells Angels, Paul Cherry, ECW Press, 2005, Canada
- Police claim a victory over bikers in Thunder Bay CBC News, Thursday, 19 Jan 2006
- http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/04/11/biker-war-sher.html?ref=rss
- Gangs; A Journey into the heart of the British Underworld, Tony Thompson (journalist) 2004
