Iron Horsemen

Iron Horsemen MC
Motto Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if it weren’t for the Iron Horsemen, the highways would rust
Founded Mid-1960s
Type Outlaw motorcycle club
Region Northeastern and Midwestern United States
Website www.ironhorsemenmc.com

The Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle club that was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in the mid-1960s. The word 'outlaw' itself carries a specific meaning which does not imply immediate criminal intent; rather it means the club is not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and does not adhere to the AMA's rules.[1] The club now also has chapters in Kansas, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, California, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, and New York. Their insignia is a winged, metallic horse's head and their motto is "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if it weren’t for the Iron Horsemen, the highways would rust".[2] Law enforcement classifies them as an "Outlaw Motorcycle Gang".[3]

Iron Horsemen MC (Australia)

There is also another motorcycle club in Australia, founded in Melbourne during 1969,[4] which uses the same name.[5]

Publicized crimes

Police arrested three Iron Horsemen for beating an off duty police officer to death and assaulting another on April 20, 1997. The attacks took place on two different occasions at bars in Hollywood, Maryland.[6]

Two members of the Iron Horsemen were sentenced to five years in prison, and another three were given sixteen years in total on June 26, 2008 for drug dealing. They sold methamphetamine and speed in the Western District of Kentucky between December 2003 and December 2005, and distributed between 50 and 200 grams each. Both the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were involved in the case.[7]

On May 19, 2009, 15 Iron Horsemen, including a State President, were convicted of drug trafficking at the District Court in Portland, Maine.[8] They smuggled cocaine and marijuana, which they obtained from drug cartels in Mexico, to Atlanta, Georgia and then Haverhill, Massachusetts before trafficking it to Maine where they distributed it throughout the state. The ring operated from 2004 until December 2007.[9] The DEA and ATF investigated the club for over a year and carried out the final raids on March 12, 2008.[10] During these raids, they arrested a total of 29 people and seized 10 kilos of cocaine, 600 pounds of marijuana, AK-47s, AR-15s, handguns and $37,000 in cash. The case was known as "Operation Trojan Horse".[11]

One member of the Iron Horsemen was shot in a gunfight with Cincinnati Police on September 18, 2010.[12] Local media reported that a gang member opened fire on several identifiable police officers and 2 undercover officers as they approached JD's Honky Tonk and Emporium escorted by marked police cruisers. The two undercover officers were injured and the gunman that started the incident was killed in the shooting.

Many other reports say that one member of the Iron Horsemen was arrested in New York for possession of firearms and cocaine. This man was known as Big Ed.

In 2013, four members of the Iron Horsemen were arrested in Rochester, New York. William Heinrich, Dustin Harper, David Orbaker and Douglas Tallent were charged with Gang Assault in the second degree, a class C felony in New York State. Police say the four men seriously injured a 40-year-old man at a bar on South Avenue in Rochester.[13]

References

External links