The men roared with laughter. Please received our heartfelt condolences. Although Pikes assistants had told a few of the members that he was letting a reporter come to the funeral, many had no idea who I was. F.O. Divorced, with a grown son, two grandkids, and other family in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Hodge was nicknamed "Mr. From the #1 national bestselling author of Befriend and Betray, an intimate expos of a criminal empire and the massacre that nearly started a global biker war. He owned a Harley Davidson motorcycle shop in Bellingham, Washington State. George Wegers is the President of the Bandidos, a (supposedly) outlaw motorcycle gang. The group now counts members throughout the world. Guillermo Contreras is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. [56], In recent years the club has also expanded heavily into Spain, Belgium, Estonia, Greece, England and Ireland. They obviously had their own business to discuss. George Wegers Death | Obituary | George Wegers Dead | Died | Funeral Plans - We heard about the great loss, that George Wegers is no more and has reportedly passed away. One man, standing in the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant, called a friend on his cell phone and shouted, There must be a hundred of them! A woman driving a Ford Taurus swerved to the shoulder of the road and slammed on her brakes as a group of them raced past her, missing her car by inches. About George Wegers George Wegers Defense attorneys criticized federal prosecutors for stitching together a racketeering case based on minor felonies and misdemeanors. [25] The design is credited to the club's founder, Donald Chambers. He had a passion for motorcycles from a very young age, possibly spurred on by a Harley Davidson motorcycle . | gcontreras@express-news.net | @gmaninfedland. [34] Prospective members must undertake a three-stage process before being initiated, beginning as a "hangaround", before becoming a "prospect" and then "probation". The European Bandidos proved themselves to be just as aggressive as their American counterparts, setting off a turf war with Europes Hells Angels and at one point firing anti-tank grenades at two Hells Angels clubhouses in Denmark. Ill be honest, it was a lot more fun back then. 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. [5] The club is concentrated in Texas[39] but extends into Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Washington and Oklahoma. To this day, I can remember the first time I saw his photo: a mug shot, printed in a newspaper, that had been taken after he had been arrested. He was turning off Interstate 5 in Skagit County . They promised us there would be no trouble, he said hesitantly as the Bandidos parked their bikes and began hugging and kissing one another on the mouththe traditional Bandido greeting. A few years ago, Pike owned a large street-rod shop in Tomball. Wegers's attorney Jeffrey A . The FBI went so far as to buy a biker bar in Dallas, bringing in as the owner a New York agent who tried to find out what the Bandidos were up to. Ojemann said he and another national member were tasked with trying to find Lammins. Friends and families of the deceased are mourning the passing of their loved and cherished George Wegers . [20] The Bandidos capitulated and ceded Quebec to the Hells Angels at the conclusion of the province's deadliest biker war in 2003. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. Today the police seem more determined than ever to bring the Bandidos down. He told his friends that he was naming his club the Bandidos, in honor of the Mexican bandits who refused to live by anyones rules but their own, and he began recruiting his first members not only out of Houston but also out of the biker bars in Corpus Christi, Galveston, and San Antonio. (To round up the Bandidos in Lubbock, the police used an armored personnel carrier to bust into their fenced compound.) He wanted bikers who lived only for the open road. And if that didnt work, hed pull out his knife and start swinging that around too.. [18] George Wegers, who served as international president between 1998 and 2005, was convicted of racketeering charges in October 2006. The specific charges were hardly flashy: Wegers and the others were accused of such varied crimes as stealing motorcycles, kidnapping a rival motorcycle club member (the kidnapping lasted a day . Wegers had no desire to flood the clubhouses with newly patched members just to boost the motorcycle clubs membership. A few nights at Mejas, then a few nights at Crystals, then back to Meja. But soon, I realized, the Bandidos were ignoring me. I attempted to eavesdrop on a conversation among some of the older Bandidos, thinking I might hear some interesting anecdotes about the club. [57][58], In 2001, the Bandidos were established in Thailand via a merger with the Diablos Motorcycle Club in Pattaya. For me and my friends, the Bandidos were like the bogeymen. IN 1998 THERE WAS TALK ONCE AGAIN that the Bandidos had suffered a fatal blow: Craig Jaws Johnston, who was then the Bandidos president, and other leaders pleaded guilty in federal court to charges that they had conspired to manufacture and sell as much as a thousand pounds of methamphetamine. 2006 October, 2006. (To protect their privacy, Pike asked me not to name the school.) The Bandidos would appreciate it.. Yes, they love riding fast. You know, were not all that different than anyone else. George Wegers Death | Obituary | George Wegers Dead | Died | Funeral Plans - We heard about the great loss, that George Wegers is no more and has reportedly passed away. But his right-hand man, Ronnie Hodge, another former Houston dockworker, who was the size of a grizzly bear, took over and did not make the slightest attempt to tone down the Bandidos renegade image. George Wagers Obituary. You probably have no inkling that they were once the terrors of Texas, so fearsome that when a rumor spread through a town that they were coming, people literally headed inside their homes and locked their doors. There was a tall front gate with a Go Away sign attached to it, but it was wide open. Wed party till dawn, go to sleep right there on the ground, and then get up, get on our motorcycles, and hit the road again.. For a few moments, the Bandidos stood there, unmoving. Friends and families of the deceased are mourning the passing of their loved and cherished George Wegers . Cut one, we all bleed, the Bandidos warnand the blood has never stopped flowing, often from internal strife as much as external battles.. [48] This was followed by expansion into the Nordic countries, with branches being established in Denmark in 1993,[49] Sweden in 1994,[50] and Finland and Norway in 1995. [41], The first Australian chapter was formed in 1983, in Sydney, by former members of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club. Forrest Wilder writes about politics and the outdoors. The cops drive by here just about every day just to see what Im up to. William Big G Ojemann, a Bandidos member from 2008 until 2013, said George Wegers, who was the Bandidos president from 1998 until his arrest in 2005, had his Bandidos patches revoked by his successor, Jeffrey Fay Pike, because Wegers appeared in a report about the club. But by his teenage years, he had discovered cigarettes and girls, and he also became fascinated with motorcycles when he saw a pack of Hells Angels flying down a road. Last March, for instance, police in Austin announced that the Bandidos were the prime suspects in one of the citys most shocking murders: the slaying of a 44-year-old local motorcyclist named Anthony Benesh. George Weger was taken to Skagit Valley Hospital. They are not Boy Scouts, but they are not outlaws. We are made to known about his death on September 23, 2020. Ojemann refuted that, maintaining that Pike kicked him out, though Pike allowed him to remain in good standing.. Mimi Swartz is a staff writer based in Houston. Just a half dozen years ago,top CanadianBandidos grumbled about how they couldnt get a telephone audience with him. Pike was like, (expletive) him. [16] Subsequent expansion into the Nordic countries in the 1990s led to a violent feud with the Hells Angels. San Antonio always handled business. ", "Ex-Bandido says national president kicked predecessor out over TV interview", "Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs: Aspects of the One-Percenter Culture for Emergency Department Personnel to Consider", "Are the Bandidos Named After A Corn Chip Mascot? Every man whos ever been president of the Bandidos has been brought down, and its only a matter of time before Mr. Pike gets brought down too., On an impulse, I sent an e-mail to the Web site, asking if the 51-year-old Pike would agree to an interview. The order was established in 1625 as the . I headed down a street containing mostly sprawling ranch-style homes on large lots, at least a couple of acres in size. 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. Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering: Kidnaping (VICAR), Anthony Snodgrass Spencer (Bandidos Australia President), Jeff Pike (Bandidos International President), Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering Assault, Conspiracy to Distribute Marijuana and Methamphetamine, Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime, Conspiracy to Traffic in Certain Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Parts. Bandidos Book The Fat Mexican: The Bloody Rise of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club by Alex Caine. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. And then we looked at one another and said, Hell, we can do a lot better than these guys. . The city had 12 chapters and 175 members at the time. Wegers suffered severe spinal damage while cruising alone on his Harley Street on the afternoon of Sunday, September 27. George Wegers, 54, was one of 32 people in Washington, Montana and South Dakota indicted last year as federal officials raided the Bellingham-based gang. As I got in my rental car, I heard the familiar whomp-whomp-whomp of the police helicopter. For a second, I didnt know what to say. [21] In 2007, the Bandidos' Canadian chapters went defunct following the internal Shedden massacre. As he turned westbound to exit onto Highway 20, the motorcycle went off the road, according to the Washington State Patrol. Ojemann said he became close to Pike and saw some of his decisions firsthand. [23] The American chapters began wearing a redesigned patch in 2011. In the past couple of years alone, police around the country have arrested Bandidos for everything from drug dealing and kidnapping to possession of illegal weapons and trafficking in stolen vehicles. [12] Chambers named the club in honor of the Mexican bandits who lived by their own rules, and he recruited members from biker bars locally in Houston as well as in Corpus Christi, Galveston, and San Antonio. Portillos lead lawyer, Mark Stevens, noted that what Ojemann told investigators in debriefings differed from his court testimony. As they swapped stories about the old days and guzzled beer, one message could be heard over the roar of their Harleys: Bandidos forever. Don wasnt looking for people who fit into what he called polite society, said one of Chamberss first members, Royce Showalter. The group, which the feds have linked to numerous criminal activities, has grown into an international organization. Its only a matter of time, a highly placed Texas law enforcement official told me last spring. On this September afternoon, the members of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club were indeed in San Antonio. 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 . Ojemann, who was 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighed 420 pounds while he was national sergeant at arms, said he and other Bandidos members carried out beatings or intimidation of rivals or wayward Bandidos on direct or indirect orders from Pike and Portillo. 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! Leave them blank to get signed up. He was a fan of keeping the club out of the media, laying a low profile. Fax: (660) 584-2397. Hasnt the motorcycle world been taken over by lawyers, doctors, and advertising executives, all those self-proclaimed chromosexuals who pull back their hair in neat ponytails and don designer sunglasses and expensive black leather jackets so that they can take leisurely rides through the countryside on sunny weekend afternoons? Yet as they made abundantly clear at their gathering in San Antonio, the Bandidos are not remotely intimidated. Ojemann agreed with that, and with DeGuerins assertion that Pike was disappointed with Ojemann for his involvement in drugs. [47] The first European chapter opened in Marseille in France in 1989. Two fo the search warrants were for properties owned by George Wegers which resulted in 4 handguns and 33 knives being found. 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