Mongols Motorcycle Club Members & Ruben Cavazos Arrested! (Pics)

Ruben Cavazos and dozens of members of the Mongol’s motorcycle gang were arrested on Tuesday by federal agents in six states, after a three-year investigation where undercover agents had infiltrated the motorcycle group. Read more on the Mongol’s arrests below.

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Mongol motorcycle gang members were arrested Tuesday by federal agents in six states following a three-year investigation in which undercover agents had infiltrated the motorcycle gang.

At least 38 members of the Southern California-based Mongol Motorcycle Club were arrested under a federal racketeering indictment that included charges of murder, attempted murder, assault, as well as gun and drug violations, said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesman Mike Hoffman.

Sharpshooters stood guard on rooftops as motorcycles were lined up and confiscated during some arrests.

“It’s going to be a large hit to their organization. We are arresting many of their top members,” Hoffman said.

The Mongol’s motorcycle gang’s national president, Ruben Cavazos, was among those arrested.

Local and federal agents had 110 federal arrest warrants and 160 search warrants that they were serving across Southern California and in Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Ohio. “Operation Black Rain” will continue throughout the day Tuesday, agents said.

Hoffman said the Mongols had been getting members of Los Angeles street gangs to help in their operations. The Mongols are primarily Latino and formed because the Hells Angels refused to allow Hispanic members.

There were four ATF agents that became accepted into the Mongol’s motorcycle gang, having to win the trust of the gang’s top leaders over a period of months, Hoffman said.

The agents were required to live away from their families in homes set up to make it look like they lived a Mongols lifestyle, Hoffman said. Four undercover women ATF agents also were involved in the operation, pretending to be biker girlfriends and attending parties with the agents; women are not allowed to become full members of the gang.

“If you go to a party all the time and you don’t ever bring a girl around, it’s kind of weird,” Hoffman said. “Someone might get suspicious.”

To be accepted in the gang, the ATF agents had to run errands and were subject to a background check by private detectives.

Outside Cavazos’ home in West Covina, about 18 miles east of Los Angeles, a red, custom-modified Harley-Davidson motorbike sat outside. No occupants were home but several police and ATF agents were seen going through items in the house.

Cavazos wrote a memoir titled “Honor Few, Fear None: The Life and Times of a Mongol,” published by HarperCollins in June.

HarperCollins publicist Sarah Burningham in New York City said she only handles book-related issues for Cavazos, but would forward an e-mail from The Associated Press requesting comment.

At least 22 motorcycles were on display outside the Los Angeles Police Department’s main building Tuesday morning.

In 2002, a Mongols member got two to five years in Nevada state prison for his part in a deadly casino brawl with rival Hells Angels during a biker rally. Three people died in the fight.

Images: AP

Source: news

Posted by: Monya

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