Hells Angels and Their Connection to Organized Crime - Term Paper Example

? Hell Angels and their connection to Organized Crime I. Introduction Who are the Hells Angels? 2. How are they related toorganized crime? II. Body: 1. How have they developed in organized crime? 2. Impression of the organization on the public: 3. Crime at its peak: 4. Hells Angels at present: III. Conclusion I. Introduction 1. Who are the Hells Angels? The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a motorcycle club known worldwide. Their members ride the Harley-Davidson motorcycles. This group has been syndicated as a gang that convicts organized crime and this is ensured by the Department of Justice, US. Organized crime is most popular in Canada and America and has been considered and thus the company has a deep connection with these crimes. Organized crimes are those groups or gangs that are said to be run by criminals and are highly centralized. These criminals run such organizations so that they can carry out illegal activities and gain monetary profit from them. These organizations sometimes force the others to work with them for their benefit at the name of “protection” which would actually be extortion. This is called organized crime since these organizations are disciplined and call crime ‘organized’. 2. How are they related to organized crime? The Hells Angels have been considered as one of the big four motorcycle gangs worldwide. This has been confirmed by the international intelligence and the investigators after a keen search of their agencies have published this agenda. The members of Hells Angels have been involved in many crimes such as dealing with drugs, extortion, prostitution industry and trafficking of stolen goods. Although, the members have continually declared that they are just a group of motorcycle lovers who come together to ride motorcycles together. They also say they are a group that works no more than organizing road trips charity events, and motorcycle rallies for their members. These crimes are said to be the work of those individuals who are members of the group and carry them out on individual basis. These crimes are not the work of the organization (Barker, 2007). II. Body 1. How have they developed in organized crime? The longtime organization Hells Angels have contributed to legendary stories that spread about their power and popularity. Because of these stories and the publicity smacks, many people started wondering if they were merely coincidences. Hells Angels have still continued to persuade the public that they are not anything more than a dedicated group who has deep love for motorcycles and long road trips. But it seems like the international law enforcement thinks otherwise and this is why there have been immense crime reports about the Hells Angels and their members. These reports have increased ever since 1969 and increasingly they are seen on media due to the attempt they made to assassin Mick Jagger after he pointed the finger at them at the bust of stabbing death of a member of the audience at a Rolling Stones concert, yet, all this happens after the 60th anniversary of the Hells Angels. Although, most of the historians are confident about the fact that the organization started in March, 1948 in California, there are still some groups of the organization where members still debate about when and who started Hells Angels. It was started in California as motorcycles and racing cars were popular in those areas. The name came from the Flying Tigers in WWII and was subtitled to be “Hell’s Angels” on votes by the 303rd Bombardment Group. Arvid Olsen had officially given the name Hells Angels Motorcycle Club when they started operating in motorcycles as it was becoming the most popular pastime in America and elsewhere. When the organization had become a common name taken in the media for many of the reports that were made about them, one of the news also held that some of the trouble pilots in the WWII had contributed in starting and Hells Angels and joined it. Hells Angels disregarded this notion and pointed out that other than Olsen, there was no other name mentioned above that was a part of the organization at any time. They also declared that their organization would not accept any former pilots who had any capacity for violence which was developed in them due to the long period of killing in the WWII. But despite these declarations, the organization still has many members who are closely related to the criminal activities and various sorts of crimes which include violence and drugs too. It is however, true to say that with this image and facts of truth in front, it is difficult for the organization as a whole to play a fruitful role in the American society especially when such gangs are started to be considered as evil. This has also led the organization to face many problems with their image. This becomes prominent when they work hard for the charity every year for the needy children and yet have to face struggles with it. Experts of Harley-Davidson have also been known to join Hells Angels and go on road trips to sense the freedom and brotherhood between the members (Bagnall, 2004). 2. Impression of the organization on the public: The true picture of the organization and its stories becomes more complex as we look into the details, but to understand the connection of organized crime and Hells Angels, it is important to assess the true picture of Hells Angels ever since it started operating and more importantly ever since it became so prominent in media for involvement in crime. Some also believe that there is so much more about the true picture of the organization and about the impression it has on the public which ruins the impressions on the whole. And this is because the history seems to be in parts and not in a complete form, and thus is shown in the same way by the media and by the members of the organization itself. The organization is also known to be imparting violence and this is because of the people within the organization with dissenting stories. They had always wanted to give the impression of being independent in their form of work and to stand independently in their course of dealings since the beginning. They had formed a secret society where they assessed many of the hidden meanings for example, their badges showed a death’s head, and they wore red on white colors as mysterious patches that provided their name and the branch they belonged to. It was conceived that the patches had a lot of hidden meanings that were only known by the secret society and the members of the Hells Angels, and they never let it out. These attitudes and signs showed how much the Hells Angels were tied up in controversies. Their operations made the investigators skeptical about their work and their members who tend to be carrying out crimes at large. The knowledge of the secret society and the hidden meanings of violent signs gave investigators the proof that these members carry out violent crimes. Although Hells Angels have continuously tried to defend their club name and their members, it is sure that some things have not been lead out of the police hands. Not only are their statements and sings secretive, but in fact they wear some patches on their sleeves which makes them different and even more suspicious. They keep proving that they’re that group of motorcycle riders who do not break the laws anywhere in the world. 3. Crime at its peak: Some of the most violent factions started in the 1960’s when Hells Angels were said to be facing a tough time for their name. At times, it was also seen that they were merely just targeted because of that and were questioned on every action they took at public events. No matter how the image and the reports were published and shown to the public, it definitely did change the perception of the public. With the presence of these worst situations, it was eventually seen that the violent reaction of the public had adverse effects on the organization which had been fighting with the government and public for their name. This potentially changed many of the members of the organization and the organization as a whole, unfortunately, after which they were considered to be the organized crime gang by the US Department of Justice. This showed that the attack on the Hells Angels completely wounded them and they were never able to recover from that volcanic explosion. And thus, drugs developed in the organization and are still a part of the many groups present within the organization (Abadinsky, 2009). After years and years of establishing themselves, Hells Angels have been successful in creating their name in the world’s most powerful motorcycle group and their movies and documentaries have further helped them in achieving a big name. Undoubtedly, they still operate in the most efficient way as they did years back and despite the dozens of controversies developed in the last few years, they have lived with it confidently. Many factions have existed about the organization’s history and stories related to the organized crime, but it is sad to know that such a big organization could not unify for the cause and stand on it together. But sometimes, a big and powerful organization can split up the member’s directions and thus, giving a rise to the group who wants to take the courses of action in a more criminal directed path and another group who wants the organization to stay a beneficial motorcycle club that works for charities and enjoys their activities. Strangely, the essence to criminal and violent activities has been raised in the Hells Angels in the past decade, yet seems to have existed since long. Statistics show that these activities are present in Canadian branches much more than in American branches. This seems odd. The cases that come with the American branches often report about rival gangs and their brawls. One of the cases that occurred in New York City involved an accusation of Hells Angels beating a woman to death just outside their New York headquarters. When their headquarters were raided after a search warrant was issues against them, it was held that they were being targeted by the police and were placed as parts of the continuing battles of organized crime. Later, the Hells Angels insisted that they had no involvement in the beating of the woman and they made a general statement saying “if you respect us, we respect you”. This statement was analyzed in two ways, either Hells Angels wanted to show they are too powerful to overpower any criminal activities, or that they have given birth to some members who are involved and responsible for these criminal activities. This has been seen as a fair judgment because of the fact that the big organizations usually have no uniformity and they tend to be having factions especially in cases where drugs have been involved in the picture. Thus, it can be deluded that the crime involvement is not much in America, but in fact has been raised in Canada (LaVigne, 2000). The biggest problems with the Hells Angels and drugs have been happening in Canada. Ever since the series of events have started occurring, there have been numerous cases reported and busted in Canada for drugs and also for the illegal possession of automatic weapons. Because of this, there are many investigations that are taking place in the organized crime connections. Moreover, the intensity of distrust for the Hells Angels has been seen when the investigators named all the investigations that they carried out using the word ‘Project’ in their titles. This happened after the hype of the 1960 where the name of Hells Angels was just everywhere, and after which they had been quiet as if they never existed. 4. Hells Angels at present Hell Angels have been considered to be the most rich and powerful gangs of the world today. It is seen that despite having been involved in crime and investigations, these gangs are spreading to more and more places every single day. They have been ruling over the world of crime and motorcycles since two decades now and it seems that no one could stop them. They have made themselves the most powerful and who can, as earlier said, easily overpower every blame and crime convicted by them. They have been able to elude serious crimes under the radar of the society for a very long time. They are forming their territorial rule on the organized crime as they wish to expand their million dollar business. Their legendary reputation seems to be growing internationally on a very fast pace. Their connection with organized crime is said to be one of the most disturbing factor for their growth yet it has not affected it. There are so many members in the big organization that a minority involving in crimes have not stopped or restricted any movement, any event or any growth that has to come its way. It is still the biggest club for motorcyclists and will remain to achieve its position. They say that the minors involved in the crimes does not make Hells Angels a criminal organization, which cannot be overconfidence, because, it’s the truth. The reason why Hells Angels despite being convicted so many times have still been able to operate in the motorcycles and the whole world is because police haven’t found strong evidence against them yet. Though many members have been arrested and trialed, there is not enough proof to claim that the whole organization is a criminal organization. At the same time, Hells Angels is a fearsome name in the criminal underworld. It is undeniable that they have been in relations with the underworld and have been involved in evident crimes for which their members have been arrested and the media has sparkled. It is now found out that in a short span of time, Hells Angels do not only hold the potential of becoming the world’s most popular club for motorcycle riders, but also the world’s biggest criminal network. There is also much from the rival’s side. Such a big organization which has no rivals seems impossible. There have been many leading groups that have competed with Hells Angels and thus enforced them to enter the wrong ways to sweep them. Many of the members of the Hells Angels murder the rivals to eliminate their presence and remain at the top. This has been reported in quite a number of claims made on them. But it is quite open that the rivals of the Hells Angels are many around the world and they do not tend to be treated properly. Police has also claimed that these bikers murder the rivals who try to sneak into their profitable criminal business (Sher, Marsden, 2006). III. Conclusion Thus it has been analyzed that Hells Angels is an organization that has a keen relationship with the criminal world and they openly deny it. Despite the many investigations, cases and evidence provided against them, they have failed to take the full responsibility about every criminal activity that takes place and hence say that only a few members are involved in those activities which do not make the whole organization a crime based organization. Furthermore, many analysts have said that there is no one who can stop Hells Angels from achieving their goals and maintaining their position as the world’s top most motorcycles club, not even the law enforcement, unfortunately. They have had a long connection with crime and violence and it will continue to boost in the coming years, as clearly suggested by many. References Abadinsky, H. (2009). Organized Crime. London: Cengage Learning. Bagnall, S. (2004). “Hells Angels: Easy-riders or criminal gang?” BBC. Retrieved online from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/3311057.stm Barker, T. (2007). Biker Gangs and Organized Crime. London: Elsevier. LaVigne, Y. (2000). Hell's Angels. Toronto: Doubleday Canada Sher, J., Marsden, W. (2006). Angels of death: inside the biker gangs' crime empire. NY: Carroll & Graf. Read More