Analysis of William Queen's Under and Alone - Book Report/Review Example

William Queen's Under and Alone is a harrowing memoir of this former officer of the Bureau of alcohol tobacco and firearms (ATF) 28 month experience working undercover as a member of the Mongol motorcycle gang in its San Fernando chapter from 1998 to the year 2000. The title is apt since so for much of his time with the gang he was largely operating on his own wits. The ATF chose to send a field agent undercover within the Mongol organization because at the time this outlaw motorcycle gang was pushing all bounds with its extremely violent conduct. The ATF and other organizations have been involved in an ongoing war with organized crime gangs in the United States. Often this battle is fought to a truce with neither side exacting a complete victory.Queen was sent in as an undercover agent into the organization to set an example to other organized crime organizations in the country, that the law was always present. Queen was chosen for the operation for his unique talents. A former decorated Vietnam hero and 20 year veteran of the ATF he also had experience going undercover throughout his time in the organization. At the time he was riding undercover in the Hells Angels and he had both the ideal profile and personality to do the job. He is a large intimidating man with a full goatee and an unwillingness to back down from physical confrontation. These qualities made him ideal. Before proceeding to examine Queen's success it is necessary to delve into the background history of outlaw motorcycle gangs here to gain some perspective on this book. The Outlaw Motorcycle gangs were originally born out of disaffected World War II veterans returning home to find society did not understand the terrible things to which they had been witness and therefore no longer fit into mainstream life. The original bikers were not a criminal group but rather free spirits in pursuit of the thrills that war had given them and no longer available in conventional society; however, this innocence was short lived as a series of conflicts with the police dramatized in the film the Wild Ones that marked the beginning of outlaw status. Even with their outlaw status the bikers in the 60's had romantic associations for the growing hippie movement as they seemed symbolize part of the rebellion against the values of the previous generation. In 1969 at a Rolling Stones concert members of the Hell's Angels gang beat to death a young black man in what was believed to be a racially motivated killing. After this, the biker gangs lost any aura of romance and were seen for the criminal organization they were. The Hell's Angels are the oldest and largest of the biker gangs but there are others, all of which exist in state of smoldering enmity with each other, notably the Pagans, the Outlaws , the Bandidos and the newest arrivals the Mongols. The biker gangs were not based on any ethnicity like the other gangs and if anything they are characterized broadly by a racist ideology of white superiority, this despite the fact that a African- American Chapter of the Hell's Angels exists in California,the only exception being the Chicano organization of the Mongols. All the criminal organizations discussed are characterized by a high degree of organizational structure, a fact that has allowed them to expand their criminal operations and limit repercussions from law enforcement agencies The Outlaw Motorcycle gangs ( OMGs) are a exclusive fraternity of male dominated individuals.Sonny Berger the founder of the Hells Angels adopted a pattern of organization that is seen repeated in the other gangs. Gangs are organized into Chapters, that are like military divisions. Each Chapter has an elected President who chooses other members of his cabinet which include a treasurer, a vice president, and an executive arm who does the the bulk of the enforcement. There is also a road manager who organizes all the logistics of travel in large groups. Membership is exclusive and conditional on passing through a number of stages signified by the colored cloths marking the progression through the ranks. Initiation is often a brutal process with the new devotee suffering physical beatings and all manner of humiliations. The status of women on the hierarchy is decidedly low, a hardly surprising fact considering that the group has a history of living of the avails of enslaved women among other elements of their criminal enterprises. Women who did achieve some long standing affiliation with members could be accorded “Old Lady”or “Mama”status but this would entail considerable screening. This was seen as necessary since the organization was at all times concerned about leaks into their tightly guarded criminal organization and women were seen as vulnerabilities if they came privy to too much information. The Mongols came into the fray in the early 1970s and have risen to challenge the ascendancy of the Hells Angels on the West Coast. Queen as his alias Billy St. John offers a first-hand account of the aforementioned process initiation as he started out as a “prospect”. St. John offers a lucid account of how he first won the trust of the Mongols by presenting himself in possession of the right stuff by frequenting biker bars and getting into confrontations where he would show himself to be a standup guy. Queen appears to enjoy this time in a contrast sharply with his time as a prospect where he is at the mercy of every established member of the gang through all manner of brutal hazing. Queen is also able to clearly outline the difficult path he had to negotiate working for an outlaw organization and yet still being beholden to legal conduct. He recalls in vivid detail the time when Rocky, a Mongol member insists that he inhale a line of of meth. He makes a clear legal distinction here. Officers of the ATF are not allowed to take any illicit substances unless they are under the threat of death. And even if they do so they must report this activity so they can be treated as if they were injured in the line of duty and receive treatment. Any officer who takes illicit substances and does not report it risks automatic dismissal, a real risk considering random drug tests are conducted all the time. Queen skillfully evades this dilemma by sleight-of-hand, sweeping the drug onto the floor and making it appear that he has taken it. Rockies affirmation to other members that he is taken the drug asserts that is not an officer of the law allows them to further penetrate the organization. In many ways Queens sojourn undercover is predicated on a great deal of luck. He's helped by the fact that the president of the chapter Domingo is a recent release from prison and must undergo frequent drug tests. Domingo's abstinence allows Queen to avoid drugs, as he puts it simply following the example of his president. On another occasion the group plan to rape a group of female entertainers places clean another dilemma. He knows he will be unable to commit this crime. Fortunately for both Queen and the womendo not arrive. The maltreatment of women is a common theme that Queen sees time and time again. On one occasion he is enlisted to do sew up the brutally split lip of Evil's, another especially vicious biker's girlfriend. He does so successfully. Queen also offer some answers as to why the members choose to be involved in such a brutal lifestyle. Towards the end of his time he receives news that his mother has died. He is given a leave of absence and upon his return he is treated with great love and affection by his fellow bike members. He receives a kind of loyalty and appreciation that is lacking even among his own organization the ATF. He reveals how it this time he finds himself conflicted and almost seduced by the outlaw lifestyle. Towards the end of his 28 month stint Queens endurance was thoroughly tested. At this point in time he had lost touch with the outside world. He was also aware that the great number of criminal hacks as he put it, or prosecutions that were taking place for murder extortion gunrunning and drugs were not lost on the Mongol organization. Also he was aware that other organizations were becoming aware that the ATF had marked its territory in this particular investigation even though it was not revealed that he was working undercover. With this much attention Queen knew that it was only a matter of time before some information was leaked. Such a leak would inevitably lead to his death so he chose this time to end his time. The evidence the queen gathered led to the arrest of 54 members of the Mongols and greatly diminished their power. In this part of the book Queen is surprisingly defiant. One is left admiring his courage. He is paid a heavy toll for his work. During the process he lost his girl friend. He had to change his identity along with his ex-wife and child. The Mongols currently have a bounty on his head and he sleeps with a shotgun by his side all the time. Queen has said himself in recent interviews that the pricie paid has not been worth it. But today book his being made into a major Hollywood film and he does appear to take some relish recounting his experiences. He is a remarkable man and this is a remarkable book. Read More