Feds crack down on Bandido Motorcycle Gang after 6-year investigation
Houston RICO charges: 'Bandidos' gang members arrested for alleged crimes
Officials say the Bandidos biker gang has been committing crimes against rival gang members in order to drive them out of Houston.
HOUSTON - "Violent, brazen and vicious" - all words used by Federal agents to describe the Bandidos, a motorcycle gang which has waged war on rivals challenging their so-called "monopoly" in the Greater Houston area.
What we know:
U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei says the 22-count felony racketeering indictment announced Wednesday caps a six-year investigation into crimes including arson, assault, robbery and murder, all allegedly perpetrated by members of the Bandidos in an ongoing "turf war" to maintain dominance over a gang known as "The Beast".
Ganjei says the violence was often indiscriminate, threatening the safety of the public.
Get news, weather and so much more on the new FOX LOCAL app
What they're saying:
"The Bandidos sought to exert a monopoly on motorcycle clubs and gangs in the Houston area which could only operate with their blessing and their permission. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the criminal conduct alleged in this case was how open and brazen it was. The alleged assaults and shootings took place in public spaces in bars, in restaurants, motorcycle dealership, and on our public roads," said Ganjei.
FULL: 14 Bandidos motorcycle gang members indicted in Houston area
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced a 22-count indictment following an operation targeting multiple members of an allegedly violent, transnational motorcycle gang, the Bandidos, in the Houston metropolitan area.
Dig deeper:
Over the past five years, FOX 26 has reported multiple acts of violence involving the Bandidos and their rivals including ambush-style attacks and multiple fatalities.
FBI Special-Agent-in-Charge Douglas Williams told reporters the Bandidos were operating under a standing order the group's national leadership to attack rival "Beast" members on sight.
"Make no mistake, members of this chapter are not the glamorized characters you have seen in TV shows and in the movies. These are vicious, violent men who regularly put innocent people in life-threatening situations to further a senseless turf war," said Williams.
Among those arrested and charged was the President of the "Welcome to Hell" chapter based in Katy.
Ganjei says, if convicted, many of the ten defendants charged face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The Source: FOX 26 Reporter Greg Groogan has more on the crackdown after speaking with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office.