Ruben "Doc" Cavazos, the former national president of the notorious Mongols motorcycle gang who they say helped orchestrate murders, extortion and robberies, had pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, which carried a maximum life sentence. The discovery showed that Cavazos had entered his plea six months earlier, and only three months after federal agents arrested him and dozens of other Mongols members, which meant he was one of the first to enter his guilty plea. Since then, finding out what has happened to him in court and what jail or prison he's in has been virtually impossible. It was only after repeated prodding by The Associated Press did U.S. District Judge Otis Wright, who sentenced Cavazos last Thursday, relay through federal prosecutors this week that he sent the biker to prison for 14 years. The AP made repeated attempts over the past couple months to determine when Cavazos was scheduled to be sentenced but was unsuccessful. Wright's Sept. 8 calendar mentioned two matters that were under seal and neither listed the defendant's name nor the case number. The hearing was closed to the public and it appears, according to the court docket, that the public and media weren't notified in advance. Nine of those charged with racketeering conspiracy had their plea agreements and sentencing records, including Cavazos, his son and his brother. While sealed plea agreements are the norm - often to protect those who have cooperated with authorities - keeping the sentence and the hearing confidential is highly unusual, several legal experts told AP. "I don't know of any authority that would allow the court to keep that information from being part of the public record," said Michael Brennan, a law professor at the University of Southern California. "What the guy was sentenced to doesn't involve issues of confidentiality. I think the public is entitled to a number." Email messages left for Wright's court clerk were forwarded to a court spokesman who didn't immediately respond to inquiries made by AP. U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins, the chief judge for the Central District of California, said it's not common practice to close a sentencing hearing but she would defer to Wright's determination. "What I think is that whatever a judge decides is necessary for the safety of the litigants in his or her courtroom," Collins said. "I know this case involved some dangerous people." Calls to Cavazos' deputy federal public defender, John Littrell, were not returned. Littrell requested the judge to seal documents regarding his client, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Brunwin. The reason for sealing was due to underlying issues that Brunwin couldn't talk about. Seventy-nine Mongols were charged in federal court with various crimes, ranging from conspiracy to weapons possession, in October 2008. Prosecutors said the gang was involved in murder, torture and drug trafficking, and funded itself in part by stealing credit card account information. Most notable was Cavazos, a former CAT scan technician at a Los Angeles hospital, who handed out the orders and brokered a deal with the Mexican Mafia over the collection of drug payments in areas controlled by that gang, according to a 177-page indictment. Many of those charged have pleaded guilty, but their agreements were sealed, including the one for Cavazos, who pleaded guilty in January 2009 to one count of racketeering conspiracy that carried a maximum life sentence. AP asked another federal judge to unseal the plea deals, but its motion was rejected seven months later because of safety concerns for the defendants and their families. Federal prosecutors initially sought to keep the agreements sealed. New York-based defense attorney Marc Mukasey, a former federal prosecutor who has handled drug cartel cases, said he's been involved in a couple of closed sentencing hearings in which the public was notified of when it would happen. However, he believes the public's right to know must be weighed against any security concerns a judge might have. "The court has a duty to impose punishment and to take into account the general deterrence it will have on other people who think about committing similar crimes," Mukasey said. "The world should know about that." A federal appellate court in May sided with media organizations arguing they are entitled to attend sentencing hearings. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a federal judge could not close the sentencing hearing of drug cartel kingpin Oziel Cardenas-Guillen without first giving news outlets and the public the opportunity to challenge that decision.

federal judge today refused to allow Hells Angels sergeant-at-arms Ricky W. Jenks out of jail so he can help with his girlfriend’s pregnancy. U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush ripped Jenks during the hearing, saying Jenks hadn’t “earned” much consideration from him. “His record is not one that generates a great deal of sympathy,” Quackenbush said of Jenks. “But here he is escaping another major, major multiyear sentence.” Jenks, 33, was arrested following a March 3 raid at the motorcycle gang’s clubhouse, 1308 E. Sprague Ave., and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Jenks previously pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in connection to the 2001 killing of a Spokane Valley man who was making methamphetamine. Federal prosecutors and defense attorney Tracy Collins have worked out a plea agreement that includes a joint-recommendation for two years in federal prison. Quackenbush earlier had questioned the deal, noting that Jenks faced substantially more time in prison if the case had gone to trial. Collins said Quackenbush has indicated he will honor the deal during sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 7. “We were hoping for the release for the stress it would relieve for Brittany’s pregnancy,” Collins said of Jenks’ girlfriend and mother of his 2-year-old child. Jenks also has a 5-year-old child with another woman. Jenks’ girlfriend and family members declined comment. Quackenbush said some judges might agree to the release if Jenks, himself, was seeking a medical procedure. “It’s not that I think Mr. Jenks is a risk of flight. To his credit, and he needs some credit, he is not one to flee,” the judge said. “But, he commits those crimes.” Shortly after his release on the manslaughter conviction, Jenks was indicted as part of a 2006 federal racketeering charge that led to the conviction of chapter president Richard “Smilin’ Rick” Fabel. As part of that case, Jenks later pleaded guilty to interference with commerce by threats or violence and was sentenced to 16 months in prison with credit for time served in jail awaiting trial. “With this record now, if he is again before a court on a felony or violation of release conditions, Mr. Ricky Jenks needs to be locked up for all or a substantial portion of his life just to protect society,” Quackenbush said. “It’s those children Mr. Jenks should think about when he has, and he will with his record and associates, the opportunity to violate the law.”

300 members of the motorcycle club Hell’s Angels are expected to descend on Oslo from all over Europe this weekend, to take part in the Oslo chapter’s 15th anniversary celebrations. Police are gearing up for the event but wouldn’t initially say whether they will deny Hell’s Angels members entry into Norway, as they did when another club party was held in Stavanger earlier this year. “We haven’t made a decision,” Einar Aas of the Oslo Police District told newspaper Aftenposten, but he added police were “considering” turning away those with long criminal records. The main celebrations will be held at the Oslo Hell’s Angels club house on Strømsveien on Saturday, but there will also be a meeting of Hell’s Angels Europe at the Helsfyr Hotel on Friday. Police intended to maintain a presence there as well.

Police have found the remains of three missing city men - including a key witness against a ranking member of the Berkshire County Hells Angels - buried at an undisclosed location. Three men, including Adam Lee Hall, the reputed sergeant at arms of the Hells Angels here, have been arrested and charged in connection to the triple homicide, said Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless at a press conference late Sunday afternoon. Hall, 34, of Peru; David Chalue, 44, of North Adams; and Caius Veiovis, 31 of Pittsfield were each charged three counts of murder, three counts of kidnapping and three counts of intimidation of a witness, said Capeless. The men will be arraigned Monday in Central Berkshire District Court. Capeless said that, of the men, Hall is the only known member of the Berkshire Hells Angels. Capeless declined to say when the bodies of David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell were found. Capeless said the men were found at a "burial site," which he said police are still processing. Over the past week, police had been searching Pittsfield State Forest for the three men. Capeless refused to say where the burial site was found and what conditions the bodies were in. Capeless did say police have obtained search warrants for five locations and two motor Advertisement vehicles connected to Hall, Chalue and Veiovis. "This is the end of the search for David Glasser, Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell, but it is also the beginning of our efforts to bring to justice those who are responsible for their deaths - for their families, their friends and for an entire community of law-abiding citizens," said Capeless. Glasser, Frampton and Chadwell disappeared from Glasser and Frampton's Linden street apartment on Aug. 28, the day Tropical Storm Irene hit Berkshire County. Glasser was a witness in a criminal case against Hall, who is facing numerous drug and gun charges. Hall was supposed to go to trial Sept. 19 in Berkshire Superior Court for allegedly beating Glasser with a baseball bat in 2009 and then trying to frame him for a robbery in upstate New York last year to discredit him as a witness. Earlier last week, that trial was postponed until November, due in part to Glasser's disappearance. Capeless said today that Glasser's death will not prevent him from pursuing the earlier cases against Hall. Capeless said he will push to combine Hall's pending cases with charges filed in connection to the triple homicide. Capeless added that police are still seeking information about the disappearance and murder of Glasser, Frampton and Chadwell.

West Vancouver man with ties to several criminal gangs vanished Sept. 5, only two days before he was due to be sentenced for a drug trafficking conviction. Police say Omid Bayani, 36, appeared to be headed to one of the North Shore gyms he frequented when he left his home that afternoon, but hasn't been seen since. A senior figure in the UN Gang, Bayani arranged to sell 600 litres of the date rape drug GHB to a Hells Angels chapter in Toronto in 2007. But the operation was infiltrated by the Ontario Provincial Police and Bayani was convicted of trafficking. The Crown was asking for a sentence of eight to nine years in prison, and Bayani was supposed to be in court to learn his fate Sept. 7. Bayani was convicted of a series of armed robberies in Alberta in the 1990s and has also faced a variety of drugs, weapons and assault charges in B.C. over the past decade. According to the West Vancouver police, Bayani is Middle Eastern, six feet tall and weighs 240 pounds. He has short, black hair, brown eyes and a goatee, but no moustache. He was last seen wearing a grey-and-white Under Armour shirt, blue Under Armour shorts and running shoes

Investigators are deciding what charges to bring against Hannover’s Hells Angels boss, after his two German Shepherds brutally attacked a number of people.

The former national leader of the Mongols motorcycle gang has been sentenced in a case that accused members of murder, drug trafficking and violent attacks. Ruben Cavazos pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy in January 2009. The results from his sentencing hearing held Thursday were sealed, according to an online docket. Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office declined comment Friday. A message left for deputy federal public defender John Littrell was not immediately returned. Prosecutors say Cavazos ordered members to engage in murders, extortion and drug trafficking. They say he was responsible for brokering a deal with the Mexican Mafia over the collection of drug payments in areas controlled by that gang. Most of the 79 members indicted have pleaded guilty to a variety of charges.

Motorcycle gangs, who are considered by Finnish police to constitute organised crime groups, have significantly expanded their operations in the past decade.       The gangs have spread so extensively throughout Finland that police fear that violent conflict might break out among them.       Motorcycle gangs have set up clubhouses especially in the Helsinki region and in the south of Finland, but activities have branched out to other parts of the country as well.       “Organised crime groups use the same methods as players in normal business. If there is a market somewhere, a section is set up there to secure their operations”, says Jussi Oksanen of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).       Police say that the three most infamous organisations, the Hell’s Angels, the Bandidos, and Cannonball have more than 40 subsections around Finland.       Police calculate that there are a total of 80 organised crime groups in Finland, including the subsections.       However, most of the groups using different names are not motorcycle gangs. There are nearly 1,200 members in the various groups. The newest, called the United Brotherhood, was formed out of three others, and has more than 50 members.       In recent years the gangs have avoided clashes, lest their main criminal activities suffer. Most recently Finland experienced a bloody gang war in the 1990s.       “There have been various clashes suggesting a resurgence of tension. In Germany and Denmark, the Hell’s Angels and the Bandidos have been on war footing. These are international criminal organisations, so the trend in other countries is reflected here as well.”       Leaders of the Finnish section of the Hell’s Angels are currently under suspicion in an extensive drug smuggling and dealing case.       This does not come as a surprise to Jussi Oksanen, who says that police have been collecting surveillance material on the organisation’s activities for a long time.       “The Helsinki drug police, along with the West Uusimaa Police can now demonstrate that the members themselves are involved in criminal activities”, Oksanen says.       According to Oksanen, actual members of the motorcycle gangs have previously been careful not to get their hands dirty.       “They have let the others do the jobs where there is a risk of getting caught.”       Police say that surveillance activities have revealed that the Hell’s Angels have used smaller gangs as partners. Traditionally the gang has been very careful of its image, and has avoided committing crimes that could bring bad publicity.       Police say that the Hell’s Angels differ from the Bandidos, and the purely Finnish Cannonball in that it has not set up many new subsections, nor has it taken actual supporter gangs into its organisations.       For instance, Bandidos has several subsections on various levels, which are seen as stepping stones by members who want to advance within the organisation.       The Hell’s Angels have had about a third of the number of members as the Bandidos, which has undergone considerable expansion recently.       “However, now for the first time a new group, the 1% Bad Machine 81 Finland has entered the Hell’s Angels’ official organisation. Why the group made the move right now remains unclear”, Oksanen says.       He notes that one possibility is that the Hell’s Angels are flexing their muscles for possible clashes to come.

The drugs squad of the Helsinki Police and the West Uusimaa Police have uncovered an exceptionally large drug smuggling and growing operation, in which the main suspects are members of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club.       Police managed to confiscate several kilos of amphetamine and cocaine as well as a number of unlicensed weapons and about EUR 200,000 in cash. Police also found the biggest cannabis growing operation ever discovered in Finland.       Detective inspector Jari Pynnönen describes the case as one of the biggest in Finnish history. What makes it exceptional is that the police were able to trace the drug trafficking organisation to the very highest levels.       “Six members of the Hell’s Angels organisation have been detained or arrested during the investigation. Included are people from the top leadership of the organisation all the way to the presidential level”, Pynnönen says.       A total of 10 people have been held in connection with the case. The investigation began already in the late summer of 2009.       Pynnönen says that the smuggling, transport, and growing of illegal drugs has continued for years. Millions of euros are believed to have been involved in the business. The street value of the drugs that were confiscated was estimated at EUR 800,000.       The drugs have been smuggled from Central Europe in hiding places built in various vehicles. Smuggling has been done largely by couriers hired abroad, who have not had significant criminal records, or any direct connection with the Hell’s Angels.       The drugs were brought to Helsinki, from where they were distributed throughout the greater Helsinki region, and possibly to other parts of Southern Finland. Pynnönen says that helping in the distribution have been a supporter club with close ties to the Hell’s Angels, as well as so-called “hangaround members”.       Pyynönen sees the bust as a major blow to the illegal drug business in Finland for a while, but he also expects the gap to be filled up as new players enter the field.       “In this respect it is important that plenty of cash and many illegal weapons were confiscated. This always slows the reorganisation of the activities.”

West Vancouver man linked to the United Nations gang disappeared earlier this week - two days before he was to be sentenced in a drug trafficking case in Ontario. Omid Bayani, 36, was last seen Monday afternoon en route to the gym, West Vancouver police Det. Tom Wolff von Gudenberg said Thursday. His worried family reported him missing a day later, saying it was out of character for Bayani not to return home or call anyone. Police are investigating whether Bayani's gangland history has somehow caught up with him, or whether he took off to avoid his sentencing. The Crown was seeking a jail term of between eight and nine years. Bayani was arrested in 2007 along with Hells Angels in B.C. and Ontario after a massive Ontario Provincial Police undercover operation targeting the biker gang. Despite being a ranking UN gang member at the time, Bayani had worked with the rival Angels in a conspiracy to traffic 600 litres of GHB - the date rape drug. This past July, prosecutors stayed a charge of belonging to a criminal organization against Bayani and his co-accused. But Bayani was convicted on the drug charges. Wolff von Gudenberg said Bayani, who is six feet tall and weighs 240 pounds, was last seen wearing a white or grey Under Armour shirt, blue Under Armour shorts, running shoes and ankle socks. Bayani worked out at two different North Shore community centres, he said. "We don't have any confirmation that he got to the gym," Wolff von Gudenberg said. Despite his criminal history, Bayani had not been on the radar of West Vancouver Police in recent months. "It is impossible to speculate because we don't know anything about his real connections locally," Wolff von Gudenberg said. "He has been totally off our radar." He said other Lower Mainland law enforcement agencies, including the Gang Task Force, have been contacted. "Everybody's been notified just because of that history. Who knows if somebody has a source out there who knows something? He could be missing. He could have taken off," Wolff von Gudenberg said. Port Moody police Insp. Andy Richards led the B.C. component of the Ontario investigation when he was with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. Richards said Thursday that he hasn't heard anything about Bayani since the 2007 arrest. "He was a player. He was a big player at one time," Richards said. And he said Bayani had gang connections far beyond the UN, as indicated by his involvement with the Hells Angels. News of Bayani's disappearance comes just a day after the head of the Gang Task Force, Supt. Tom McCluskie, said the police fear retaliation for the Aug. 14 murder of Red Scorpion Jonathan Bacon and wounding of Hells Angel Larry Amero and Independent Soldier James Riach. Another West Vancouver man with gang links, Vahid Mahanian, vanished under similar circumstances June 27 and was found dead on Cypress Mountain two weeks later. Bayani came to Canada as a refugee, but was ordered deported in 1999 after a series of armed robberies in Calgary. He filed a series of unsuccessful challenges against the deportation, but was never removed from Canada.

A man was left nursing stab wounds to the neck after a mass brawl involving some 20 men belonging to rival biker gangs in central Stockholm on Tuesday.Another man is also reported to have required treatment after the brawl on the open street outside a bar on Södermalm in central Stockholm. According to witness reports some 15 members of the Red and White Crew, a supporter club of the Hells Angels, stormed the El Cocodrilo restaurant on Ringvägen. Armed with knives, tear gas and firearms the group attacked a rival gang, reported by the police to be either Outlaws or Bandidos. "I heard screaming and shouting, then I saw a mob run in and out from the restaurant. Then they came out carrying a half-naked guy, who fell to the ground and who they continued to assault," an eye witness told the TT news agency. The witness watched as the man was beaten bloody outside the restaurant before the police managed to break up the fight. There are reports of shots being fired inside the restaurant, but these are denied by the police. "They waved a weapon, but no one has been shot," said Stefan Nordemark at Stockholm police. The police detained a person during the night, with a second man subject to a warrant for his arrest. "We have conducted a number of raids, including a club premises. We are working on the case and it feels as if we have a good situation."

Judge Bruce Young dismissed criminal charges Friday of intimidating a witness and street terrorism against Ethan Akins of Ventura, who was arrested in April last year. Akins, who is a former member of the Ventura chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, was initially arrested for domestic violence, said one of his attorneys, Robert Sheahen. Sheahen said Akins lost his job and spent a week in jail as a result of the arrest. Akins' lead attorney Kelly Sheahen Gerner of Los Angeles said in a news release that she was pleased the district attorney acted "honorably and fairly" in this case

member of the Hells Angels is being held on $1 million cash bail on charges of child pornography and extortion, while the search continues for a key witness scheduled to testify against him in a separate upcoming criminal trial and two others. Adam Lee Hall, shackled and wearing the motorcycle club's T-shirt, arrived at the Berkshire County courthouse complex Tuesday morning under an unusually heavy police presence. Meanwhile, authorities continued Tuesday to investigate the disappearance of David R. Glasser, 44; Edward S. Frampton, 58; and Robert T. Chadwell, 47. They have been missing from the apartment Glasser and Frampton shared at 254 Linden St. since Aug. 28, the day Tropical Storm Irene hit. Glasser is a witness in a criminal case against Hall and is also the victim of a scheme aimed at derailing him from testifying against Hall, according to authorities. On Monday, District Attorney David F. Capeless said the three men, now missing for more than a week, may have been the victims of foul play. Capeless is not commenting on any connections between Hall and the men's disappearances. Authorities searched for the men in Pittsfield State Forest on Sunday and Monday, then concentrated their efforts Tuesday in the neighborhood from which they went missing. There was no sign of a struggle at the residence where the three men were last seen on Aug. 27. While authorities have declined to Advertisement comment on whether Hall is considered a suspect in the three men's disappearances, Hall's attorney, William M. Rota, told The Associated Press on Tuesday, "I would not be surprised with the authorities to suspect [Hall's involvement], but I have no reason to suspect that it's true." Rota said that as far as he knows his client hadn't been questioned by police in the matter of the men's disappearance. Hall, who has been out on $250,000 bail for his other cases, was picked up on Sunday on new charges -- extortion and two counts each of possessing child pornography, dissemination of child pornography and solicitation of child pornography. Police and prosecutors allege Hall coerced a 16-year-old girl to send him lewd photographs of herself or else she wouldn't see her friend again. In court on Tuesday, Hall pleaded not guilty to those charges. Rota told the judge the charges were "a bit of a stretch." Nevertheless, Central Berkshire District Court Judge Rita Koenigs agreed with Berkshire Assistant District Attorney Gregory Barry's bail request -- that Hall be held on $1 million cash or $10 million bond. Barry cited Hall's five cases pending in superior court and his alleged history of witness intimidation. Barry also won his request to have Hall's $250,000 bail in his other pending criminal cases revoked. Hall is being held at the Berkshire County Jail & House of Correction and has an Oct. 3 court hearing. Hall can be held for 60 days without the right to bail on the revocation. "They threw the book at him," Rota later told The Eagle. The 34-year-old Hall, a resident of the town of Peru, is scheduled to go to trial in Berkshire Superior Court on Sept. 19 on charges that include kidnapping, assault and battery with a baseball bat, and witness intimidation. In 2009, Hall allegedly beat Glasser with a baseball bat, believing he had stolen a car part from him, and forced him to turn over his truck as payment. Authorities also allege Hall tried to frame Glasser by pinning him to a phony robbery in order to prevent him from testifying against him in one of his criminal cases. The brother of missing man Robert T. Chadwell told The Eagle on Monday that Robert hung out with Glasser and Frampton. Les Chadwell said he was aware of Glasser's "tangle" with the Hells Angels, but that his brother and Frampton were not involved. Les Chadwell said he feared the worst and that his brother was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Joshua Leo Johnson, vice-president of the Sonoma County Hells Angels, surrendered to Lake County authorities in connection with the beating of a rival gang member and a companion at Konocti Vista Casino in June, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. Johnson, 35, an iron worker, remains in jail pending a hearing on his $500,000 bail, officials said Tuesday. Two other Hells Angels — Nicolas Felipe Carillo, 32, and Timothy Robert Bianchi, 33 — were arrested during a warrant sweep in Santa Rosa and Petaluma last week, authorities said. A fourth suspect, David Dabbs 32, remains at large. Dabbs also is being sought on a San Diego no-bail warrant for alleging kidnap and torture, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. The suspects are charged in the vicious beating of Michael Burns, 39, a rival motorcycle gang member, and Kristopher Perkin, 48, during a tattoo convention at the casino. Perkin was not seriously injured.

key witness in a case against a Hell's Angels member accused on drug and gun charges is missing along with two other men, raising the suspicions of relatives and authorities in a western Massachusetts town. Police say 44-year-old David Glasser, 58-year-old Edward Frampton and 47-year-old Robert Chadwell, haven't made any banking or credit card transactions and haven't been in contact with family members since they vanished more than a week ago. The men shared an apartment in Pittsfield. "Three people, all in the same house, missing — yeah, something happened, something tragic," Les Chadwell, brother of Robert Chadwell, told The Berkshire Eagle newspaper. "We'll never hear from them again, and you can quote me on that." Glasser was expected to testify this month in the robbery, assault and kidnapping trial of Adam Lee Hall, the reputed sergeant at arms of the Berkshire County chapter of the Hells Angels. Hall has pleaded not guilty in Berkshire Superior Court to a host of charges including kidnapping, assault, witness intimidation, extortion, cocaine distribution and weapons crimes. He had been free on bail but was arrested Sunday on extortion and child pornography charges alleging he got someone to text him inappropriate photos of a 16-year-old girl. Hall was arraigned on the new charges Tuesday in the Berkshire court. A judge ordered him held on $1 million bail, and his case resumes Oct. 3. He still is scheduled to go on trial on the other charges Sept. 19. Authorities said the criminal cases against Hall stems from a dispute he had with Glasser. They said Hall believed Glasser stole an automobile part from him in 2009, so he retaliated by threatening Glasser, beating him with a baseball bat and forcing Glasser to turn over his car to him. Hall later tried to frame Glasser, hoping it would stop Glasser from testifying against him about those allegations, authorities said. They said Hall got a woman he knows to falsely accuse Glasser of robbing her at gunpoint. Glasser was cleared of any wrongdoing. William Rota, Hall's attorney, said his client denies all the allegations and looks forward to his trial. He said he doesn't know what to make of Glasser and his two roommates all missing at the same time. "I would not be surprised with the authorities to suspect (Hall's involvement), but I have no reason to suspect that it's true," he said. Pittsfield police Capt. Patrick Barry said the men have been missing since the night of Aug. 27 or early the following morning — the weekend that Tropical Storm Irene hit New England. They were last seen at their apartment, he said. Barry and Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless would not comment on any possible ties between Hall and the disappearance of the men, but they said they can't rule out foul play. "It's now well past a week, and other information we have indicates that this was not just a matter of them leaving for parts unknown," Capeless told The Associated Press on Tuesday. He declined to elaborate.

erstwhile associate kinesiology professor at California State University at San Bernardino remains on the lam after police raided his home last week and found a pound of methamphetamine and a cache of guns. Police are charging that Stephen Kinzey, who had been on the San Bernardino faculty for a decade, was leading a double life: teaching and researching by day; directing the local chapter of an outlaw biker gang, and its drug business, by night. Not long after the manhunt began, Albert Karnig, the university’s president, emphasized that no one on the Southern California campus saw this coming: “To our knowledge, this is the first notice that anyone on our campus has had regarding this situation,” Karnig said. “…If the allegations are indeed true, this is beyond disappointing.” newspaper accounts described neighbors, students, and even Kinzey's father as having little or no sense of the professor's alleged outside activities. The Contra Costa Times quoted Kinzey's father as saying that he knew that his son belonged to a motorcycle gang and was not "thrilled" about it (the father taught him to ride). But Hank Kinzey also described his son as "a good Catholic boy" and a Republican, and added: "Everybody's always in denial when it's something to do with their family, but this is really surreal," he said. How could a full-time college professor run a drug ring on the sly without tipping his hand? Tom Barker, a professor of criminal justice at Eastern Kentucky University and leading scholar on outlaw biker gangs, says it is not hard to imagine. “It’s not uncommon for leaders or members of motorcycle gangs to hold down seemingly legitimate lives,” says Barker, even if part of their responsibility is to oversee an illegal drug business. “A college professor could easily pull it off.” Barker says he knows of at least two other college professors who are members of outlaw biker gangs, though he would not disclose their names because he says it could cost him his life. If Kinzey is the kingpin that police suspect he is, “he’s not actually that much involved in actual delivery of drugs,” says Barker. “He’s probably setting up the networks, and he can do that in the way he’s away from the classroom very easily.” In such crime organizations, most of the number-crunching falls to the secretary-treasurer, Barker says. The actual distribution falls to the members and their associates, the enforcer handles the dirty work, and the president’s leadership duties can be delegated to the vice president when necessary. While the chapter head is like the CEO of a small company, the illegal nature of the business means “there’s not a lot of paperwork,” says Barker. Barker says he is familiar with the Devil’s Diciples [sic], the gang Kinzey is alleged to have been running. And while he does not know specific details about the San Bernardino chapter, he says that the president of that chapter would have been in charge of anywhere between seven and 25 full-fledged gang members and a broad network of associates and business partners. He guessed the president of the chapter would personally pull in about a million dollars per year. As an associate kinesiology professor at San Bernardino, Kinzey was probably making around $70,000, according to the annual data produced by the American Association of University Professors. So if Kinzey was indeed the head of a lucrative drug ring, why continue to teach? Barker says that it may have been a fallback in case the kinesiology professor ever wanted to get out of organized crime. Heading the Devil’s Diciples might pay well, but it lacks the stability and retirement benefits of a state teaching job, Barker says. Another theory, he adds, is that Kinzey just loved to teach. Terry Rizzo, the chair of the kinesiology department at San Bernardino, did not respond to multiple requests for an interview; neither did Kinzey’s other colleagues. But student reviews on RateMyProfessors.com suggest that Kinzey had been popular among many students and passionate about his work. “Dr. Steve Kinsey is an amazing [professor], who helps his students in every situation, including in their greatest need,” wrote one student in 2007. “He is a good friend of mine and we continue to get together on a quarterly basis to catch up on life. Thank god for him, because I wouldn't be a graduate without him!!!!!” “He's so awesome!” wrote another, later that same year. “He has a passion for everything he does and it shows in his desire for students to succeed and understand.” More recent reviews paint a less flattering portrait, however. Kinzey “seems like he does not care anymore,” reported one reviewer in 2008. “im sure he is good at what he does he just isnt clear at all. talks all class and does not get anything done. kinda unorganized, but nice enough.” In 2010, a student wrote: “the professor sucks, he comes in late and doesn't care, if he try's to help you he'll end up rambling about himself.” And the last review before Kinzey became a fugitive, written last May, depicts a perpetually distracted instructor: “He's a really good guy and would give you the shirt off his back,” the reviewer wrote. “But something serious must have happened to him because he shows up late, and rambles on about random and controversial topics. He lost his focus & passion for teaching. His behavior lately makes it seem like he wants to get fired.” “Sad,” the student added, “because I really enjoyed all of his classes.”

longtime leader of the Hells Angels' Ventura County chapter charged in connection with the firebombing of two tattoo parlors has been granted bail. The Ventura County Star ( http://bit.ly/pPC00U) says a judge Friday ordered 64-year-old George Christie Jr. detained at home with an electronic monitoring bracelet. It was unclear early Saturday whether Christie had posted the $200,000 bail. Christie was arrested three weeks ago after being named in a six-count indictment that charges him and four others with conspiracy, extortion and arson. The indictment alleges that Christie, who owns a tattoo shop in Ventura, ordered Hells Angels members to threaten his competitors in an attempt to shut down their businesses. He has pleaded not guilty.

Dutch police leads the convoy as members of the Dutch divisions of motorcycle clubs Hells Angels and Satudarah gather to demonstrate in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 04 September 2011.