The Associated Press
STURGIS, S.D. (AP) - Outlaw motorcycle gangs are smart, wealthy and operate like a corporation, said the Sturgis Police Department’s expert on motorcycle gangs.
“They have more money than any law enforcement agency,” said patrolman Bryan Rask. “They make some of their money by suing police departments for improper actions.”
The Bandidos claim the largest membership with about 2,500. But the most powerful biker gang, and the most well-known, is the Hells Angels, which has 2,200 members.
There are also several other groups such as the Outlaws, the Pagans and the Mongols.
Members of biker gangs consider themselves to be among the “1 percenters - they refuse to follow the rules of everyone else. That’s their mindset. They do what they want,” Rask said.
For example, the Mongols’ mascot is Genghis Kahn, the historic leader who conquered much of the known world.
Sturgis Police Chief Jim Bush said the gangs are “highly involved in criminal activity and syndicated crime. But we don’t have many problems here. Most say that’s because the gangs feel this is a neutral event. I don’t know if that is true, but it might be that’s what they decided.”
The Sturgis rally is usually free of gang violence because, while gangs take ownership of other events, the South Dakota rally is seen as belonging to everyone, Rask said.
“However, the Bandidos now claim it because they have a chapter in South Dakota,” he said.
Motorcycle gangs are also good at public relations, Rask said. But for every Toys For Tots ride biker gangs claim to sponsor, “I can show you (the same number of) homicide photos,” he said.
Bush and Rask say they are also starting to see younger gang members.
Biker gangs sometimes use “puppet clubs” to recruit members, Rask said.
“The members of the puppet clubs do a lot of the dirty work for the major gang, and then those members are recruited into the national organization,” Rask said.
The Mongols have recruited heavily from Latino street gangs, who aren’t even bikers, Rask said.
“They turn them into that,” he said.