02x04 - The Outlaws Biker Bust

[bunniefuu]

- The Outlaw motorcycle g*ng
is one of the top

motorcycle gangs
in the country.

We had an issue
with a chapter down

in Taunton, Massachusetts,
south of Boston.

We knew that they were involved

in drug trafficking
and violent crime.

- Our marching orders
in Boston was basically

take care of the problem.

The biggest danger
is the unknown.

- They take him downstairs,
and they strip-search him.

- Oh, sh*t.

- The worst thing
that can happen

is you lose your life,
obviously.

- In the FBI, we make
a lot of headlines.

Drug busts,

mob stings,

t*rror1st takedowns.

- Get down! Get down!

- We understand why people
want to tell stories about us.

- Mark it.

- Freeze!
- FBI.

- FBI!
- Action!

- But they don't know
the half of it.

What really goes down,

we save that for each other

when we're talking
agent to agent.

This is "FBI True."

- Cindy Coppola is a 23-year
veteran of the FBI.

She worked on cases
that included

organized crime and terrorism

and took part in multinational
investigations

into drug trafficking
and money laundering.

Coppola finished her career
with the Los Angeles division

running two offices,
supervising investigations,

and providing undercover
security for special events.

- People don't know
that the FBI even gets involved

with the Outlaw
motorcycle g*ng.

Like, we had some stuff
down here in New York

with the motorcycle gangs,
that we did a big roundup.

The average person
doesn't realize

what goes behind the scenes.

- The entire United States
for many, many years have had

and continue to have a criminal
problem with motorcycle gangs.

- Mike McGowan participated

in over 50
undercover operations.

He was
the Undercover Coordinator

at the FBI's Boston office.

McGowan helped
infiltrate the mafia,

drug cartels, and biker gangs.

- The Hell's Angels and another
group called the Outlaws,

they're basically one and two
in the pecking order.

They have chapters
all over the country.

- They're violent
in theory, right?

- Not in theory, in reality.

- Warring biker gangs
in Waco, Texas, clash.

Nine people were k*lled

in a frightening
broad daylight sh**t-out.

- They're involved
in every imaginable type

of criminal activity.
You name it, they do it.

- US attorney Joe Hogsett
compared the g*ng

to a business
with an aggressive agenda.

- Their activities have ranged
from money laundering

to use and threatened use
of violence,

extortion, drug distribution,
firearms violations.

- They enjoy challenging
law enforcement.

We'll leave it at that.

- Up in Boston,
we had an issue with a chapter

down in Taunton,
Massachusetts,

which is about 30 miles south
of the city.

It's a small, blue-collar town.

The Outlaw chapter
in Massachusetts had become

an increasingly annoying group
to the community.

We knew that they were involved

in drug trafficking
and violent crime,

so our marching orders
in Boston was basically,

take a look at this group
and take care of the problem.

So early 2005, we started
a undercover operation

to see if we could actually
get an agent inside.

- So you're
the Undercover Coordinator

at this time?
- Correct.

Motorcycle gangs, they're
difficult cases to work

because they're very insular.

Most of these chapters have

what's called a clubhouse
or a church.

In addition, they tend
to congregate in local bars.

They do things in a way

that deters
people infiltrating them.

So they're a tough group
to crack.

We wanted to insert
an undercover agent

into the group, if possible.

The reality is we have
to get them to trust us first.

- So what'd you guys do, like,
a cold bump so we could start

getting an undercover in?
- Correct.

We decided to basically
roll somebody in

and see if they could
connect with them.

It was a new undercover agent,
very inexperienced,

who was from another part
of the country,

but who had
an interest in doing

motorcycle
undercover operations.

He knows how to ride.

- Right.
- He could talk the talk.

We set up a storyline
that basically he came

into the Massachusetts area
once, twice a month

because that's where
his business took him.

And eventually he was able
to get into the clubs

so that he's visual,
he's there.

He's throwing
some money around.

People are like,
hmm, who's this guy?

- Cultivating people,
get to know them.

- You know, he just
established a presence.

He's going in there for months.

Again, we don't walk in there
the first day and say,

"Sell me some cocaine."

We'd get there,
but these things take time.

Once the UC had spent about
six months around the group,

we could start investigating
their criminal activities.

The first step was offering
to buy stolen cars from them.

You got to do something
with these guys to show them,

you know,
you color outside the lines.

The reason we authorized

the young undercover
to go forward is,

we knew that we would
connect him to Gonzo.

- Anibal "Gonzo" Gonzalez
is an Army veteran

turned undercover operative.

He helped bring down
drug traffickers

and international cartels.

He was also a driver
in the FBI's

undercover trucking unit.

- At that time, the FBI had
a trucking operation.

We had a full-time fleet,
three or four agents

working
in an undercover capacity,

supporting cases
throughout the country.

You'd be surprised
how many cases

can use a tow truck, a flatbed.

- Yep.
I remember.

- So I end up one day coming by

and meeting up
with the primary undercover.

The story was
that we would take

the stolen cars to Mexico,

where they would get sold.

We follow a couple
of the Outlaws

to a location
where they had two motorcycles.

- Motorcycles, yep.
- And I had special ramps

to load them into the truck,

and I tied them down
and took them away.

He thinks it's going to Mexico.

- But in reality,
where are you taking them?

- The minute I load
the bikes or the cars,

I get on the road,
make sure we have no tail,

and all I do is go
around Boston

and go to an undercover
warehouse.

And that's where we would
store the motorcycles,

the cars, as evidence.

So we would
space these things out,

maybe every seven
or eight weeks.

- The objective wasn't to get
the Outlaws for car theft.

Instead it was about
building rapport.

They get curious.

That generates conversation.

- Sure.
- That's the whole point.

They start wondering,
what's this guy into?

You know, he's around
the Mexican border.

Surprise, surprise,
you know, drugs come...

- Yeah, of course.
- Across the Mexican border.

You just let them create
their storyline.

- Let them think it up
on their own.

- We understood that they were
starting to trust us.

We wanted to get
to the next level,

which with them was
the violent activity

and the drug trafficking.

At that point, we offered
to hire them as protection

for one of our drug deals.

- The storyline we used was,

we get the drugs
across from Mexico,

but we can't get them
up to Canada.

We need a location here
that we can secure

to transfer the drugs from
our trucks to their trucks.

- So the Outlaws are going
to be the protection.

- Right.
- They're gonna be the heavy.

- It's offered.

You know, is this something--
can you guys do this?

- Okay.
- The reality is,

it's a risk-reward analysis
on their part.

You know, do I jump in
with these guys

I don't know that well?

- The night before the deal,

they have a meeting at their
chapter house, the church.

And there's arguments
going back and forth

as to who wants to do it,
who's going to partake.

Some of them were saying,
I'm doing it.

I want money.

And then there were some
that were saying,

I don't want any part of it.

- They didn't want
to get caught.

- There was some debate
among them whether--

is this a setup?

They end up calling
in the undercover,

and they take him downstairs
into the basement.

- Oh, sh*t.

- And they strip-search him.

- And he's wired.

- He's wired.

- The worst feeling
you can have as an undercover--

there's two things.

If you hear
the racking of a shotgun.

- Yeah.
- That's bad.

And getting searched,

even a small pat down
is not comfortable.

You have a recording device
somewhere on your person

or your body, and--

- It could be found.

- It usually is found.

- So the UC's
down in the basement.

- They strip-search him.

They check the pockets,
the shoes, the jackets.

- You know,
in training we teach people,

you have to anticipate

that this is probably
going to happen.

You know, we don't go
into this with eyes shut.

You can be searched any time.

- They searched,

and they did not find a wire.

That's how good
the electronics section is.

- Lucky for him, too.

He could've been whacked.
- Yes.

- The worst thing
that can happen

is you lose your life,
obviously.

- Yeah.
- Another bad thing

is you lose the case.

We don't want to work a year

and then have
a case go up in flames.

- So what's going
through your mind?

Are you like, sh*t,
are we going to do this?

- We had been working towards

the protection detail
for months.

We wanted to go forward
with it, if it was safe.

Because the front office
was on high alert

about the first undercover,

Gonzo immediately stepped up
into the primary role.

We knew that he needed
to have somebody else with him.

It was natural for me
to step in at that point.

- So you get inserted.

What was your UC name?

- Mike Poncho.

- Why Poncho?
- He gave me that name.

- So he comes out with this--
the Mexican hat.

And that's when I said,
you are my Poncho.

You're my helper.

- The last thing the Outlaws
are going to think,

are these two guys FBI agents?

- We designed the deal,
the transaction,

like an actual
drug transaction.

- The story we gave
to the Outlaws

had to be rock-solid.

The goal here was
to show these guys

that we were the real deal,

that if they wanted
to buy drugs in the future,

they'd come to us.

- So we bring in the trucks
with the drugs.

- To, like, a prearranged
parking lot?

- A Holiday Inn in Brockton.

- The Outlaws end up
doing the protection.

- They had six or seven
in different positions around.

And then we had requested
two of them help us.

One of them was
the chapter president.

- Well, that's good.
So then they see it.

- Right.
Well, that was the idea.

- Yeah.

- The Colombian
undercover agent jumps in.

I tell him, there's 40 kilos
in those four boxes.

- Sure.
- And he says,

"I want to count it."

And this is built
into the scenario.

We lay it out, and then I say,

"Hey, there it is.
Count it."

So these guys,
their eyes are, like,

this big.
- The Outlaws.

- Yeah.
Guy just could not shut up.

- That's all real cocaine
and real marijuana.

- He's never seen this size,
40 of them.

So we put back in the boxes,
retape it,

load everything
into the other truck,

and we take off.

- So this deal goes great.

You make the payments
to the Outlaws.

They think it's, like,
a clean break.

- The chapter president,
we later found out,

went back to the clubhouse
that night and commented on,

"These Mexico kilos
are the real thing."

- They were trusting us.

We felt confident we were
moving up the chain.

- And then,
if I remember correctly,

didn't somebody come
out of jail that was,

like, a head Outlaw guy
at this point?

- Yes.
That was Timothy Silvia.

He was the former president
of that same chapter.

- He was a very,
very violent guy.

His criminal record was
over 100 pages long.

- Eventually, he hears
that there are these guys.

You know,
they do move marijuana.

They do move cocaine.

- We got a call
one day from him

saying he wanted
to move some stolen cars.

- We set up a pickup.

And that's when
Mike and I basically

take over the investigation.

- You know, Silvia's
a very egotistical man.

In conversations, he told us
he had beat someone to death

in a bar fight,
that he had beaten

two witnesses against him
with a baseball bat,

and he had shot somebody else.

- He was not...
- A nice guy.

- A pleasant gentleman,

and just a very, very violent--

I was surprised
that he had been released

from jail actually, so.

- We secure the vehicles.

We are just about to leave.

Now remember,
this is our first meeting

with this guy,
the former president,

you know,
just got out of prison.

We have no plans of anything.

And just as we were
about to walk away,

he says, so what else do
you guys do with those trucks?

We looked
at each other like, ooh.

- He asked.

- We knew right then.

I mean, instant.

- You know, what do you want?

You want the green stuff,
the white stuff?

We do everything.

- We had a 10-kilo deal.
It was for 180 grand.

He just, like, opens the door,
and we smashed it down.

- I mean, the guy just got out,

and he's ready
to go back in the game.

- The US Attorney's office,

they wanted us to make a case
against Silvia.

He was a big subject,
the former president,

because of the violence.

So we set up this final deal.

- Because Silvia can't
come up with the money,

he offers to give me $50,000,

a Hummer, and an almost
brand-new Harley-Davidson.

- This guy's, like, you know,

do I jump in with these guys
I don't know that well?

There was a need
to get together with him

to kind of finalize the deal.

This is the first time
that I was with him alone.

He jumps in my car.

- We set the stage
for everything,

and I accuse him
of being a cop.

- Why, though?

- Because he's gonna probably

accuse me of being a cop.

- We finally calm down,
and I basically said to him,

I said, you know,
"You sure you want to do this?

Because if we get caught,
it's over, we're done."

- He said,
"No, no. I want to do this.

"I'm not getting caught.

I'm not going back inside."

- He literally says
on the tape,

"I'm going out
in a blaze of glory.

I'm going to sh**t it out
with them."

- So if he got caught,
he's going to be,

die by cop, you know, like--

- This is something
that I make sure

I'm going to tell
the SWAT team.

I mean, we're not playing
with kids here.

- How many people
are at the takedown?

- There was at least 50,
maybe a little bit more.

This was a big arrest.

We brought the whole
office, basically.

- Tell me what
the scene looks like.

- It's the same place
where we did

the original drug transfer.

- The Holiday Inn.
- Exactly.

- The plan was to receive
payment from Silvia,

then bring in the truck
with the drugs.

Silvia had a bad leg,

so we would get him
into the truck

and take down the lift.

Then we would send
the arrest signal to SWAT.

Boston FBI SWAT team,
they're incredible.

They've protected me
for 20 years.

But anything could happen
on any day.

Something's going to go wrong.
- Sure.

- So we set it up in a way
we think is the safest.

- We set up the deal.
Almost at the last minute,

we tell them where
we're going to do it.

So we open the hood
like we have a car problem.

And then Silvia pulls in
with the Hummer,

towing a trailer
with the motorcycle.

So he comes in,
you know, makes small talk.

I remember him saying,

"Next time, let me know.

I have a better place
where we can do this."

Not only is he comfortable,

but now he's thinking
we're going to--

- We want to do it again.

- And he hands $30,000
in a bundle to Mike.

- But I thought he said
he was giving you guys 50.

- That's when he says
that his friend is coming.

- This is what
you can't plan for.

- Donofrio, he showed up
with a g*n.

- Oh, my God.

- It's dangerous in the sense

that the biggest danger
is the unknown.

- At that point,
now that we have the money,

I call our undercover agent
with a box truck

where the cocaine is located.

- I have another
Harley-Davidson

in the back of the truck.

Just the small, subtle things
that takes their minds off

of what we're doing right now.

- So we talk about the bike.

And then I climb
in the back of the truck,

and I take the cocaine
out of the hiding place

where I had it.

At that point, he says,

"I need to cut it
so I can check it out."

I tell Mike, "Poncho, get me
the knife from the cab."

That's the code word
for Mike to lower the liftgate

because this guy's got
a bad foot.

- He's not jumping out.
- He's not going to jump out,

and we don't want
him using the gate.

- Yeah. Get me the tape.

- My job is to execute the sign
to bring SWAT in.

- Mm-hmm.
- And then basically

get the hell out of there,
get out of the way.

- As Mike is walking away,

I'm crawling back
into my little crawl space

that I have prepared.

- It takes seconds.

When you're there, though...
- It feels like eternity.

- It's, like, three years.

- And all I heard was,

"sh*t."

As it turns out, he saw SWAT.

- His buddy, Donofrio,
had removed himself

a little bit away
from the scene.

He's got a g*n in the car.
- Mm.

- You know, if he starts
sh**ting at that point,

we're in trouble.

The Boston FBI SWAT team,
they're incredible.

They find Donofrio,
but Silvia,

he's the one that's going
to go out in a blaze of glory.

But nobody got hurt.

It was a dangerous arrest,

and they handled it
completely professional.

- So the two guys taken
into custody.

Anybody else at the time?
Just those two on this deal?

- We got arrested too.
- We got arrested.

- Yeah--well, yeah.
You guys, obviously.

Yeah, of course.
Got to make it look good.

- Let's just say,
every time I went to Boston

to do any kind of work,
I ended up

in the back of a trooper car
or handcuffed.

- Oh, my God.

- Everybody was either
convicted or pled guilty.

They all went to jail.
- Outstanding.

There's one thing though
that I'm missing,

and you guys didn't tell me,

was the mustache.

You know, clearly,
I didn't get the memo.

- We got them
at the same store.

- Yeah.