No Angel (46 page)
apparent to Sonny Barger. Not two months later, Hoover was shot dead in a parking lot.
the rumbling horde.
good man you think you are, even as you fall deeper into the rabbit hole of a
deception that was increasingly becoming a self-deception.
prospect. The case was coming full circle, and my dark, dangerous biker life
had become all-consuming. I'd become the man I was pretending to be.
to get our patches as quickly as possible, and at almost any cost. Making
the Hells Angels had become an obsession . . .
The Angels hated rival motorcycle club the Mongols with a passion. How could they
turn their backs on us after we showed them a dead Mongol in a desert ditch.
No Angel
was never intended to be an investigative report, legal brief, or historical document. The best classification for this book would likely be “memoir,” but after having read
No Angel
, you may wonder, “Is this really the way things went down? How did he recall such detail years later?”
This book was a team effort. I wouldn’t have been able to produce the book you’re holding without the dedication of my writer, Nils Johnson-Shelton. Nils was instrumental in focusing a chaotic and tangled storyline, and he helped grant my words a literary quality they wouldn’t have had if I’d written this book on my own. Without him, my story wouldn’t be the one you’ve just read.
My main concern in writing my story was that it be honest. The survival of an undercover operator often depends on one’s ability to feel one thing yet bluff another while under the scrutiny of a societal element uniquely paranoid of police. The stories of undercover cops are the stuff of movies, and many of us are portrayed as superheroes. Most of us are; I, unfortunately, was not. As we wrote, I constantly reminded Nils, “I’m not interested in being the knight in shining armor. That wasn’t me, and if we tell it that way it’ll be a lie.” If my book was to be believed as the truth, then my depiction of myself also had to be the truth.
The honest and shameful core that runs through this book details my devolution. As I hurtled from Jay Dobyns toward Bird, I became confused, tormented, and afraid. In writing this book, I wanted to admit my mistakes and atone for some of my sins. I wanted to make a book my children could someday read and maybe understand why I’d done the things I had.
As we wrote, our main obligation was to the story’s accuracy, but in the interest of storytelling we did end up taking some liberties. What I consider to be incidental circumstances—things like food, clothing, a background character’s physical description, or the weather—were captured to the best of my memory, but where my memory failed, Nils’s creative and descriptive ability filled the void.
On rare occasions we took the practical liberty of combining events or conversations. The components of these events and conversations were real, but without the reader’s permission to consolidate, this narrative would have filled several volumes.
Dialogue was also sometimes a collaboration of my memory and Nils’s creative ability. We limited the number of epithets I used, and severely decreased the number of times I (sadly) said “Dude.” I didn’t make a habit of listening to taped conversations or reading transcripts as we wrote; instead, I made extensive use of reports that often quoted exact dialogue. I’d lived this story firsthand and then reaffirmed it during trial prep, repeatedly burning its most intimate details into my brain. I know what was said and who said it. This is an important point, because although
No
Angel
attributes damning statements to real people, all of the conversations are true to their spirit if not to their letter—and many are true to their letter. All of the events, persons, and alleged crimes that occur in
No Angel
actually happened or existed. As I wrote in the epilogue, “The world had enough real bad guys—I didn’t have to go around inventing them.”
It needs to be stressed that in the absence of a trial by jury, all of the crimes detailed in
No Angel
must remain alleged. However, the evidence and testimony haven’t changed since July 8, 2003. Black Biscuit is as prosecutable—and winnable—now as it was then. But while the crimes alleged in my book remain unproven in a court of law, for me they will always be hard, cold, and provable facts.
Jay Anthony Dobyns, February 2008
18 USC section 922(g) (1):
This statute states: “It shall be unlawful for any person who has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.”
81:
Euphemism for the Hells Angels, derived from the eighth letter of the alphabet (H) and the first (A).
AFFA:
“Angels Forever, Forever Angels.”
Altamont:
The Altamont Raceway in Altamont, California. This was the site of the infamous 1969 Rolling Stones concert at which the Hells Angels got into a fight with and ultimately killed a concert-goer.
angel dust:
Phencyclidine, aka “PCP.” Made popular by the Hells Angels in the 1970s, it is sometimes called “Dust of the Angels.”
ape hangers:
Motorcycle handlebars with grips above the shoulder.
ASAC:
Assistant Special Agent in Charge. See also
SAC
, below.
associate:
Specific to motorcycle clubs, a person friendly to a club; more generally, a partner, usually in crime.
Berdoo:
San Bernardino, California, the location of the first Hells Angels charter in 1948; the official “mother charter” of the Hells Angels.
BHC
:
Bullhead City, Arizona.
Big Four:
The world’s four major outlaw motorcycle clubs: Banditos, Hells Angels, Outlaws, and Pagans.
bottom rocker:
See
rocker
.
C-4
:
Military-type plastic high explosives.
cage:
A car, truck, or van; any vehicle that contains a person; so called because driving one is like being in a cage.
center patch:
The large patch, stitched on the back of a vest between the top and bottom rockers, that depicts the club’s insignia, which, in the case of the Hells Angels, is the Death Head. See also
Death Head, rocker,
three-piece patch.
charter:
A local or regional division of a club; aka “chapter.”
church:
Regularly scheduled charter meetings.
CI:
Confidential informant, someone who informs on his or her associates. Often CIs are facing charges of their own and choose to inform in exchange for legal leniency, though sometimes people approach law enforcement to inform of their own free will. See also
rat, snitch
.
colors:
A biker’s vest.
See also cut, patch.
confidential informant:
See
CI
.
cut:
A biker’s vest. See
also colors, patch.
Dago:
San Diego, California.
Death Head:
The Hells Angels’ winged-skull insignia.
dime bag:
A $10 bag of marijuana, usually a little under a gram; aka “dime.”
dime rock:
A $10 rock of methamphetamine or cocaine, usually a little under a gram.
eight-ball:
An eighth of an ounce of methamphetamine or cocaine; aka “ball.”
Eighty-One:
See
81
.
flash:
The various small patches sewn onto the front and sometimes sides of a biker’s vest. See also
tabs.
FTW:
“Fuck the world.”
full patch:
A member of a club who has received his rockers and center patch. See also
patch
.
girls, the:
Hells Angels’ disrespectful moniker for members of the Mon gols motorcycle club.
HA:
Hells Angels.
hangaround:
A potential prospect who is “hanging around” a club to determine (a) if the club is interested in having the hangaround become a prospect; and (b) if the hangaround is ready to live the biker lifestyle.
hotwash:
The act of taking all the information that is “hot” in one’s memory concerning recent suspect interactions and “washing” it out into reports.
ink shop:
Tattoo parlor.
MC:
“Motorcycle club.” A small “MC” patch is usually found on the back of a vest to the right of and below the center patch. See also
flash, tabs
.
Meth:
Methamphetamine, a highly potent, extremely addictive stimulant. Most commonly snorted or smoked, occasionally injected; aka “crank,” “crystal,” “ice,” “glass,” “speed.”
monkeys:
Code name given to the Black Biscuit undercover operators to provide security from monitored police radio traffic, e.g., “Monkey One and Monkey Three are turning onto Main Street.”
mother chapter:
The “birthplace” or original location of a motorcycle club.
mud check:
A test of fortitude to see if someone can “hold his mud.”
nickel bag:
A $5 bag of marijuana, usually a little under half a gram; aka “nick.”
Oaktown:
Oakland, California. Unofficial “base of operations” of the Hells Angels, which was presided over by Sonny Barger until he moved to Cave Creek. Referred to by some Hells Angels as “the center of the universe.”
old lady:
A female companion, usually a wife or steady girlfriend.
OMG:
Outlaw motorcycle gang.
OMO:
Outlaw motorcycle organization.
One Percenter:
Moniker stemming from a 1947 Hollister biker riot, following which the American Motorcyclist Association stated that “ninety-nine percent of motorcycle riders are law-abiding citizens and only one percent are outlaws.”
One Percenter Diamond:
The diamond-shaped “1%” patch of the One Percenter symbol. See also
flash, tabs
.
open carry:
Refers to a state’s laws that allow the exposed and often unlicensed possession of a firearm.
OTB:
“Over the bars”; euphemism for a bike crash; aka “digger,” “eat asphalt,” “nipple surf,” “superman.”
P:
Abbreviation for “president” of a motorcycle club.
packing double:
Two people on one bike—almost always a man driving and a woman riding. See also
riding bitch style
.
Panhead:
A Harley-Davidson engine style in use from 1948 to 1965; so called because its cylinder head resembled a roasting pan. Other engine styles are Knucklehead (pre-1948), Shovelhead (1966–84), and V-Twin (1985 to present).
paid informant:
An informant who is in the employ of law enforcement, but is not a law enforcement officer. This type of informant is a mercenary, and he or she is not working off any charges, as with a
CI
.
patch:
Biker’s vest (see also
colors, cut
); also a full member, i.e., a biker who has received his center patch and rockers, denoting full membership.
Patch, the:
Nickname for the Black Biscuit task force headquarters in Phoenix, short for “Pumpkin Patch.”
patch over:
To give up one’s club affiliation in order to become a member of another club; can refer to an individual member or to an entire club.
poker run:
A run where riders stop at various locations to receive a playing card, and at the end of which the holder of the best poker hand wins a predetermined prize.
Pinks:
The Mongols’ disrespectful nickname for members of the Hells Angels (red and white make pink).
prospect:
A prospective member; a member in training.
punked:
To be embarrassed or humiliated; forced to show cowardice.
rat:
A person who has turned informant; also the act of informing; see also
snitch, CI
.
rat pack:
A fight in which several people severely beat a single victim; any fight in which one group vastly outnumbers another and whose aim is severe injury.
RICO:
Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. A federal statute that provides for extended penalties for criminal acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
rig:
A holster used to carry firearms.
riding bitch style:
Two patches riding one bike, as if the one on the back were a “bitch” (a rare occurrence). See also
packing double
.
rocker:
A curved cloth patch that resembles the shape of a rocking chair’s rocker. The
top rocker
contains the club’s name and is stitched on the back of the vest across the shoulders; the
bottom rocker
contains the member’s charter location and is stitched on the back of the vest across the waist. Together with the center patch, the rockers comprise the three-piece patch of a full member of an outlaw motorcycle club. See also
center patch, three-piece patch
.
Roofies:
Slang for Rohypnol, a powerful hypnotic drug also known as the “date rape drug.”
run:
Biker rally.
SAC:
Special Agent in Charge. See also
ASAC
.
scooter:
Motorcycle.
secretary:
A club officer responsible for a charter’s paperwork, such as church “minutes” and financial accounts; aka “treasurer.”
sergeant at arms:
A club officer responsible for security, weaponry, and intra-charter discipline; aka “warlord,” “enforcer.”
snitch:
A person who has turned informant; also the act of informing. See also
rat, CI
.
SoCal:
Southern California.
soft tail:
A Harley-Davidson frame style with a rear suspension.
SOS:
“Sons of Silence,” a Colorado Springs, Colorado, motorcycle club.
support club:
A club designated to support another club; aka “duck club.”
tabs:
The various small patches sewn onto the front and sometimes sides of a biker’s vest. See also
flash
.
TCB:
“Take care of business”; i. e., to do whatever is necessary for the club.
teener:
A sixteenth-ounce of narcotics, usually methamphetamine or cocaine.
three-piece patch:
Collectively, the three patches found on the back of a vest worn by a member of an outlaw motorcycle club. See also
center
patch, patch, rocker.
tweaker:
A methamphetamine user.
top rocker:
See rocker
.
UC:
Undercover operator.
vice:
Vice president of a motorcycle club; also short for vice squad, a law enforcement division dedicated to investigating vices like prostitution and gambling.
World Run:
Usually an annual rally that all club members are required to attend.