Outlaw bikers represent a very small percentage of motorcycle riders who join motorcycle clubs, but they receive disproportionate attention due to their mystique, unconventional behavior, and violence. Although the outlaw biker phenomenon started in the United States, it has since spread throughout the world. The involvement of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs) in organized crime at the local, regional, national, and transnational levels fosters violence that puts innocent persons at risk for death or injury and leads to the demonization of “bikers” and the overcriminalization of motorcycle enthusiasts and club members. The Outlaw Biker Legacy of Violence, written by internationally known expert Thomas Barker, addresses the legacy of violence in the outlaw biker culture and tackles the implications of the violence that progressed as outlaw biker clubs evolved into adult criminal gangs engaged in crimes for profit over long periods of time and across borders. Beginning with a history of outlaw bikers and the construction of the “folk devil” of the biker, the book outlines the distinctions between conventional motorcycle clubs, Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs, and Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, and then traces the expansion of these groups across the globe. This book will be relevant to those interested in the examination or investigation of biker gangs in particular or organized criminal groups in general. It is essential reading for criminal justice students and others studying social groups, gangs, and organizations, or the sociology of deviance, and is also relevant for law enforcement professionals dealing with these organizations

In August 1964, a disheveled band of motorcyclists mysteriously appeared in Milwaukee. Over the course of the next decade, the Outlaws Motorcycle Club (OMC) became synonymous with acts of intimidation and violence. In the ruthless world of renegade bikers, the OMC's Milwaukee chapter became known as the "Wrecking Crew." You Gotta Be Dirty: The Outlaws Motorcycle Club in & Around Wisconsin, examines the evolution of outlaw motorcycle clubs in the United States. From 1947 - the early 1960s, the influence of rogue riders - the one-percent of motorcyclists living outside the law - spread from the west coast and in to America's heartland. In Wisconsin, investigators linked members of the Outlaws to at least eleven murders. Four of the innocent persons killed were women and two were elderly. Three children also lost their lives: A fifteen-year-old boy was killed by an explosive device; an infant perished in an arson fire; and a ten-year-old boy was executed vis-a-vis a gunshot to the head. During the tumultuous 1990s, the Outlaws orchestrated a guerrilla-style offensive in a quest to beat back the expansion of the world's largest one-percent motorcycle club - the Hells Angels (HAMC). During this period, the HAMC began courting the Hell's Henchmen Motorcycle Club, a group with chapters in Chicago, Rockford, and South Bend, Indiana. The Hells Angels' bold move into northern Illinois touched-off a seven-year conflict that was exacerbated by beatings, bombings, and shootings. "As a former outlaw biker investigator," wrote author and retired Milwaukee Police Department Detective Larry Powalisz, "I participated in the investigations of several of the incidents documented in this well-researched book. This history of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club shines a bright light on the one-percent motorcycle subculture.""

Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs are increasingly seen as a threat to communities around the world. They are a visible threat as a recognizable symbol of deviance and violence. This book uses gang and organized crime theory to explain the groups and looks at policing and political responses to the clubs' activities.

In this no-holds-barred memoir, a legendary biker recounts his life of sex, drugs, rock & roll and lots of broken laws. Here is the true-life story of Richard “Deadeye” Hayes in all its bad-ass, balls-to-the-wall glory. This is a man who stole a machine gun before he was seven and lost his left eye when a good friend shot him in the face. As a member—and then president—of the infamous Los Valientes Motorcycle Club, he broke more laws and had more fun than any six of the coolest guys you know. One of the last true Outlaw Bikers, Deadeye knows what it means to be a man, take shit from no one, and have tattoos that actually say something. Riding, drug dealing, and sending men to the hospital with his bare hands, Deadeye made himself a legend among bikers—all the while making sure his daughters never got mixed up with guys like him. “This may just be the best book ever written by an author who's been shot twice, stabbed once, and bitten by a rattlesnake!” —Geoffrey Leavenworth, author of Isle of Misfortune

The basis for the hit TV series Gangland Undercover! Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws presents the gripping account from an ex-con who went undercover to help the ATF infiltrate three of America's most violent biker gangs. Despite lacking any experience with motorcycle gangs, Charles Falco infiltrated three of America's deadliest biker gangs: the Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws. In separate investigations that spanned years and coasts, Falco risked his life, suffering a fractured neck and a severely torn shoulder, working deep under cover to bring violent sociopaths to justice. His dedication was profound; Falco spent almost three years infiltrating the Vagos gang and rose to second in command of the Victorville, California chapter. He even served time in San Bernardino's Murder Unit and endured solitary confinement to protect his cover and the investigations. Falco recorded confessions of gangland-style killings and nearly became a target himself before he sought refuge in the Witness Protection Program. But discontent to remain on the sidelines and motivated by a strong sense of duty, Falco eventually left the Program and volunteer his talents again to infiltrate the Mongols and Outlaws, rising in rank to Vice President of the Petersburg, Virginia Outlaws chapter. His efforts culminated in sixty two arrests of members for various crimes, including assault and murder. Executing one of this country's most successful RICO prosecutions and effectively crippling the criminal enterprise, Falco's engrossing narrative of the dangers of the biker underworld harkens back to Hunter S. Thompson's classic Hell's Angels, vividly recounting a life undercover.

The title of this volume Outlaw Bikers as Organized Crime reluctantly combines two highly contested concepts into a statement that is perhaps disputed even more. Who and what do we refer to when we talk about ‘outlaw bikers’ and ‘outlaw biker clubs’? What is meant by ‘organized crime’? And, how – if at all – are these two concepts related? All the chapters in this volume deal with these questions some way or the other, either explicitly or implicitly, each providing its own answers based on the data and methods at hand. This volume presents cutting-edge research on outlaw bikers and outlaw biker clubs from countries all over the globe and reflects the different ways that academic researchers have approached the outlaw biker phenomenon from the theoretical and methodological vantage point of organized crime research.

This book is the first to compare the shared cultural tenets of ancient warbands and outlaw biker gangs. It argues that the values of hyper-masculinity can be traced from the former into the contemporary environment of the latter: codes of honour, loyalty and bravery have prioritised small groups of males over women and other men, creating a history of hyper-masculinity that shows little sign of stopping. Indeed, Outlaw Bikers and Ancient Warbands: Hyper-Masculinity and Cultural Continuity argues that such hyper-masculine culture can be found in many male groups such as the police, military and sports, and that if we want to understand hyper-masculinity and face it as a society then we need to recognize that outlaw bikers are a reflection of behavior that has a very long tradition. This pioneering work explores these issues from ancient times and into the future.