re: Biker Shootout at the Twin Peaks in Waco, TX

quote:

---

Obligatory "Darth is greasy, unbathed and wears patches on his clothes" comment before I get to my questions.

---

quote:

---

The AP has gotten a video showing some of the events. It has partially described the video but has refused to release it so that everyone can see it and make up their own minds.

---

I've wondered why it's not released as well.

quote:

---

Was this video one of the nine from inside the restaurant?

---

From what I've read all the video is from inside Twin Peaks and none of the 9 camera angles shows anything from the parking lot. All reports about the videos say they show peoples, including the bikers taking cover or helping others take cover. None of the videos show any fighting in the restaurant were the Waco police originally claimed the fight started.

quote:

---

Was it one from one of the dash cams in the dozen or so LEO vehicles that were surely focused in that direction?

---

Of all the reporting on the story I've seen, none even mention dash cam video. Makes you wonder why.

quote:

---

Did any of the LEO's have personal cameras on?

---

I'm not sure they have them in Waco. Looks like some may have them but I'm not sure.

quote:

---

I am going to take a leap of faith here and guess that thirty or so patrons of the shopping center were shooting cell phone video of the fight. Probably sideways)

---

From what I've heard, everyone that was present had their cell phones taken up by the PD.

quote:

---

So my question is, with almost a hundred possible videos, how come none are on Youtube?

---

Ask yourself this, within seconds of this "fight" happening, who had compete and total control over everything in that area? OK, there's your answer.

quote:

---

Some of the independent witnesses have surely been on TV before, telling how the tornado that wrecked their trailer sounded like a freight train. Why is there not a peep from any of them? They love the camera and feeling of celebrity. Where are they?

---

From what I've read the problem was not in Twin Peaks but outside Twin Peaks in the parking lot. According to the AP, the video inside Twin Peaks confirms this fact. I'm guessing the only people out there at that time were either cops or bikers. And all the bikers are sitting in jail with a million dollar bond on each of their heads.

quote:

---

And last, sorry Darth for joining the cool kids feeding frenzy with the first sentence. It was a little fun though, especially once I added the small "I see what you did there" thing.

---

quote:

---

Before I reformed, I used to donate part of my dirty money to charity, karma bro karma

---

I was being facetious in my post, but that's pretty cool of you even if the money was dirty. I'm not one to judge.

quote:

---

But, Darth, I'm talking about whether DoJ used RICO against the Bandidos in the past, too.

If the Bandidos were half as much of an organized criminal entity as rumor has it, IMHO, DoJ would already have used RICO against a number of individual Bandidos by now.

If there's no RICO prosecution history, I'm leaning towards believing what ex Bandido El Secretario has said about the club.

Still, the Bandidos and other such groups can learn a lesson from La Cosa Nostra about living in the shadows and keeping a low profile.

---

Make no mistake, the Feds have one goal when it comes to MC's.... totally shut them down, period. Some say they only want to do way with the 1%er "outlaw" clubs while others say they want to crush all MC's. The fact they rounded up anyone with a patch in Waco this last weekend kinda leads me to believe they want to crush us all.

Most clubs are just a group of guys that have a common interest. The Blue Knights are a huge club and they are all police officers. They donate millions of dollars to charity every year. Plenty of these clubs are the same way.

A few of them like the Bandidos try and control the rest by using the COC. A lot of non Law Enforcement clubs are bullied into joining the COC to give money to the outlaws. A lot of good veteran clubs are in this club. The LE clubs never join the COC.

The COC is the Confederation of Clubs.

He said that the Bandidos are not an organized criminal enterprise/entity but that individual members of the club may be criminals.

The Bandidos have a couple thousand members, and, some of them are going to be drug dealers and involved in other criminal activity.

IMHO, if the Bandidos were an organized criminal entity, the Feds would have used RICO to destroy it long ago.

The Bandidos don't seem like a "La Cosa Nostra" entity to me, but, they obviously have their share of members engaged in criminal activity like drug dealing.

I could be wrong.

All that said, the Bandidos and other 1 percent MCs sure don't believe in keeping a low profile. La Cosa Nostra does. John Gotti was an anomaly with the way the he enjoyed being in the public eye. That was definitely not the way of the La Cosa Nostra.

If you got beaten up by wearing an offensive T shirt to a Bandidos meeting, the responsible party would be individual Bandidos, rather than the MC as a whole, I suppose.

If you wear an Atlanta Falcons T shirt in the French Quarter, you deserve to be beaten up, but, that doesn't make Drew Brees or the Saints a violent bully.

quote:

---

That they are a bunch of good guys?

---

I wonder if even HALF of the Bandidos are "good guys".



I would defer to Darth with regard to what percentage of Bandidos, Pagans or Hell's Angels are regular good guys that would make a good next door neighbor.

Darth, care to hazard a guess?

The ones ive shared a beer with were nice enough. Wouldnt want to cross the them but would be good to have on your side.

quote:

---

Something tells me one group sanctions and encourages such behavior while the other doesn't.

---

You may be right.

Everybody who says the worst things about the Bandidos may be right.

BUT, on the other hand, if the DoJ had ample evidence that the Bandidos encourages and engages in organized crime, they would have used RICO a long time ago to put the Bandidos out of business.

That has not happened.

quote:

---

Wouldnt want to cross the them but would be good to have on your side.

---

IMHO it is very unwise to treat anybody in a disrespectful or abusive manner, because, that kind of thing can get you shot to death, regardless of whether the target of your abusive remarks is a Librarian or a Bandido.

The reason why most everybody in the Old West called each other "Sir" and "Ma'am" and "Pod'nuh" is because everybody carried loaded firearms.

I'm pretty sure some bikers have been convicted under RICO. Don't know about Bandidos.