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A sign two stories high covers the end of a Sparks house, the headquarters of the Nevada chapter of the Hells Angels. Photo by CATHLEEN ALLISON / SPECIAL TO THE REVIEW-JOURNAL

Sunday, May 12, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

OUTLAW GANGS: Northern Nevada eyes biker enmity

12,000 motorcyclists expected in Reno

SPARKS -- The striking two-story home sits next to a Presbyterian church, a Norman Rockwell-like scene in this metropolitan Sparks neighborhood.

But one feature distinguishes this mansion from others on the block: a large emblem of a skull and angel's wing painted on an exterior wall. It's the Hells Angels' official insignia, and the home is headquarters for the Nevada chapter of Hells Angels, according to police.

The building once was occupied by Mustang Ranch brothel owner Joe Conforte, currently a fugitive in South America. Conforte's nephew, David Burgess, now lives there.

Burgess operates the Old Bridge Ranch brothel, about 10 miles east of Reno. Police say he doubles as the state president of the Hells Angels.

The group's Nevada presence is primarily in the north, as is that of their rivals, the Mongols, which boast on a Web site of chapters in Carson City, Sparks and Reno.

And in light of the clash between the two that left three dead in a Laughlin casino on April 27, police in Northern Nevada are worried about continued violence between the Mongols and Hells Angels.

That's because in September, Reno plays host to an event called Street Vibrations, an annual rally that could draw as many as 12,000 motorcyclists.

Because of the violence at Harrah's Laughlin, Harley-Davidson already has canceled its "Open Road Tour," planned for Aug. 16-18 at a racetrack in Old Bridge, N.J. About 150,000 people had been expected to attend.

The Laughlin melee, which left two members of the Hells Angels and one member of the Mongols dead, came two months after a fight that left one dead and 10 injured at the "Hellraiser Ball" biker event in New York.

That fight involved members of the Hells Angels and the Pagans, which some experts say is aligning itself with the Mongols. Brawls involving the same groups have broken out at other public gatherings in recent months.

"What happened in Laughlin certainly was an eye opener," said Scott Burau, a detective with the Carson City Sheriff's Department.

"We haven't had a problem with motorcycle gangs to speak of in a long time. But we are monitoring their activities," he said.

But one expert had a warning.

"I would be very careful this September," said Ray Hoyt, a former detective with the Nevada Division of Investigations who now serves on the national board of the International Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association.

"When you have three chapters of Mongols and one of Hells Angels you know they are going to confront each other. This dispute goes back 20 years."

Then, it was about the words "State of California."

The Mongols wanted to wear the label on a patch adorning the front of their leather jackets, but the Hells Angels were the only outlaw biker gang in the state using the phrase.

It appears nothing has changed in two decades.

Hoyt, who lives in Minden, said the Hells Angels set themselves up for a battle with the Mongols when they asserted their territory as all of Nevada.

Instead of a "rocker," or emblem, listing their club location as Reno or Sparks, the Hells Angels simply put "Nevada." That represents a direct challenge to other outlaw gangs, he said.

"It is not about the drug market, it is about turf and territory and image," Hoyt said. "The Mongols want to challenge the Hells Angels. Their attitude is they are going to go everyplace where the Hells Angels are and challenge their supremacy."

According to California police authorities, the Mongols have allied with the Pagans, Banditos, Vagos and Outlaws in an attempt to challenge the Hells Angels for supremacy.

The Hells Angels in Northern Nevada also have started to call themselves the "Nevada Nomads," Hoyt said.

Hells Angels have no chapters in Southern Nevada, although there is at least one Las Vegan who is a member of the Nevada Nomads, according to Hoyt.

"We can only speculate why there is no Las Vegas Hells Angels, we don't know for sure," he said.

But Las Vegas does have Vagos and Banditos clubs, groups affiliated with the Mongols. The Mongols also want to form a Las Vegas chapter, Hoyt believes.

"I think it is going to happen," Hoyt said. "There is a lot of action down there."

Dennis Owen, owner of the Alturas Bar in Reno, thinks Street Vibrations will go off OK.

"I don't think there will be a problem," said Owen, a motorcycle club member who rides a Harley-Davidson. "There will be more police presence. Everyone will be on their best behavior."

Owen's bar is known by police as a gathering spot for motorcyclists, including the Hells Angels.

"This is one of the places they stop," he said. "All bikers hang out here. They come in, have a drink and enjoy themselves. I know two cops who come here regularly. They have Harleys."

The bikers who hang out on weekends drinking beer at the Union Brewery in Virginia City also have pleasant relationships with the Hells Angels.

"The HA are no big deal," said Wade Roberts, a Carson City construction worker. "They are polite. The problem down in Laughlin started in L.A. and ended in Laughlin. The people up here have no real violence in their heads. We don't carry knives or guns."

Hells Angels took its name from a World War II bomber squadron. The first branch opened in 1948 in Fontana, Calif.

The Mongols began in the 1970s in Southern California. Its most prominent member, at least for a nine-month period in 1973, was a young Jesse Ventura, now governor of Minnesota.

"I know half the HA up here and they are decent guys, they aren't troublemakers," said Lee Hobold, a veteran rider who works at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City. "I guess when they get a rival gang around them they all have to puff up and pretend they are bad. I don't know any Mongols."

Storey County Sheriff Pat Whitten agrees.

He said about 500 motorcyclists ride up to Virginia City every weekend, just to party at the local bars. They mingle quite well with tourists and their kids.

"We have had no problems whatever with motorcycle riders," Whitten said. "I have seen a couple of Hells Angels up here. We get all kinds of clubs. But I have never noticed the Mongols."

Burgess would not respond to repeated requests for an interview about the Hells Angels. During a court appearance in 1998, he said he was not a Hells Angel, but wanted to be one.

Two years ago the Nevada Supreme Court ruled he could keep his brothel license even though he associated with the group.

The court had nullified a vote by the Storey County Commission to revoke the license because of the association.

Storey County District Attorney Janet Hess told the court that Hells Angels "were running the business."

Hoyt maintains Hells Angels and other outlaw clubs deliberately want to cultivate an image that they are good guys.

Club members donate blood and give toys to needy children.

"It tends to take the heat off their criminal activity," Hoyt said.