Hey,
Sorry, but I was in Olympia, Washington yesterday, when I got a call. Kevin Kahl called to tell me he was back in town and ready to build the Salt Torpedo frame.
The Redhead and I scrambled out of the sack at 3:00 in the morning and hit one of the worst airport security experiences I have ever encountered. The Jet Blue flight was a dream and we were back in Long Beach by 8:30. By 10:00 I was unloading a tubing bender and a portable TIG welder from Kevin’s beat up compact car, which he hauled ass in back from Kansas.
So, I’m scrambling on a quickie news for today. Hang on!
The Bikernet Weekly News is sponsored in part by companies who also dig Freedom including: Cycle Source Magazine, the MRF, Las Vegas Bikefest, Iron Trader News, ChopperTown, BorntoRide.com and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum. Most recently the Smoke Out and Quick Throttle Magazine came on board.
HELLS ANGELS FOR THE KIDS IN FRESNO CALIFORNIA–A sea of brand new bicycles covered the field at Chukchansi Park Saturday morning.
The bicycles were the result of nearly a month of camping out by members of the Hell’s Angels, who raised money to buy the bicycles for the group’s 20th bike giveaway.
Saturday morning, they rode from Intimo Lounge in Northwest Fresno to Chukchansi Park to deliver 25 truckloads of bicycles.
They handed out a total of 1,700 bikes to kids with 1,400 families.
A number of organizations helped select recipients including the Salvation Army, Jefferson Elementary, Easterby, Angels of Grace, Fresno County EOC and WestCare.
–Rogue
NEW BIKERNET AND BANDIT’S CANTINA PROGRAMS FOR 2019—Starting middle of January 2019
We’ve moved things around some. We shut down all major advertising sales and moved Bikernet into the Cantina.
We kept the blog on the free side of the curtain and will update it daily. All major content will be expanded into the Cantina.
So, from a business side here’s how it will work. We will continue to build great content featuring the Weekly News, Features and tech articles.
If you want to stay abreast of all the action please join the Cantina for as little as $24 or $39 for two year and receive a special bling package from Bikernet.
If you want us to continue to work for your company on a daily, weekly or monthly basis it’s only $98 a year and keep sending your press releases whenever you choose and we will take care of them.
For the company that wants to reach all 50,000 Bikernet monthly readers and Bandit’s Cantina subscribers 24/7 your ad will be placed on our blog page and your banner will accompany any and all of your company content. Just $165 a month. This also means all of your company content is archived on Bikernet for the duration working 24/7.
QUICK, OPEN THE BANDIT’S CANTINA BAD JOKE LIBRARY–
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
UN colludes with climate protesters to disrupt & shut down Trump admin. pro-energy event at UN summit–
UN gives its blessing to protesters to shut down Trump administration event at UN climate summit
KATOWICE — The United Nations gave its blessing to a massive climate protest during the Trump administration’s pro-energy event today at the climate summit (COP24) in Poland, according to the U.S. delegation. The UN pre-authorized and pre-planned the wide-scale interruption that shut down the Trump White House’s pro-fossil fuel event.
Officials from the U.S. delegation told Climate Depot on Monday that the UN informed the U.S. that the environmental activists would be authorized by the UN to disrupt the U.S. event for at least “7 minutes” and the green protesters would be granted the floor halt the event and give speeches during the U.S. event.
CFACT president Craig Rucker commented, “It almost seems like the UN, by giving its stamp of approval to the protesters, it trying to punish President Trump for withdrawing from the UN Paris climate pact.”
When the “skeptic” Darwall responded to the protesters “rubbish,” there were calls to remove him immediately. “It tells you everything you need to know about their utter artificiality,” Darwall said. “The one thing you can’t do at UN climate conference is heckle the hecklers. Instead, people are forced to listen to their childish ranting and be prevented from hearing what serious people on the platform had to say,” Darwall added.
“There should be an open and vigorous debate and it doesn’t help of the U.N. appears to have a dog in the race,” Kevin Mooney, an investigative journalist from Washington D.C. told Climate Depot. Mooney added that instead of taking sides, the UN should hold a “detached, dispassionate position where protests are concerned.”
THIS JUST IN FROM SPECTRO OIL–Some info on Brake Fluids.
Always flush the system as good as possible. Always use the recommended fluid by manufacturer. Our Silicone DOT 5 is designed to keep up with vehicle innovation and reliability. It is a High Performance product tested to meet and exceed the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 116 DOT 5.
It has a long history in automotive braking applications and has been widely
tested for years. The Silicone base is capable of performing over wide temp
extremes and is hydroscopic with low water absorption over its lifetime. This keeps the fluid resistant to corrosion due to low water content, and it also included anti corrosion additives to further resist moisture.
It is highly compatible with all braking components as well as polymers
elastomers and paints. Silicone Braking fluid excels in consistent brake performance and reduced brake fade.
They should not be mixed with other brake fluid chemistries like polyglycol.
Joe Russo
National Sales Manager
www.spectro-oils.com
New Bikernet Reader Comment!–
5-Ball Racing Salt Torpedo Chapter 12–the Frame
https://www.bikernet.com/pages/5Ball_Racing_Salt_Torpedo_chapter_12the_Frame.aspx
Good article, keep the progress reports coming. You must share some DNA with Eric Buell.
Nice old Ford.
–Timothy Remus
tim@wolfpub.com
White Bear Lake, MN
We may reach out to Tim to help us create a book about this effort, if all goes well.—Bandit
RIDING FREE FROM DC MRF REPORT–Your Weekly Biker Bulletin from Inside the Beltway
Your Motorcycle Riders Foundation team in Washington, D.C. is pleased to provide our members with the latest information and updates on issues that impact the freedom and safety of American street motorcyclists. Count on your MRF to keep you informed about a range of matters that are critical to the advancement of motorcycling and its associated lifestyle. Published weekly when the U.S. Congress is in session.
NEWS FROM THE HILL – SENATE PROFILING RESOLUTION PASSES WITH UNANIMOUS CONSENT – AV Start Act – RPM Act News
On Tuesday evening, S. Res. 154, Motorcycle Profiling Awareness Resolution, was presented on the Senate floor and passed with unanimous consent!
Over the past few weeks, your MRF has been engaged in very productive meetings with our champions on Capitol Hill. MRF President Kirk “Hardtail” Willard came to town on Friday to meet our contract lobbyist, Rocky Fox of Husch Blackwell Strategies and your Director of Operations to make sure we are aligned with our legislative strategy to pursue the profiling resolutions. At the end of last week, the Senate resolution passed its first hurdle and was signed off by the Senate Judiciary Committee. On Tuesday afternoon, the resolution was officially placed on the Senate Hotline where Senators are given a chance to object to anything before it moves to the floor. Without any objections, S. Res. 154 was presented on the floor just before 8:00 p.m. and was officially adopted by the U.S. Senate.
This was a major Victory for our membership and our role in achieving this legislative priority was acknowledged in a tweet by Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
You can watch the video here from the Senate Floor proceedings (skip to 10 hours to see S. Res. 154): https://floor.senate.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=3108
As the year comes to a close, the MRF will continue our efforts to help ensure that the U.S. House of Representatives joins their colleagues in the Senate and passes H. Res. 318 in the waning weeks of this Congress.
Right now, backroom negotiations are occurring on our House profiling resolution and we are working hard to see this issue is fully addressed by the year-end. We are only in this position because of the personal outreach you as members have done with Capitol Hill. As with everything in Washington DC, this is a fluid situation. We will keep you up to date but as circumstances change, we may need you to engage with your lawmakers again. Stand by….
Last week, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee worked on the AV Start Act (S. 1885) to begin to merge with the Self Drive Act (H.R. 3388) legislation that passed the House of Representatives last year in hopes that it will be considered in Congress before the end of the year.
The MRF has been supportive of the Senate’s AV Start act over the House’s Self Drive Act because MRF Legislative Champion Senator Thune (SD-R) confirmed this legislation required manufacturers to ensure that motorcycles are detected and responded to in their safety evaluation reports.
As you will read about in the regulatory updates below, the MRF has been concerned that motorcycles are not currently included in the US Department of Transportation’s AV guidance on the current voluntary reporting that manufacturers are requested to do now. We hope that this legislation which adds protections for motorcyclists makes its way for a vote was the days in lame duck are dwindling. We will update you more when anything changes on this legislation.
The Recognizing of Motorsports Act (RPM Act) began to make its move in the House of Representative this week. H.R. 350 has officially cleared the Energy and Commerce committee and has made its way to leadership for consideration of a vote. However, this bill may not make it to the vote before the end of the year because of the limited amount of time left during this Congress for floor action. Nevertheless, we would not be surprised if this language made it into the year-end package.
EXECUTIVE & REGULATORY UPDATES –DOT SEEKS COMMENT ON AV 3.0
Last week, your MRF commented on the US Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automation 3.0. Unfortunately, the third time was not a charm for the consideration of motorcyclists in future autonomous vehicle DOT guidance.
Last year, the MRF was disappointed to find that motorcyclists were not included Object and Event Detection and Response in the Voluntary Safety Self-Assessment (VSSA) of Automated Driving Systems-A Vision for Safety guidance and 3.0 has not offered any inclusion of motorcycles.
Currently, the DOT policy on AV’s is that manufacturers only have to report on their technology to DOT on a voluntary basis and with little to no guidance on what the parameters of reporting should be. To date, six manufacturers have participated in the DOT VSSA.
You can check out their reports and review the voluntary guidelines at: https://www.nhtsa.gov/automated-driving-systems/voluntary-safety-self-assessment
You can download and read:
Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automation 3.0
STATE NEWS – Welcoming the 116th Congress – Rolling Thunder coming to an End
The dust had finally settled from the 2018 elections and we are hard at work beginning to learn about the newly elected members of the 116th Congress who are set to be sworn in on January 3, 2019. We will have a new party in control of the House of Representatives, newly appointed committee leadership and we will bid a farewell to some of our motorcycle friendly elected officials.
So what does that mean for us bikers? We all need to start becoming acclimated with our newly elected members and start educating them about the issues that are important to motorcyclists across the country. During this process, we need to start identifying motorcycle friendly Representatives and Senators and diligently work with them to ensure our interests are protected on Capitol Hill.
Do you have a newly elected motorcycle friendly member of Congress back in your state? Please pass their information on to the MRF office and we can start meeting with their offices when the new Congress is in session. It’s no secret that the key to being effective on Capitol Hill is by having Champions of Motorcycling in DC.
News began swirling this week on social media after a statement was made that 2019 will be the last Run to the Wall for Rolling Thunder. It was confirmed that due to ever increasing costs to host a couple hundred thousand bikers during Memorial Day weekend as one of the reasons that the event will end.
Rolling Thunder, Inc. will continue its work on behalf of POW/MIAs, veterans, and active duty military. If you have ever planned to participate in the Run to the Wall, you may want to make your plans to be in D.C. this year for the 32nd Annual Rolling Thunder Run to the Wall. I would also like to note that this year’s Bikers Inside the Beltway is the week leading up to Memorial Day. You could come to town to lobby and stay through the final rumble on the mall. If we hear any updates about Rolling Thunder, we will be sure to pass it along.
MRF NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS – Make your plans for Bikers Inside the Beltway!
Are you ready to ride to our nation’s capital to speak with your elected officials?
We hope you will join us at the 11th Annual Michael “Boz” Kerr Bikers Inside the Beltway on Tuesday, May 21st. Be sure to make your plans to come into town on Monday, May 20th and join us for the legislative prep session. You will learn about the important legislation that you will be speaking to your elected officials about.
Last year during BITB, we had an opportunity to shoot a video during the event explaining what the event is and the importance of grassroots lobbying in the motorcycling community. You can watch the video here: Bikers Inside the Beltway Video
To learn more about Bikers Inside the Beltway 2019 and download the event flyer, please visit: www.mrf.org/events
RIDE FREE-
Tiffany Cipoletti
Director of Operations
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation
OLD SCHOOL TT SCRAMBLES ROUND 5
Sunday, December 9th. Don’t miss this fun event at Glen Helen. There are lots of classes including Vintage, Post-Vintage, Modern Support, Quads, Sidecar, Mini Adult, Mini kids. Racing like it used to be done. Don’t forget that kids ride for free courtesy of Rod Lake. www.oldschoolscramblesracing.com
AMA /FIM NORTH AMERICAN FINAL SPEEDWAY AT PERRIS SATURDAY DECEMBER 8th
(U.S. GRAND PRIX QUALIFIER ) PLUS A PRESHOW
Be there to watch 16 of our best riders, including those that have been racing overseas. At the end of the night, the top two finishers will be invited to represent the USA in a European Grand Prix Qualifying race. One will race in Scotland and the other in Croatia. These races start at 7PM.
Get there early, gates open at 1pm and the Pre Show starts at 4pm. The Pre Show will include the Speedway Winter Championships for Support, Juniors, PeeWee and Hooligans. For more information:
www.speedwaybikes.com Steve Evans (310) 309 9418 dreamteamspeedway@sbcglobal.net
1205 Burton Road, Perris, CA
INDOOR FLAT TRACK IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS DUQUOIN STATE FAIRGROUND
Steve Nace Racing Promotions is putting on this two day event. It is the Ethan Gillim Memorial at the Southern Illinois Center. 655 Executive Dr., DuQuoin, Illinois, 62832. Friday night practice from 6-9pm $25.00.
Saturday, Dec 29 MC & ATV short track and TT Gate opens and Sign up 9am, Practice 11am
Sunday, Dec 30 MC & ATV short track and TT Gate opens and Sign up 8am Practice 10am
snace@apex.net www.stevenaceracing.com (270) 442 7532
MALCOLM’S KIDS LEARN TO RIDE DAY 2018
A very successful event. You can see a video by googling Malcolm’s kids learn to ride day 2018
PRE-SALE OF 2019 AFT DAYTONA TT MEN’S T-SHIRTS.
The American Flat Track Clothing Co. can get you fixed up in the latest AFT shirts. www.americanflattracker.com
NEW POSTS ON TODAYS CYCLE COVERAGE
Today’s Cycle Coverage re-posted the book gift suggestion list. It has added photos so you can see what the jackets look like.
http://www.todayscyclecoverage.com/wordpress/2018/12/03/merry-christmas-gift-suggestions-for-good-reading/
Also reposted is Howie Zechner’s story and photos of the Celebration of Life for Bob Nichols. Very nicely done.
http://www.todayscyclecoverage.com/wordpress/2018/11/29/celebration-of-life-for-bob-nichols-2/
Thanks David
DENNIS KANEGAE HIRED ON AT MOTOAMERICA
Dennis Kanegae, Trailblazer Hall of Famer, is now part of the MotoAmerica team as the Director of Sponsorship. Dennis has over 30 years of experience in the motorcycle industry, which includes manager and director of marketing and advertisement for various firms. Dennis also did his fair share of motorcycle racing. He and MotoAmerica should be a good fit. Congratulations
MARY MCGEE TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE AMA MOTORCYCLE HALL OF FAME THIS WEEKEND
On Friday, December 7, Trailblazer Mary McGee is receiving another well-earned award. Among her many achievements, she was among the first women to race motorcycles competitively in many different events: Motocross, Road Racing, Baja and Enduros.
Also being inducted is Corky Keener, Flat Track racer. The late, Nicky Hayden AMA & FIM super star. Skip Eaken, motorcycle racing tuner. Gary Davis, Stunt man. Terry Cunningham, champion off-road rider. Congratulations to all of them.
NORTON CLUB’S “RUN FOR THE ROSES”
On December 31, the So Cal Norton Club will take their final ride of the year. Meet at Lucky Baldwins Trappiste, located at 1770 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. The ride is to Newcomb’s Ranch on Angeles Crest/Hwy 2. Return to Congregation Ale House located at 300 S. Raymond Ave. in Pasadena. Ride Maps will be handed out prior to departure. Ride your classic motorcycle. Ride departs at 10am Sharp. www.socalnorton.com
BUDDY STUBBS MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM – PHOENIX ARIZONA
If you are in the Phoenix area, the Buddy Stubbs Motorcycle Museum is a must. It is at least an hour of motorcycle euphoria, it’s air conditioned, and it’s free. The museum is located at his main dealership. There are 130 plus vintage motorcycles which include 37 different brands encompassing 110 years of two-wheeled history. Buddy’s story is remarkable. You can find it on the AMA Hall of Fame website and on the Trailblazers website. Open 7 Days a week. 13850 N. Cave Creek Road, Phoenix, AZ 85052
17 YEAR OLD AUSTRALIAN WILL COMPETE AGAIN ON THE AFT SINGLES TOUR
17 year old Max Whale from Coondo, QLD, Australia, is receiving sponsorship support from Weirback Racing. Max did well on the singles during the 2018 series. He had several top 10 finishes.
CYCLE NEWS STUFF
*BIG 6 GOES NATIONAL The AMA District 37 Big 6 Grand Prix Series (WCGP) is getting national status. Now called the AMA Grand Prix National Championship Series, it will be organized and run by Big 6 Grand Prix Series, Inc. More in issue #47.
*Larry Lawrence wrote about “When Springsteen ended a Harley Drought” in issue 47
*In Issue #48 Larry wrote about another Flat Track Legend “Eddie Lawsons 1st National Win”
*Good recap of the Kurt Caselli Ride Day at Fox Racing in issue #48.
Read more to the stories at www.cyclenews.com FREE
50 YEARS AGO IN CYCLE NEWS
7 year old Fred Chase put on an exhibition at the Archie Clark Memorial scrambles in Stockton. The Edison Dye International Motocross in Santa Cruz, CA. Among those racing were Joel Robert, Bob Grossi, Dave Bickers, Torleif Hansen, John Hateley, Barry Higgins and Lars Larsson. Drag racing at Lions Raceway.
40 YEARS AGO
Randy Mamola won the AFM road races at Riverside International Raceway. He led Harry Klinzmann and Freddy Spencer. The issue focused on all things desert. Tom Webb won the Desert Motorcycle’s Diamondback Enduro. Scott Burnworth won the 125cc Pro class at Carlsbad.
30 YEARS AGO
Freddy Spencer came out of retirement to ride for Marlboro Yamaha to race the 1989 500cc World Championship Road Race. Danny LaPorte won the Baja 1000, teamed with Larry Roeseler and Paul Krause. It was Roeseler’s 5th Baja 1000 victory. 1200 riders in the Barstow-to-Vegas . It was won overall by Bruce Ogilvie. Sam Ermolenko dominated the U.S. Long Track Championship. Jeremy McGrath won the Pro MX class at Perris Raceway
GENUINE SCOOTERS 1ST MOTORCYCLE G400C
The Genuine Scooter Company has a 397cc motorcycle on the market. They said it is affordable, fun, weighs 353 pounds, 25 HP, with a top speed of 80 www.genuinescooters.com
MIC SURVEY SHOWS FEMALE RIDERS ON THE RISE
According to the survey, 19% of motorcycle riders are female. The women spend 15% more on parts, accessories and apparel. The majority of the female riders were born between 1981 and 1997. Generation X (1961-1981) has the most ownership at 22%.
AMA DUSTRICT 34 BIG 6 GRAND PRIX DECEMBER 7-9 ROUND 8 OF 8
The event will take place in Lake Havasu, Arizona www.district37ama.org www.americanmotorcyclist.com
BSAOCSC “LOOSE CABOOSE” DUAL-SPORT RIDE
Saturday, December 8th. Ride will be from Bill Getty’s “Railroad Ranch” in the mountains above Banning. 49125 Boarder Road, Banning, CA 92220. No gas at start, so arrive with a full thank at 9am and be ready to go by 10am. For vintage British motorcycles only, with street registration, and spark arrestors. Info: (951) 940-5411, (951) 218-8403, (310) 292-8997 or (760) 365-9191
BSAOCNC 2019 ANNUAL GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
To be held on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at the Ranch Restaurant in Hayward, California. Be there at 11:30am, Lunch is at 1pm. Bring photos, suggestions & big ideas to share. RSVP & order Lunch (by January 11. David James (415) 760 6392. Info at www.bsaocnc.org. Restaurant address: 22877 Mission Blvd. Hayward
2019 SUPERCROSS STARTS JANUARY 5TH IN ANAHEIM
SuperCross season starts off in January and ends in May. The January races are:
January 5 Angel Stadium Anaheim, CA
January 12 State Farm Stadium Cortez, AZ
January 19 Angel Stadium Anaheim, Ca
January 26 Oakland Alameda Coliseum Oakland, California
GLEN HELEN DECEMBER SCHEDULE
Saturday, December 8th MX Practice
Sunday, December 9th TWMX/ TT Scrambles
Saturday, December 15th REM MX / Jump Champ/ MX Practice
Sunday, December 16th SRA / Toys for Tots / Kyle Yarnell Team
Saturday, December 22nd REM MX / MX Practice
Sunday, December 23rd MX Practice
Saturday, December 29 REM MX / MX Practice
Sunday, December 30th MX Practice
AT LEAST THE BANDIT’S CANTINA BAD JOKE LIBRARY IS STILL OPEN–
Q: Did you guys hear about the cannibal that made a bunch of businessmen into Chili?
A: I guess he liked seasoned professionals.
CLUB NEWS–
Could a notorious biker club’s survival hinge on a trademark? The feds are betting on it
When federal prosecutors finally managed to put mobster Al Capone behind bars, it wasn’t for murder or bootlegging, but tax evasion.
Fast forward several decades and government lawyers in Southern California say a similarly novel tactic could be the key to taking down the Mongols, a notorious motorcycle club that has long been targeted by authorities for killings and drug trafficking.
Instead of tax returns, the court battle this time will be won or lost in the decidedly unexciting trenches of trademark and forfeiture law.
If the government prevails in a racketeering case in Orange County against the group’s leadership, prosecutors plan to seek a court order to seize control of the club’s coveted, trademarked insignia, which its members wear emblazoned on the back of their biker jackets.
Both sides agree the insignia — a muscled, Asian man with a ponytail and sunglasses riding a motorcycle beneath the club’s name in capital letters — is a vital and potent part of the club’s identity. In trying to wrest it away, justice officials are banking on the idea that if they own the trademark, they will be able to choke off the club’s lifeline by preventing current and future members from wearing the image.
But it’s an open question whether the untested legal ploy will work, trademark experts said.
“It’s a strange tool to use to try to stamp out an organization,” said Ben M. Davidson, a trademark attorney in Los Angeles. “This club doesn’t exist because of its trademark, and I don’t think losing it is what’s going to stop them from being a club.”
The Mongols were formed in the 1970s in Montebello, outside of Los Angeles, by a group of Latino men who reportedly had been rejected for membership by the Hells Angels motorcycle gang. It has expanded over the decades to include several hundred members in chapters across Southern California and elsewhere.
Like many social clubs, the Mongols have a constitution and bylaws, while top officials in the club’s “Mother Chapter” in West Covina collect dues from members, according to court records. But the Mongols are also a group that investigators say kept a cache of assault rifles, other weapons and bulletproof vests at its headquarters.
The Mongols club has been in the federal government’s crosshairs for years, along with several other groups authorities have identified as “outlaw motorcycle gangs.” Despite their claims of being innocent social clubs, the groups, which include the Hells Angels, Vagos and The Outlaws, have long track records of warring with each other and, according to authorities, operate as criminal organizations that subsist on the drug trade.
In 2008, nearly 80 Mongols members were charged in a sweeping racketeering case that included an array of alleged murders, assaults and drug deals. The charges were the culmination of Operation Black Rain, an investigation that centered on Mongols who had become paid informants and four undercover agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who infiltrated the club’s ranks.
The idea of stripping the Mongols of their insignia was born in this earlier case. At a news conference announcing the charges, then-U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O’Brien laid out plans to take control of the trademark — a move that he said would give the government the authority to force Mongols members to remove their coveted insignia from their riding jackets.
“We’re going after their very identity,” O’Brien said.
All but two of the defendants in the case pleaded guilty, and a judge agreed the trademark should be forfeited as part of the sentences handed down. The judge ultimately reversed himself, however, after deciding none of the people charged in the case actually owned the trademark and, so, couldn’t forfeit it.
Prosecutors tried a new tack in 2013, when they filed a second racketeering case that was largely the same as the first but which named only one defendant — Mongol Nation, the entity which prosecutors say is made up of the club’s leaders and owns the trademark.
In the new case, for example, prosecutors accused the Mongol Nation of being responsible for the 2008 murder in San Francisco of a Hells Angels member by a Mongols member.
The new effort was nearly derailed when U.S. District Judge David O. Carter threw it out on legal grounds. But an appeals court overruled Carter, and the case finally went to trial last month. Over several weeks of testimony, prosecutors once again relied on the now-retired undercover ATF agents to testify about their time posing as Mongol members.
Defense attorney Joseph Yanny, meanwhile, argued that any violence by members was committed in self-defense, and anyone found dealing drugs was kicked out of the club.
If the jury, which began deliberating last week, delivers a guilty verdict on the new racketeering charges, the panel and Carter will then have to decide whether the Mongols should forfeit their trademark as part of the sentence. The government also wants large fines imposed on the club if it is convicted.
People and organizations commonly are stripped of cash, expensive cars, yachts and other tangible valuables as part of their criminal sentences.
Taking a trademark, however, is uncharted waters.
Through a spokesman, the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment. But from what the government attempted in the first trial and their filings in the current case, it is clear prosecutors believe that with the trademark in hand they will have the authority to ban Mongols members from wearing their riding jackets, which display the insignia on the back and other smaller patches.
Yanny said he plans to raise multiple legal challenges if the government goes after the Mongols’ trademark, including the club members’ constitutional right under the 1st Amendment to express themselves freely.
Beyond those legal hurdles, experts in trademark law expressed doubts about the government’s plan. Unlike a patent, a trademark has legal heft only if the owner continues to produce the product or service that the trademark protects. The trademark Apple owns on its computers, for example, exists only as long as the company continues to make them, said Jason Rosenberg, a trademark attorney.
“I’m dubious,” Rosenberg said, echoing the doubts of other attorneys and academics. “Is the government really going to start its own motorcycle club?”
Even if justice officials licensed a law-abiding motorcycle club or law enforcement organization to use the Mongols insignia, Rosenberg and others remained skeptical of whether a judge’s seizure order forcing old Mongols members to hand over their jackets would stand up.
“They could probably get a seizure order for an inventory of jackets in a warehouse somewhere,” Rosenberg said, “but what happens six months from now when a motorcyclist is pulled over for wearing his jacket that he was given permission to wear by the club when they owned the trademark? I have never heard of trademark law being used to take the clothing off someone’s back.”
–Joe Rubin, LA Times
MSN.com
–from Rogue
YO—I need to get some sleep. Then the shop will be hot and heavy tomorrow as we race to start testing and making pieces for the frame.
Hang on next week as we roll into several reports and a major news.
Have a helluva holiday season and don’t forget to ride free forever.
–Bandit
