Part 11 (1/2)
Roy pointed his pen at the last item on the list.
”The clubhouse, which is often strongly fortified and elaborately outfitted, is the meeting place for club activities.”
I thought of the Vipers' house in St-Basile, and wondered what activities could have included a sixteen-year-old girl with hydrocephaly.
Roy removed the transparency and replaced it with another, this one a tree t.i.tled ”Political Structure of an OMC: National.”
Roy explained the hierarchy, starting at the bottom.
”The basic element of the OMC structure is the chapter. An independent outlaw motorcycle club becomes part of a larger organization, such as the h.e.l.ls Angels, only after a charter has been approved by vote of the national members.h.i.+p. This involves a long process that we can discuss later if we have time.
”Each chapter operates in a specific local area and maintains a certain degree of autonomy, but must live by the rules set out by the organization. These rules, either in the form of bylaws or a const.i.tution, define the rights and obligations of the members and the gang.”
Roy slid a new transparency onto the projector. This chart was labeled ”Political Structure of an OMC: Chapter.”
”Each chapter has its own controlling body, or executive, elected by the members. Typically there's a president, vice president, secretary-treasurer, and sergeant at arms. These are the guys responsible for maintaining order within and peace outside the group.”
”Guess none of our local morons will make the n.o.bel short list this year.” Kuricek was up to form.
Roy waved down the laughter.
”There's also an elected road captain who takes charge of the runs. Then there are the rank-and-file members-”
”And he does mean rank.” Kuricek held his nose.
”-who have a say in matters affecting the group, but the president makes the final decisions. Some of the larger clubs also have a security officer whose duty it is to keep up-to-date information on rival gangs, reporters, lawyers, judges, public officials, witnesses, and, of course, on yours truly.”
Roy swept his arm across the room.
”What kind of information?”
”Personal, financial, family members, girlfriends, boyfriends, phone numbers, birth dates, addresses, vehicle descriptions, license plates, places of employment, daily habits, you name it, these guys get it. Their photo collections make the National Portrait Gallery look spa.r.s.e. If there's an intended victim, his dossier may include tips on the best places to kill him.”
”Merde!”
”Esti!”
Roy worked his pen from left to right across three boxes on the next to lowest line of the diagram.
”At the bottom of the chapter hierarchy are the prospects, the hang-arounds, and the women.”
Roy pointed to the box marked ”Probationary Member.”
”The 'prospect' or 'striker' must be nominated by a full patch member. He does all the s.h.i.+twork around the clubhouse and during runs. Prospects can't vote and they can't attend church.”
”Church?” Today the ponytailed investigator wore a silver skull in his ear.
”The mandatory weekly chapter meeting.”
”How long does it take to get in?”
”The prospect period averages six months to one year. You can spot these guys because they wear only the bottom rocker of the patch.”
”Which gives the chapter location.” Ponytail.
”C'est ca. There are several pages showing club colors in the manuals I gave you. Some of them are true artistic marvels.”
Roy's pen moved sideways to the box marked ”a.s.sociates.”
”A hang-around must also be sponsored by a full patch member. Some go on to prospect, others never do. Hang-arounds do all kinds of menial jobs, and act as a support structure for the club in the community. They are excluded from all club business.”
Two boxes hung from the one at the far right marked ”Female a.s.sociates.”
”Women are at the lowest level of the hierarchy and fall into one of two categories. The ole ladies are wives, either common-law or legal, and are off-limits to other gang members, except by invitation. The club 'mamas' or 'sheep' are a different story. How shall I put it?” He raised eyebrows and shoulders. ”They mingle freely.”
”Warm-hearted ladies, all.” Kuricek.
”Very. Mamas are fair game to any color-wearing member. While the ole ladies enjoy a certain degree of protection, have no doubt about it, outlaw motorcycle gangs are male-dominated and highly chauvinistic. Women are bought, sold, and swapped like hardware.”
”The biker's idea of women's lib is to take the cuffs off after he's through. Maybe.” Kuricek.
”That's pretty close. Women are definitely used and abused.” Roy.
”Used how?” I asked.
”Aside from s.e.x, there's what we might call wage sharing. They get the women into exotic dancing, drink hustling, street-level drug trafficking, prost.i.tution, then rake back the earnings. One hooker from Halifax claimed she had to turn over forty percent of her take to the h.e.l.ls Angel who pimped for her.”
”How do they find these women?” I felt a knot forming in my stomach.
”The usual. They pick them up in bars, hitchhiking, runaways.”
”Wanna ride my Harley, sweet thing?” Kuricek.
I pictured the skull and shunt.
”Amazingly, there's never a shortage,” Roy continued. ”But don't get me wrong. While many are victimized, some held against their wills, a good number of these ladies embrace the lifestyle with gusto. Macho men, drugs, alcohol, guns, round-the-mountain s.e.x. It's a wild ride and they go along gladly.
”The women also make themselves useful in ways not strictly s.e.xual or economic. Often it's the ladies who carry concealed drugs or weapons, and they're very good at ditching when a bust comes down. Some make very effective spies. They hire on with government agencies, the phone company, records offices, any place they might have access to useful information. Some ole ladies have guns or property registered in their names, either because hubby is prohibited, or to protect his a.s.sets from seizure by the government.”
Roy glanced at his watch.
”On that note, I think we'll call it a day. Some folks have just joined us from the c.u.m, so I may hold one more of these sessions.”
c.u.m. Communaute Urbaine de Montreal Police. I wondered why Claudel had not been present at today's meeting.