Grandpas Of Anarchy: Senior Citizen Biker Gangs Arrested In Brooklyn
From the archive: published Oct 18, 2012, 14 years ago. Details may have changed since.
A gang of geriatric Brooklyn bikers, well known for attacks on police officers, were arrested for transporting an arsenal of weapons – including a cannon. Undercover law enforcement officers reportedly bought the artillery for $2,000. The pile of weapons allegedly included 41 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Eight members of the Trouble Makers, Dirty Ones, and the Forbidden Ones were arrested on firearms trafficking charges. The average age of the Brooklyn bikers was 51. Four of the motorcycle gang members were too ill to appear at their arraignment in Brooklyn Federal Court, according to the New York Daily News .
Scott (Spider) Brannigan, 61, complained of a bad heart and high blood pressure, and was sent to the hospital instead of the court house. Frank (Afro) Miranda, 50, and Samual Moya, 44, were allegedly in need of heroin detox, and were also permitted to skip the arraignment hearing. The alleged “Supreme President” of the Forbidden Ones, Jose (Rusty) Perez, 49, was also allegedly in need of medical treatment for sleep apnea.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly had this to say about the arrest of the aging biker gang members:
“The suspects should consider changing their names to Busted Bikers.”
In 2011, five police officers from Queens were reportedly attacked by bike gang members wearing brass knuckles, and carrying knives and baseball bats.
Not everyone who has encountered the reputedly violent gangs are fearful. A resident in the same building as the Forbidden Ones clubhouse, Alex Syner, 25, had this to say about his rowdy neighbors:
“They’re really nice guys. They’re really chill. I party with them all the time.”
The old artillery cannon was allegedly kept loaded at all times and was pointed at the front door of the outlaw biker gang’s clubhouse. Brooklyn Prosecuting Attorney, Loretta Lynch, stated that violent motorcycle gangs are not outside of the reach of the law, no matter how many tattoos or patches they wear, according to the Huffington Post .