Hell's Angels: More than "Toys for Tots"

Boy, I must really be naive. I learned recently there's a much darker side to Hell's Angels than being just a hell-raising motorcycle gang. This definition is taken directly from Wikipedia:

The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto is "When we do right, nobody remembers. When we do wrong, nobody forgets".

Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada classify the Angels as one of the "big four" motorcycle gangs, contending that members carry out widespread violence, drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, and extortion. Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies.

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So what started all this? It began when a potential client from up North began telling me his nightmare story about how Hell's Angels began to extort him. They even took over his contracting company without his knowledge and used it to launder money. As unbelievable as that may seem, the more this guy told me, the clearer it became how this could happen. Mind you, I'm intentionally keeping the facts vague so as not to get this guy in trouble. I will tell you he's from the Midwest.

During that same time, I was editing my friend Rick Porrello's book The Irishman for it's paperback version. In the following excerpt it's 1977 Cleveland. Several mobster's names are mentioned who are now dead:

Crnic's death posed a major problem for the Hell's Angels. For some time the Mafia had been using the Angels as muscle, but now the Cleveland mobsters were furious. It was obvious that the bikers also accepted murder contracts against them. Licavoli issued stern warnings and his men held a meeting attended by the Hell's Angel's president. The biker boss defended his club explaining that they were not responsible for Crnic's actions because he was a former member at the time he planted the bomb. Despite distrust and finger-pointing by mob members, the explanation was accepted by Licavoli. But it was two years before the Hell's Angels were used for another mob contract.

What an eyeopener.