1%

[FreakAnimalFinland]

During c. week long holiday, read the paperback of "prosenttijengit" (percent gangs). This book goes in detail about early years of Finnish 1% gangs. The rise of Hell's Angels, followed with Bandidos and Finnish origin cannonballs with addition of non-MC gangs, local fames of Lahti Rogues Gallery and Natural Born Killers and the skinhead dominated Bats. The hangaround MC's are mentioned as well.
Book follows the 90's "biker war" where dozen people got killed, car bombs, bazookas, machineguns, handguns, sawn off shotguns, hand grenades and whatever useful was used to annihilate the opposing bikers and random bystanders.
In same street where my shop is, just the next block, was the bloodiest assault. During court lunch break people were shot in head in execution style.
Especially NBK is harsh. If you resign from gang in good terms, your little finger will be cut off. If you resign in bad terms, it's bullet in the head. For this method, the ex-leadership is serving life.
Book is filled with intense violence, yet at the same time it is very hard to actually focus on subject matter, where is no real ideology behind it. Simply just utter F.T.W.!

There are plenty of books about Hells Angels as well as other 1% gangs. For finns, the book mentioned above is mandatory. I guess IF translation would be done, it could be of interest in scandinavia due obvious connection the clubs have. I'm curious if there is english written books of lets say Denmark?

[bitewerksMTB]

Lahti Rogues Gallery and Natural Born Killers

What are they about, drug dealing and the usual? MS-13 is one that seems to be spreading in the U.S. I usually watch documentaries on National Geographic about gang violence.

Chicago has the record for the largest car bombing by a biker gang. Can't remember which one; Hells Angels vs another.... Montreal Canada at one time had the most violent biker clubs. The Bandidos are all over TX but you rarely hear anything about them. All the people I've met were mostly hang-arounds and were just general idiots but idiots you didn't want to be around for long.

I was punched in the face once by a guy who was in a Houston club & served time for shooting a Bandido......

[GEWALTMONOPOL]

I remember very well when HA established themselves in Malmo and the biker gang war that ensued. My brother who worked in a prison saw plenty of both HA and Bandidos members pass through the system. Most of them dimwits. Violent yes, dangerous most certainly but none the less dimwitted losers. Not really what you'd expect from members of such renowned world wide crime organisations. Much more interesting are the secretive Brödraskapet (The Brotherhood) who consisted of long standing and hardened criminals only. They set up a biker chapter for a while but probably decided it was a waste of time and stuck to just being double hard fuckers instead. Officially they are a support network for "former" prisoners. In reality they are a prison gang/crime syndicate with chapters all over Sweden. An interesting detail is the Finnish flag in their coat of arms.

Does the book mention them at all? Are they represented in Finland?

http://www.brodraskapet.se/

[Jaakko V.]

I read Under and Alone and while it was obviously very, very edited for best seller purposes, dramatized, predigested etc. it was an entertaining read. About Mongols MC and this guy who raised in rank while being an undercover cop all the time. Thrilling stories. And what's funny, as a sort of reaction to that (?) the president of Mongols published his own book later on.

[bitewerksMTB]

The Sons of Silence from Colorado are funny. They all snitched on each other...

The History Channel had a great series about gangs. Of course, I can't remember the name but if you search their site, might be found there. Definitely worth checking out & I hope they return with a new season.

GANGLAND is the name of the THC show. SpikeTV is running it now... Probably easy to find online.

[Jaakko V.]

Mongols MC Scandinavia ... interesting.

[bitewerksMTB]

I like the logo for The Pagans:

http://outlawbikergangs.blogspot.com/2010/04/pagans-mc-biker-gang.html

[GEWALTMONOPOL]

The Sons of Silence from Colorado are funny. They all snitched on each other...

CLASSIC!

The prison my brother worked in had the pleasure of hosting the guy who had scored the highest ever on Hare's Psychopathy Checklist in the history of the Swedish prison service. He was kept in the same wing as one Bandidos member and one HA member. To pass the time he went to the Bandidos guy's cell and said "mate, just overheard the HA guy down the corridor and he was bragging about how he's going to kneecap you on the outside". Then he repeated the same line, roles reversed, to the HA guy. It took the staff a while to diffuse that situation. Good for a laugh though.

[HONOR_IS_KING!]

Haven't read anything on 1% MC's but here is a pretty interesting documentary on the Hells Angels in the UK:

http://kicktokill.blogspot.com/2010/08/hells-angels-london-branch-1973.html

[halthan]

That book, "prosenttijengit" is very good. Funny, I used to know some members from Bandidos-MC, and they are really lovely guys, doesn´t really match the media-image : )

[halthan]

Marko Hirsma (ex-president of Bandidos) was my neighbour, and he was shot to death 2001 by his ex-mc members at our parking lot. He was one of the most violent bikers in Finland, but as a neighbour such a jolly guy. He was kicked out from Bandidos ´cause of his drug habits and violent behaviour. Used also to play in finnish rockband "Backsliders"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ4egePpzUM

[Matthias]

There's a swedish book called Svensk Maffia that was published a couple of years ago which is pretty good. Deals not only with the regular biker gangs operating here, but also gangs like Original Gangsters, Asir, Chosen Ones and my favorites FFL (Fucked For Life), who started out stealing mopeds in their teens but ended up specializing in robbing money transport trucks etc. Lots of shit has been happening in Gothenburg the last 10 years, one of the most famous incidents being when OG and Naserligan members opened fire at each other at a packed beach one hot summer day.

[Nyodene D]

Hunter S. Thompson's book on the HA is a good place to start in terms of why MCs exist in the first place.  Gangland does a good job of talking about individual bikers. 

The bar I used to work at in Athens (where I go to school) was an occasional meeting house / checkpoint for the Southern Breed MC. 

I had to ask them to move once so I could set up the PA for a show, and about 8 guys in leather and chains with "88" and "RAHOWA" patches all over stood up... fun day..

[ARKHE]

Much more interesting are the secretive Brödraskapet (The Brotherhood) who consisted of long standing and hardened criminals only. They set up a biker chapter for a while but probably decided it was a waste of time and stuck to just being double hard fuckers instead. Officially they are a support network for "former" prisoners. In reality they are a prison gang/crime syndicate with chapters all over Sweden. An interesting detail is the Finnish flag in their coat of arms.

Ah yes, you see those vests now and again downtown. Wasn't it because of them that the crust band had to change their name?

In Malmö, there's been a lot of shootings and executions the last few years between the groups "K-falangen", "M-falangen", Black Cobra and Lion Family. Mostly a bunch of violent youngsters with Scarface-wannabee tendencies who've grown up and become dangerous, blowing up resturants and killing each other in the streets (one guy, high in the hierarchy, was shot at MCDonalds in the center of the town). And the usual extorsion, drug dealing, etc. Connections to Serbia etc. The voluntary organization Lugna Gatan ("calm street") which worked with troubled youngsters, hired by the town to help kids get out of troublesome lifestyles, was actually connected to the M-phalanx, some of them still active criminals. Safe to say that they're not welcome anymore.
http://www.sydsvenskan.se/malmo/article627392/BAKGRUND-M-falangen-K-falangen-Black-Cobra-och-Lion-Family.html

So, what's the idea behind this 1% thing?

[GEWALTMONOPOL]

The 1% implies they are outlaws and not part of the law abiding biker community. I'm guessing wearing a 1% patch on your jacket displays pride in being part of the select few who aren't pussies like the other 99%.

What the old hometown has become in the ten years since I left is another reason I'm glad I'm gone. It was always a shithole for various reasons but drive by shootings in broad daylight with innocent bystanders gunned down was unheard of before. Now it's every other month. The place has gone to shit and it keeps deteriorating.