A former undercover cop has warned that a biker gang notorious for extreme violence is operating in crime-stricken New York City once again.
The Pagan’s Motorcycle Club rode through the NYC streets on Saturday in an apparent attempt to recruit new members, former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent Ken Croke told the New York Post.
‘Pagans are riding the streets of New York City today, flying their colors,’ said Croke. ‘There are s**tloads of Pagans running around, actively recruiting and have been for years.’
Croke, who spent two years undercover with the gang, alleged that members ‘sold crystal meth and guns, gang-raped women, brutalized rivals and extorted businesses.’
He recalled how one leader removed his own artificial leg to clobber business owner who refused to pay him and how another ‘laid out a plan to brutally rape’ his female acquaintance while he drank beers and snorted cocaine in the motorcycle club’s hideaway.
Following Croke’s undercover work nearly a decade ago, 20 Pagans pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering, drugs, firearms and conspiracy to commit murder, among other things. Now, he warns the group – which has 2,000 members nationwide – is growing in the Big Apple once again.
A former undercover cop has warned that a biker gang notorious for extreme violence is operating in crime-stricken New York City once again
Former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Ken Croke (not pictured), who spent two years undercover with the gang, alleged that members ‘sold crystal meth and guns, gang-raped women, brutalized rivals and extorted businesses’
‘These folks aren’t stupid,’ Croke, 54, warned in an interview with The Drive, as he detailed his undercover experience as a gang member.
He said the group operated somewhat like law enforcement in terms of structure and process.
The ex-ATF agent explained the gang, which was essentially an organized crime network, would utilize shakedown tactics when intimidating rival gang members or business owners who refused to pay the ‘protection money’ requested by the Pagans.
He also recalled helping the group move the body of an apparent murder victim from one upstate grave to another.
‘They are extremely dangerous. They are organized crime. They use intimidation, threats of violence to get what they want,’ he said.
Croke claimed the Pagans would hold mandatory weekly meetings referred to as ‘Church’ and used encrypted cellphones and counter-surveillance efforts to avoid authorities and stay under the radar.
Members were expected to keep up with long-run leaders during rides, especially since those individuals were tasked with staying alert for potential threats or danger.
‘If the leader of the pack decides to pass a tractor trailer, you have to keep up. You can’t fall behind in the pack,’ explained Croke.
‘You’re riding hard, and a lot of bikers are killed on their bikes. Riding side by side is challenging for a lot of riders, and you’re doing that with 100 others at 100 miles an hour. There were numerous times I was run off the road.’
The group’s recent resurgence comes after Bronx chapter leader Francisco Rosado, 51, was shot dead by members of a rival gang in May 2020
Rosado was gunned down by two masked men on Holland Avenue near Mace Avenue in Allerton. He was struck in the head and chest and declared dead at the scene
Rosado’s murder came just months after the Pagans fired 14 gunshots into the newly acquired home base of archrival Hells Angels. Investigators are pictured at the scene of Rosado’s death
Hells Angels honcho Frank Tatulli, 58, and club member Sayanon Thongthwath, 29, (both pictured as they carried out the assassination) were arrested and charged with his murder two months later
The ex-cop recalled how during his time with the gang he would sleep on the dirty floor of a Long Island home ‘surrounded by the filth and the scent of stale beer, weed and cigarettes.’
He alleged the gang members often ‘smelled like s**t and snored like bears.’
Croke also compared the process of joining the organization to that of collegiate fraternity hazing.
‘As a prospect, I was considered a servant, a slave, or even less. It’s like college fraternity hazing, except that you can be beaten into a coma or killed at any moment,’ he explained in his recently published book detailing his time with the group.
‘We busted our tails and stood guard duty, but most of that weekend consisted of me being bossed around, belittled, and disrespected,’ Croke recalled.
Members would ordering him around, saying: ‘Prospect, go get me a burger.’ ‘Prospect, go get me a beer.’ ‘Prospect, go wash my bike.’ ‘Prospect, give me a cigarette.’ ‘Prospect, I need a spark plug.’
‘I just had to take it all,’ he explained.
Croke (not pictured) explained the gang, which was essentially an organized crime network, would utilize shakedown tactics when intimidating rival gang members or business owners who refused to pay the ‘protection money’ requested by the Pagans
The Pagans would hold mandatory weekly meetings referred to as ‘Church’ and used encrypted cellphones and counter-surveillance efforts to avoid authorities and stay under the radar
He also witnessed how the group didn’t hesitate to use violence to achieve it’s goals.
‘They were well-orchestrated in what they did and they were good at it,’ Croke said in an telephone interview with The Patriot Ledger, noting how they operate with a ‘pack mentality’.
‘The minute you do anything to one of them, you do it to all of them,’ he said.
Croke recalled how when their archrival, Hells Angels, attempted to squeeze into the Pagans’ territory in the Bronx in 2019 the group fired 14 gunshots into their newly acquired home base, an abandoned American Legion hall in Throggs Neck.
Shortly after, Francisco Rosado, who led the Bronx chapter of the Pagans, was gunned down in broad daylight in May 2020, in an apparent retaliation by the rival group.
Hells Angels honcho Frank Tatulli, 58, and club member Sayanon Thongthwath, 29, were arrested and charged with his murder two months later.
According to Croke, the Pagans are the ‘more dangerous’ of the two notorious gangs.
‘The Hells Angels, in my opinion, they’re like a business,’ he said. ‘They have copyrights and doctors and lawyers who are members not involved in criminal activity.
‘The Pagans are just violent individuals. They’re bad dudes. They don’t have two nickels to rub together but they don’t care.’
He alleged that Hells Angels ‘sleep in five-star hotels’ and ‘Pagans sleep in dirt fields.’
Croke (left) details his experience with the Pagans in his book Riding with Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Gang (right). He shares the inner workings of the group and his own struggles with maintaining a double life while undercover
After Croke left the club, the Pagans placed a $50,000 price on his head. It is unclear if the group is still seeking his death today
Croke details his experience with the Pagans in his book Riding with Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Gang.
The book, which was released last week, was co-written with New York Times bestselling author Dave Wedge.
He shares the inner workings of the group and his own struggles with maintaining a double life while undercover.
When asked if he thought Pagans leadership would read the novel, Croke answered: ‘I would be surprised if they don’t.’
‘They read [these types of books] to try to detect what law enforcement does. They watch all these shows, from documentaries to Sons of Anarchy,’ he said.
After Croke left the club, the Pagans placed a $50,000 price on his head. It is unclear if the group is still seeking his death today.
The Pagans resurgence comes as crime in the Big Apple has skyrocketed in 2022 after having increased in 2021
The Pagans resurgence comes as crime in the Big Apple has skyrocketed in 2022 after having increased in 2021.
There were 32 murders in February – three more than the same month last year.
Multiple other categories saw shocking jumps, including car theft, which soared by nearly 105 percent; grand larceny, which jumped nearly 80 percent over the previous year; robberies, which surged 56 percent; a 44 percent bump in burglaries and a 22 percent spike in assaults. Rapes also saw a terrifying 35 percent rise in February.
The crime wave comes during Mayor Eric Adams’ first few months in office. The former NYPD cop has vowed to crack down on the influx of incidents on the city’s streets and subway system – which has seen a rash of violent incidents in recent weeks. Former Mayor Bill De Blasio’s policies contributed to the current crime wave, experts said.
The New York subway has been ground zero for the latent crime wave after an alarming 73.3 percent increase in underground incidents – including 182 in February alone.
Hate crimes have also doubled since last year — with anti-Asian attacks more than tripling and anti-Jewish complaints up by a whopping 54 percent over the same time last year, from 134 to 207 incidents.
One recent poll revealed that nearly 75 percent of all New York City voters consider crime to be a ‘very serious’ problem.