|
Under And Alone
''Under and Alone'' is a book written by undercover ATF agent William Queen and published by Random House in 2005 which chronicles his infiltration of the violent outlaw motorcycle gang, the Mongols. Synopsis William Queen was a nearly 20-year ATF veteran as well as a motorcycle enthusiast when, in 1998, a "confidential informant" contacted Queen's superiors, offering to help place an agent inside the San Fernando Valley chapter of the Mongols. Queen's work was soon to become the most extensive undercover operation into a motorcycle gang in the history of American law enforcement. Queen, using the alias Billy St. John, successfully infiltrated the gang by posing as a heavily bearded and long-haired motorcyclist who liked to drink beer and ride his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. After becoming a full member ("patched"), Queen eventually rose to the office of Treasurer in the organization. As Treasurer, he had access to evidence of the gang's criminal activity and was able to build a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Queen
William "Billy" Queen Jr. is a retired undercover agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the author of the bestselling books ''Under and Alone'' and ''Armed and Dangerous''. Career Queen was raised in North Carolina, the son of an ATF agent. He served as a Special Forces soldier in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. After his discharge from the Army, he worked as a police officer in North Carolina for six years. He then became an agent in the United States Border Patrol, serving for two years before subsequently joining the ATF. Early operations involved infiltrating the Aryan Nation and the Ku Klux Klan, two white supremacist organizations. He also served on an ATF Special Response Team, a federal equivalent of a SWAT team. In early 1998, as part of an operation to infiltrate motorcycle gangs, Queen joined the San Fernando Valley chapter of the Mongols as "Billy St. John", and was a member for 28 months. Despite his nic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. History Random House was founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, two years after they acquired the Modern Library imprint from publisher Horace Liveright, which reprints classic works of literature. Cerf is quoted as saying, "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random," which suggested the name Random House. In 1934 they published the first authorized edition of James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' in the Anglophone world. ''Ulysses'' transformed Random House into a formidable publisher over the next two decades. In 1936, it absorbed the firm of Smith and Haas—Robert Haas became the third partner until retiring and selling his share back to Cerf and Klopfer in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hardcover
A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occasionally leather). It has a flexible, sewn spine which allows the book to lie flat on a surface when opened. Modern hardcovers may have the pages glued onto the spine in much the same way as paperbacks. Following the ISBN sequence numbers, books of this type may be identified by the abbreviation Hbk. Hardcover books are often printed on acid-free paper, and they are much more durable than paperbacks, which have flexible, easily damaged paper covers. Hardcover books are marginally more costly to manufacture. Hardcovers are frequently protected by artistic dust jackets, but a "jacketless" alternative has increased in popularity: these "paper-over-board" or "jacketless" hardcover bindings forgo the dust jacket in favor of printing the cove ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bureau Of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, And Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention of federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession of firearms and explosives; acts of arson and bombings; and illegal trafficking and tax evasion of alcohol and tobacco products. The ATF also regulates via licensing the sale, possession, and transportation of firearms, ammunition, and explosives in interstate commerce. Many of the ATF's activities are carried out in conjunction with task forces made up of state and local law enforcement officers, such as Project Safe Neighborhoods. The ATF operates a unique fire research laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, where full-scale mock-ups of criminal arson can be reconstructed. The ATF had 5,285 employees and an annual budget of almost $1.5 billion in 2021. The A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Outlaw Motorcycle Club
An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of Cruiser (motorcycle), cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and chopper (motorcycle), choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the biker group. In the United States, such motorcycle clubs (MCs) are considered "outlaw" not necessarily because they engage in criminal activity, but because they are not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and do not adhere to the AMA's rules. Instead, the clubs have their own set of bylaws reflecting the outlaw biker culture. The United States Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice defines "outlaw motorcycle gangs" (OMG) as "organizations whose members use their motorcycle clubs as conduits for criminal enterprises". Organization and leadership While organizations may vary, the typical internal organization of a motorcycle club consists of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mongols (motorcycle Club)
The Mongols Motorcycle Club, sometimes called the Mongols Nation or Mongol Brotherhood, is a "one-percenter" outlaw motorcycle club. The club is headquartered in Southern California and was originally formed in Montebello, California, in 1969. Law enforcement officials estimate approximately 2,000 full-patched members are in the club. The Mongols' main presence lies in Southern California, but they also have chapters nationwide in 14 states and internationally in 11 countries. Criminal activities Mongols members have a long history in the illegal drugs trade (especially methamphetamine), money laundering, robbery, extortion, firearms violations, murder, and assault, among other crimes. Current club president David Santillan denies that the club as a whole is a criminal enterprise, and attorneys for the club claim that it has changed its code of conduct to exclude drug abusers and criminals. Incidents Members of the Glendale Mongols chapter, along with bikers from the San Berna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Informant
An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informants are officially known as confidential human sources (CHS), or criminal informants (CI). It can also refer pejoratively to someone who supplies information without the consent of the involved parties."The Weakest Link: The Dire Consequences of a Weak Link in the Informant Handling and Covert Operations Chain-of-Command" by M Levine. ''Law Enforcement Executive Forum'', 2009 The term is commonly used in politics, industry, entertainment, and academia. In the United States, a confidential informant or "CI" is "any individual who provides useful and credible information to a law enforcement agency regarding felonious criminal activities and from whom the agency expects or intends to obtain additional useful and credible information regardin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated areas and the Municipal corporation, incorporated cities of Burbank, California, Burbank, Calabasas, California, Calabasas, Glendale, California, Glendale, Hidden Hills, California, Hidden Hills, and San Fernando, California, San Fernando. The valley is well known for its iconic film studios such as Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studio and Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Studios. In addition, it is home to the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. Geography The San Fernando Valley is about bound by the Santa Susana Mountains to the northwest, the Simi Hills to the west, the Santa Monica Mountains and Chalk Hills to the south, the Verdugo Mountains to the east, and the San Gabriel Mountains to the northeast. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with its historical rival, Indian Motorcycles.Automotive – RSS Feed . ''Popular Mechanics''. Retrieved July 7, 2011. The company has survived numerous ownership arrangements, subsidiary arrangements, periods of poor economic health and product quality, and intense global competition to become one of the world's largest motorcycle manufacturers and an iconic brand widely known for its loyal following. There are owner clubs and events worldwide, as well as a company-sponsored, brand-focused museum. Harley-Davidson is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocalyptic action series ''Mad Max'' and as Martin Riggs in the buddy cop action-comedy film series ''Lethal Weapon''. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia, when he was 12 years old. He studied acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, where he starred opposite Judy Davis in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet''. During the 1980s, he founded Icon Entertainment, a production company, which independent film director Atom Egoyan has called "an alternative to the studio system". Director Peter Weir cast him as one of the leads in the World War I drama ''Gallipoli'' (1981), which earned Gibson a Best Actor Award from the Australian Film Institute,The Australian Film InstitutPast Winners as well as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icon Productions
Icon Productions is a production company founded in August 1989 by actor/director Mel Gibson and Australian producing partner Bruce Davey, which, unlike most other independent production companies, funds most of its development and production costs, allowing it to retain creative control of its projects. Its headquarters are in Santa Monica, California. In 2008–2009, the company's UK operations were sold. After the acquisition of Dendy Cinemas, a separate company involved in film distribution only in Australia continued to operate as Icon Film Distribution, using the original logo and still owned by Gibson and Davey. History Icon started when Gibson was having trouble in financing the 1990 film ''Hamlet''. According to Davey: Unlike most other independents, Icon has always financed most of its development and packaging costs internally, mainly by Gibson, allowing it to retain creative control of projects through production. ''Felicia's Journey'' director Atom Egoyan pra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Barnz
Daniel Barnz (born 1970) is an American screenwriter and director. Life and career Barnz was born Daniel Bernstein in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania,Champagne, Christine"10 Directors to Watch: Daniel Barnz" ''Variety (magazine), Variety'', 16 January 2008 a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. His parents, Richard J. Bernstein and Carol L. Bernstein, are both professors. He is openly gay and later changed his surname to an amalgamation of Bernstein and Schwartz, the surname of his partner of almost two decades, Ben Schwartz. The couple has two children. Barnz describes himself as "a Jewish liberal Democrat". Barnz graduated from Yale University and the USC School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California Film School."Bio: Daniel Barnz" , ''Moviefone'' He made his directorial debut in the 2001 m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
