Michael Vincent O'Farrell (June 2, 1949 – June 6, 1989), nicknamed "Irish", was an American

outlaw biker An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, a ...

and

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

who served as the vice-president and acting president of the

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

chapter of the

Hells Angels Motorcycle Club The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...

(HAMC). O'Farrell was alleged by law enforcement officials to be the second-in-command to

Sonny Barger Ralph Hubert "Sonny" Barger, Jr. (October 8, 1938 – June 29, 2022) was an American outlaw biker, author and actor who was a founding member of the Oakland, California chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in 1957. After forming the O ...

, the reputed international president of the Hells Angels. During the early-mid 1980s, he deputized for Barger, serving as the Oakland chapter president and ''de facto'' international leader of the Hells Angels, while Barger recovered from from a throat operation for cancer. O'Farrell was murdered in a bar fight in 1989 shortly before he was due to start serving a prison sentence for conspiring to bomb the clubhouse of a rival motorcycle gang, the

Outlaws An outlaw is a person living outside the law. Outlaws or The Outlaws may also refer to: Film and television Film * ''The Outlaws'' (1950 film), an Italian crime film * ''Outlaws'' (1985 film), a French film * ''The Outlaws'' (2017 film), a Sou ...

.Hells Angels Stage Funeral for Leader Killed in Bar Fight
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' (June 11, 1989)

Hells Angels

While a member of the Night Riders motorcycle gang in

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

, O'Farrell, along with members of the

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

chapter of the

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...

, the Glendale

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

chapter and the Straight Satans of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, committed a sexual assault on a fifteen year-old girl in August 1972. He was among eleven biker gang members convicted in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

of rape and sex perversion on April 5, 1973.11 cyclists convicted of rape
''

Long Beach Independent The ''Press-Telegram'' is a paid daily newspaper published in Long Beach, California. Coverage area for the ''Press-Telegram'' includes Long Beach, Lakewood, Signal Hill, Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Compton, Downey, Hawaiian Gardens, Lynw ...

'' (April 6, 1973) On March 27, 1978, O'Farrell was arrested for parole violations along with

, Russell Beyea and James "Jim Jim" Brandes when 42 Hells Angels members and associates were served with

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

s requiring them to appear before a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

investigating the club's activities in

Solano County Solano County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 453,491. The county seat is Fairfield. Solano County comprises the Vallejo–Fairfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

. Known for his prowess as a

street fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...

, O'Farrell is alleged to have beaten

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Hells Angels chapter sergeant-at-arms Vincent "Big Vinny" Gerolamo while Gerolamo was visiting O'Farrell's

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

chapter in 1979. Upon returning to the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

, Gerolamo reported to New York chapter president Sandy Alexander that he had in fact been beaten by not just O'Farrell, but by several members of the Oakland chapter, prompting Alexander to travel to California to make inquiries. Alexander, a former professional boxer, reportedly returned to New York satisfied that O'Farrell was indeed solely responsible for Gerolamo's beating after a fight with O'Farrell at the Oakland chapter clubhouse. Gerolamo died weeks later, on September 12, 1979, of complications from a ruptured spleen, believed to have been sustained in the beating. While Oakland Hells Angels president Sonny Barger was recovering from an operation for throat cancer in the early-mid 1980s, O'Farrell served as acting president of the chapter beginning in 1983. As Oakland is the location of club's unofficial "mother chapter", he was additionally the ''de facto'' leader of the Hells Angels internationally.''Outlaw motorcycle gangs – USA overview''

National Institute of Justice The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development and evaluation agency of the United States Department of Justice. NIJ, along with the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Juvenil ...

(1991) During his tenure as president, O'Farrell denied to the ''

'' in 1983 that the Hells Angels were involved in

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

, and called Operation Roughrider, a nationwide

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI) investigation that resulted in the arrests of 133 Hells Angels members and associates in May 1985, "an ongoing conspiracy by the government". O'Farrell continued as the Oakland chapter's vice-president after Barger returned as president. On November 10, 1987, O'Farrell and Barger were among thirteen Hells Angels arrested on narcotics, weapons, explosives and conspiracy charges during a series of raids carried out by the FBI,

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 prevent ...

(ATF) and

California State Police The California State Police (CSP) was a state level security police agency founded on March 15, 1887 which primarily served to protect the State Capitol Building, the Governor, other state agencies located throughout the state, and thousands ...

personnel in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

, which also resulted in the seizure of over a hundred weapons, more than $1 million in cash and drugs, and three methamphetamine laboratories. The operation in the Bay Area was executed in synchronization with raids on various other HAMC chapters in four other states – producing a total of thirty-eight arrests – and concluded a two-year FBI investigation of the club, which commenced in 1985 after Anthony Tait, an officer in the

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

Hells Angels chapter, volunteered to become a paid informant. Travelling the country at government expense, Tait made documented purchases of weapons, explosives and drugs from the Hells Angels. He also covertly recorded club meetings by wearing a wire. O'Farrell, Barger and eight other Hells Angels from California and were Alaska extradited to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

to face trial for conspiring to transport firearms and explosives across state lines in order to kill members of the

Outlaws Motorcycle Club The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, incorporated as the American Outlaws Association or its acronym, A.O.A., is an outlaw motorcycle club that was formed in McCook, Illinois in 1935. It is one of the largest outlaw motorcycle clubs in the world and histo ...

in retaliation for the death of John Cleave Webb, the Anchorage HAMC chapter president who was shot and killed by two Outlaws members outside a

biker bar A biker bar is a bar that is frequented by motorcyclists (bikers). Some are owned or managed by people who are friendly toward motorcyclists.

Jefferson County, Kentucky Jefferson County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 782,969. It is the most populous county in the commonwealth (with more than twice the population of second ranked ...

on August 12, 1986.Louisville trial gives bikers an easy ride
Michael York, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' (October 23, 1988) O'Farrell and Barger were convicted of conspiracy on October 28, 1988.Jury Finds National Hells Angels Leader Guilty of Conspiracy

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

(October 29, 1988)

Murder

Two weeks before he was due to report to

United States Penitentiary, Atlanta The United States Penitentiary, Atlanta (USP Atlanta) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Atlanta, Georgia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice ...

to begin serving his sentence, O'Farrell was drinking at the Halfway Club in

San Leandro, California San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sou ...

on June 6, 1989 when he was recognized by a member of the

Aryan Brotherhood The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as the Brand or the AB, is a neo-Nazi prison gang and an organized crime syndicate which is based in the United States and has an estimated 15,000–20,000 members both inside and outside prisons. The Southern ...

as the man who had attempted to collect a drug debt from him two months prior. Fearing he would be beaten by O'Farrell again, the Brotherhood member ambushed O'Farrell outside the bar, stabbing him five times in the back, once in the chest and once in the neck, before shooting him four times from behind with a

.25 caliber .25 caliber may refer to the following firearms cartridges: Pistol cartridges .25 in (6.5 mm) See also * 6 mm caliber References {{Set index article Pistol and rifle cartridges ...

pistol while he was dying. He then shot another Hells Angel, Michael Musick, who fled after being wounded in the shoulder. Powdered

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

was found on the bar's patio, where the killing occurred. Police stated that O'Farrell may have been killed as a result of a power struggle between the Hells Angels and the Aryan Brotherhood in the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa countie ...

. According to the prosecutor Cleve Gambill, O'Farrell was murdered as part of the killer's initiation into the Aryan Brotherhood.How Hell's Angels 'maximum leader' Sonny Barger got convicted in Louisville and still 'won'
Andrew Wolfson, ''

The Courier-Journal ''The Courier-Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), is the highest circulation newspaper in Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett and billed as "Part of the ''USA Today'' Ne ...

'' (July 6, 2022) O'Farrell was laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery after approximately a thousand people, including his wife Teddy and son, attended his funeral in

East Oakland East Oakland is a geographical region of Oakland, California, United States, that stretches between Lake Merritt in the northwest and San Leandro in the southeast. As the southeastern portion of the city, East Oakland takes up the largest portio ...

on June 11, 1989. Two Aryan Brotherhood members charged in connection with O'Farrell's death, Aaron "Jerry" Marsh and Michael Bruce "Tank" Shepherd, were arrested in the following weeks. Marsh – who was accused of firing several shots during the fight, including one that wounded Musick – was taken into custody in Manteca on June 27, 1989, and Shepherd – who was charged with the homicide of O'Farrell – was apprehended by

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner's Department (SBSD) serves San Bernardino County, California, which is geographically the largest county in the United States (excluding Alaska's boroughs) and is headquartered in San Bernardino city. ...

deputies and

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enfor ...

troopers on Route 60 on July 26, 1989 after a high-speed chase through Chino and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

.Man sought in slaying arrested in West End
Tommy Li, ''

The San Bernardino Sun ''The San Bernardino Sun'' is a paid daily newspaper in San Bernardino County. Founded in 1894, it has significant circulation in neighboring Riverside County, and serves most of the Inland Empire in Southern California, with a circulation area ...

'' (July 28, 1989) Shepherd allegedly admitted his guilt in the killing to his lawyer Steven Gore. Marsh was strangled to death in

Pelican Bay State Prison Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP) is a supermax prison facility in Crescent City, California. The prison takes its name from a shallow bay on the Pacific coast, about to the west. Facilities The prison is located in a detached section of Cre ...

on July 25, 1997 by cellmate Gary J. Littrell after refusing an order from the Aryan Brotherhood leadership to murder another inmate. Shepherd committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell at Santa Ana Central Jail in December 2004 shortly after pleading guilty in a

RICO The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

case.Members of prison gang go on trial
''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

'' (March 13, 2006)

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OFarrell, Michael 1949 births 1989 deaths 1989 murders in the United States 20th-century American criminals American male criminals Murdered American gangsters of Irish descent American crime bosses People from Oakland, California Criminals of the San Francisco Bay Area American people convicted of rape American prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the United States People murdered in California People murdered by American organized crime Deaths by firearm in California Deaths by stabbing in California Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Oakland, California) Hells Angels