''Under and Alone'' is a book written by undercover ATF agent

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 ...

and published by

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 Germ ...

in 2005 which chronicles his infiltration of the violent

outlaw motorcycle gang 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, ...

, the

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 ...

Synopsis

William Queen was a nearly 20-year ATF veteran as well as a motorcycle enthusiast when, in 1998, a "

confidential 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 informan ...

" 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 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 Depressi ...

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 case against dozens of Mongol club members. Initially, Queen was subjected by members to tests of his fealty by taking part in and witnessing the trafficking of drugs and firearms and the theft of motorcycles, as well as driving getaway cars. In the book Queen details how, after 28 months, he began to lose his own identity to his new persona. He explained how he learned to battle the conflicts both within the gang and within himself in order to keep his identity a secret. Despite the activities of the group, Queen also came to appreciate their camaraderie and sense of family. When the work began to have the effect of isolating Queen, he explains in the book, the Mongols began to feel like his own family, causing emotional difficulty for him when the investigation closed more than two years after it had begun.

Film adaptation

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-apoca ...

's production company,

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 cos ...

, acquired the film rights to Queen's story, with early reports indicating that Gibson himself was interested in starring as Queen.

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'', 16 January 2008 a suburb of Phil ...

and Ned Zeman were attached to write the screenplay. However, Gibson's arrest for drunk driving and subsequent legal issues shelved any plans for a movie based on the book.

References

* {{OutlawMotorcycleGroups 2005 non-fiction books American autobiographies Non-fiction books about gangs Mongols Motorcycle Club