Motorcycle club leader faces federal racketeering charges

TAMPA, Fla. -- For the fourth time since 1995, federal prosecutors here are taking on the Outlaws, an international motorcycle club officials say more resembles a multinational corporation, albeit one in the business of drug dealing and loan sharking.

Jury selection begins Monday in the case against the club's international president, James Lee "Frank" Wheeler, who is accused of helping orchestrate crimes committed by Outlaws members.

Wheeler, 60, faces life in prison if convicted on the racketeering charges, which include two murders in Indiana and New York.

The trial will be watched by gang investigators around the country and in Canada, where fights between the Outlaws and other motorcycle gangs have claimed scores of lives.

Wheeler is also accused of helping hide former Outlaw leader Harry "Taco" Bowman for more than a year as federal authorities searched for him.

Bowman was sentenced to life in prison in 2001 in the last Outlaw trial to take place in Tampa, which has become the epicenter of Outlaws prosecution because of sweeping cases brought against the gang in the mid-1990s.

The Outlaws are one of the nation's four largest motorcycle gangs, along with the Hell's Angels, the Pagans and the Bandidos. They have chapters in 17 states, Europe, Canada and Australia.

Wheeler isn't going to trial quietly.

On the Chicago-based club's Web site, supporters can buy "Free Frank" T-shirts for $20 with the proceeds going to his legal defense fund. Wheeler's wife, Stephanie, who declined to comment on the case, posts poetic messages to her jailed husband.

Wheeler responds with his own missives, as do supporters worldwide, including at least one U.S. soldier serving in Kuwait who thanks him and other Outlaws for their support of the troops fighting in Iraq.

"Riders of the highways," Wheeler wrote in one poem. "Brothers till the end. Our way of life, the world doesn't comprehend."

Cracking down

Wheeler was indicted last September along with the Outlaws national vice president, Dennis Pelligrini. Wheeler was also one of 38 people named in a separate federal racketeering indictment that is still pending.

Pelligrini pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, but has not been sentenced. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

In 1995, a federal jury convicted 14 of 16 gang members from Florida Outlaws chapters on charges that included firebombings, drug running and weapons law violations. Four members of the Outlaws were convicted of similar crimes in 1997, followed by Bowman's trial in 2001.

Prosecutors and law enforcement agents say they are intent on dismantling motorcycle gangs' criminal networks, which have fueled deadly gang wars.

Patrick Schneider, president of the International Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association, said the U.S. effort to crack down on gangs goes hand-in-hand with efforts in Canada and Europe, where they are engaged in bloody battles for control of drug markets. He said in recent years, the Outlaws have established a line of successors when top gang leaders are sent to prison.

Wheeler is charged with orchestrating the Sept. 25, 1994 death of Hell's Angel Michael Quale. Quale, 44, was killed during a fight between the two gangs at a speedway in Lancaster, N.Y. There is no victim named in the Indiana death Wheeler is accused of orchestrating.

Eight others were injured in the brawl, which also killed an Outlaw member. Well-armed gang members had arrived at the speedway wearing bullet-resistant vests and ready for a fight, police said.

According to the federal indictment, Wheeler's other crimes date back to at least 1990.

Lina Presley, an Indiana prison official who monitors gangs, said Wheeler led a quiet life in Indianapolis for years and hadn't been arrested earlier because most of the crimes were committed in other states and when other Outlaws could cover for their leader.

"This guy was literally getting away with murder for a long, long time," Presley said.

Wheeler's attorneys declined comment on the case. The trial is expected to last six weeks.

As for Wheeler, he has continued to rally support from his jail cell. He writes poetry describing his disappointment in fellow Outlaws who are poised to testify against him and his own commitment to the organization.

"I am only one man," Wheeler wrote shortly after he was jailed last September. "But I am one man with many brothers."

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On the Net:

Outlaws Motorcycle Club: http://www.outlawsmc.com/