Roundup Of Biker Gang May Be End Of Road

Florida's once-notorious Outlaws motorcycle gang, sputtering along in recent years as members were jailed, killed or retired, may have reached the end of its sadistic road.

Seven current and former gang members, including four key figures from South Florida, were arrested across the state this week and charged under a broad racketeering indictment.

The so-called RICO indictment covered eight murders, five robberies, 24 extortions, three bombings, 17 acts of drug trafficking, witness intimidation and interstate transportation of explosives during a 15-year period.

"These arrests signal the demise of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club in the state of Florida," said Pamela Brown, senior special agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, one of three key agencies that worked Operation Silverspoke for more than six years.

Three others indicted had not yet been arrested.

With the indictments and arrests, investigators estimate that fewer than 20 members are left to carry on the gang's vicious traditions.

Since the mid-'60s, the Florida branch of the nationwide gang has allegedly rumbled across the state on their Harley Davidsons, dealing drugs, raping women, shaking down bar owners, blowing up rival gangs' clubhouses and even dismembering their enemies with chain saws, police say.

Among those arrested: Wayne "Joe Black" Hicks, 42, once the regional president of the Outlaws; Clarence "Smitty" Smith, 52, another onetime regional president; Houston Murphy, 36, identified as current regional boss of the club; and James "Pinball" Agnew, 45, former president of the South Florida Outlaws chapter in Fort Lauderdale.

The RICO statutes - RICO stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act - has become one of law enforcement's most effective weapons against the Outlaws because it allows police to pursue complex, yet often subtle, criminal enterprises.