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WACO -
Police Thursday released a 19-page collection of reports from the Twin Peaks shootings that shed new light on the chaos in the first few minutes when gunfire erupted, along with details on some of the arrests.

The initial police comments came in at 12:25 p.m. that day that shots were fired and 75 seconds later an officer said subjects were still shooting. Dispatchers immediately requested help from Robinson PD, Sheriff's Deputies and DPS Troopers.

Eleven seconds later, at 12:27:21, an officer said "at least two down at Don Carlos".

Here are some of the subsequent comments from officers on the scene in a timeline:

12:28:11 ETMC NOTIFIED, SENDING SEVERAL UNITS, WILL STAGE

12:28:53 TWO SHOT BEHIND TWIN PEAKS

12:29:20 ADVISED THEY WERE SHOOTING AT KITCHEN WORKERS, MULTIPLE SHOTS FIRED INSIDE

12:29:38 THEY HAVE AN AR15

12:29:46 NEED ONE INSIDE/POSSIBLE SHOT IN BATHROOM

12:30:00 ADVISED THEY HAVE SHOT PEOPLE INSIDE TWIN PEAKS

12:30:07 ONE GUY ON GROUND CRAWLING TOWARDS EAST SIDE OF THE BUILDING, HAS A GUN

12:30:24 MORE MOTORCYCLES CAME IN BEST GUY ENTRANCE

12:30:46 PARAMEDIC - BLUE/SPIDER VEST HAS ONE VICTIM SHOT IN THE BELLY

12:30:46 ONE SHOT ON THE INSIDE

12:31:14 MORE BIKES COMING IN FROM BED AND BATH SIDE

12:31:50 NEED EMS TO COME TO OFFICE DEPOT (TO STAGE)

The log released today ends at this point. The 19 pages includes information on some of those arrested that day not on the Twin Peaks grounds, including a woman named Cara Sivert who told police conflicting stories when they stopped her blue Jeep as she wandered through the Central Texas Marketplace parking lot. She eventually told police she was trying to pick up her boyfriend, biker Sergio Reyes, who was a member of "Desagret Gracios," a support biker club for the Bandidos. Sivert was arrested for allegedly having drugs in her vehicle.

Police also arrested three biker club members who were sitting just outside the media area at the scene, one of whom had a Viper Tech flashlight with a built-in taser attached to it.

We also learned three bikers from the Austin area, Jim Albert Harris, Drew David King, and Juan Carlos Garcia, were sitting in a grassy area in front of Cabela's when they were arrested. Each was wearing a black leather vest with the club name "Grim Guardian, Rocker" on the back top patch and in the center a round patch with teh symbol of half of a skull on one side and half of a Viking helmet on the other. There was a small patch "MC" standing for motorcycle club and a bottom rocker patch stating the words "Slaughter Creek", indicating the city they were from.

Harris, King and Garcia were the three bikers who originally had a lower bond and were released, then re-arrested in Austin on a higher bond for a few days before bonding out again.

The documents released Thursday also confirm the two main biker clubs involved were the Bandidos and the Cossacks, which has been widely reported in the weeks after the shootings.

The information was cleared by the Waco city attorney's office to be released, and more reports will likely be coming as the investigation continues.

http://www.kxxv.com/story/29240520/waco-pd-report-confirms-twin-peaks-victim-shot-inside-restaurant

EL PASO, Texas – The Texas Department of Public safety said they were conducting an operation at 7190 Cananea Ln. Wednesday evening.

Multiple units were on the scene at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in the Lower Valley where at least one person was arrested, according to police dispatch.

A member of the VFW coalition says a meeting that was scheduled for weeks was taking place.

A Bandidos bike club member tells KFOX14 that 53 organizations were meeting to talk about fundraisers and present a check to the Alzheimer’s Association when law enforcement agencies walked in and said they were looking for someone.
The Texas Department of Public Safety issued the following statement:

“Agents did complete an operation today as part of their normal, daily operations. This is an ongoing investigation and no other information can be released.”

- Public Information Officer, Trooper Martinez

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/Police-arrest-one-during-motorcycle-club-meeting-in-Lower-Valley-144611.shtml#.VXCI78_BzGc

The owners of a Langford property that the city claims is being used illegally as a biker clubhouse has pulled its tenants into the dispute.

Pacific Coast Land Company Ltd., which owns 2775 Spencer Rd., responded Monday to a court injunction filed by the City of Langford. It issued a third-party notice to Pacific Bulldog Construction, identified as the lessee of the property.

“When you third-party someone, you’re saying, ‘I’m being sued and now I’m suing you, because I’m not taking the fall, you are,’ ” said Troy DeSouza, a lawyer for the City of Langford.

The Spencer Road site drew more than 100 bikers from the Hells Angels and other motorcycle clubs last month for what RCMP said was the opening of the first Devil’s Army clubhouse outside Campbell River. RCMP said it would monitor the property, though there was no indication that the public should be concerned.

Mayor Stew Young said he’s received thousands of complaints about its proximity to two schools, a seniors’ park and a daycare.

The City’s injunction against Pacific Coast Land Company, filed in B.C. Supreme Court on May 1, claims the property use contravenes city zoning and bylaws. The site is zoned for commercial use, not for a clubhouse, and permits were not obtained for the two “41” signs and a tall black fence erected, it said.

Patrick Guy, a lawyer for the property owners, declined to comment.

The company’s lease agreement with Pacific Bulldog Construction meant the tenant agreed not to sublet the property, agreed to use the property only for uses approved by the city and would also indemnify Pacific Coast against claims that arise from Pacific Bulldog’s use of the property, court documents filed on behalf of Pacific Coast Land Company said.

The company also claimed no knowledge that the tenant had erected a fence or put up the signs, which have since been removed.

Pacific Bulldog was incorporated in 2004. Provincial documents identify Dallas Julien and Lisa Stuart as directors. Neither could be reached for comment.

The company builds houses, according to online listings, and had a $40,000 contract with the District of Sooke in 2012.

DeSouza said Langford is not out to get motorcycle clubs, but is only seeking appropriate use of this particular property.

“There are other properties zoned for this type of use. It’s not specific to motorcycle clubs — we welcome those on different zones. It’s just on this zone, on this property, it’s not permitted. And frankly, had more due diligence been done before purchasing or leasing the property, we wouldn’t be here,” DeSouza said.

He said it is typically the property owners, not the tenants, who are held responsible for fundamental land-use issues.

Two neighbours of the property said Monday that they have seen only one or two people on the property at a time since the May opening, which attracted a heavy police presence.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/tenants-pulled-into-dispute-over-langford-property-that-drew-bikers-1.1957364#sthash.R6gc1hBn.dpuf

Frederick police’s gang analyst ended his presentation to city residents with footage of a confrontation between members of rival motorcycle gangs at a restaurant in Frederick last year.

As the video played, Rob Marker, a retired detective and current president of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Gang Investigators Network, reminded residents in the audience at City Hall of a similar but deadly clash that occurred May 17 between motorcycle gangs at a restaurant in Waco, Texas.

“Remember Waco and what happened there? ... Thank God that didn’t happen here,” Marker told the audience.
In the footage, taken from a security camera over the restaurant’s bar, a Hells Angels gang member is confronted by several members of the Pagans, a rival group also active in Frederick. The confrontation ended without bloodshed, but a week later, the Hells Angel member returned to the restaurant with more than 50 gang members backing him up, Marker said.

“He told the manager, ‘I won’t be disrespected by anyone in this place tonight,’” Marker said, expressing relief that “the Pagans must have been out on a motorcycle ride out of the county that night.”

Much of Marker’s presentation emphasized that gangs like the Bloods, Crips, MS-13 and Hells Angels are active in Frederick. He showed residents photos of graffiti and videos of young men wearing gang colors and rapping about gun violence, drugs and disrespect for rivals.

As Marker wrapped up his 21/2-hour briefing Tuesday night, an attendee near the back of the room raised her hand to ask a question.

“Now that we’re more aware of gangs and what they look like in our community, what happens when we’re walking down the street and we see it?” the Frederick resident asked.
Marker smiled.

“Act normally,” he suggested.

“Have you ever had a problem with them before? There’s no reason to live in fear. It’s all around you, but most of the time, it won’t affect you at all.”

To drive his point home, Marker told the audience of about 60 — which had shrunk noticeably since the presentation began at about 6:30 p.m. — that an active gang member had even joined them for a short time in the crowd.
Members of the audience looked around in surprise, but the person Marker referenced had walked out earlier and had not returned.

Mayor Randy McClement also attended the presentation, saying he hasn’t seen one of Marker’s presentations for over a year and decided it was time he updated himself on the issue of gangs. McClement acknowledged gangs have been rumored to be responsible for several recent crimes, including the Frederick High School shooting, but he did not believe the problem was beyond the department’s ability to handle.

The mayor said his understanding of the issue was that it comes and goes.

“I don’t want to say that I think it’s going out of hand — it’s not, but is it growing? I guess, because, like [Marker] said, there’s all these subsets of each of the gangs forming. I’m surprised how much are forming in the state of Maryland.”

The real benefit of regular updates on gangs in Frederick, he said, is not just to let residents know that criminal groups are present in the community, but also to remind them that they are not powerless to prevent crime.
“That’s the best thing that comes out of this, that now people have that awareness, they know what to look for and they need to be a help as the eyes and ears of the police department,” McClement said.

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/crime/frederick-police-expert-leads-presentation-on-gang-activity/article_ec66da7e-283c-54ee-8cc5-cf400b20b614.html

CONCORD, N.H.—Police officers and outlaw biker gangs often stand on common ground. Both attract the young and adventurous who value order, discipline and brotherhood. And on weekends tens of thousands of cops routinely trade their cruisers and badges for choppers and club colors.

The bond doesn't mean a free pass for criminal motorcycle gangs, but even some within law enforcement worry that too many officers believe bikers are just misunderstood Robin Hoods. And empathy from officers who emulate or even aspire to the outlaw life can put police or the public at risk, gang experts warn.

"They're supposed to be putting them in jail, not schmoozing with them, not socializing with them," said Charlie Fuller, a retired special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. "That's a no-brainer to me. You have a huge security issue for the whole department. Here's a cop that's hanging with them socially. What's he telling them? What are they asking him?"

The relationship between police and criminal biker gangs — dubbed Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs or 1 percenters because they are said to represent the fraction of motorcycle enthusiasts who operate outside the law — came into focus following the May 17 shootout involving rival gang members, including a retired San Antonio police officer, that left nine people dead in Waco, Texas.

Police on hand at the meeting fired at least some of the shots once violence erupted, but a photo showing some of the dozens the arrested bikers sitting calmly on curbs using cellphones under seemingly nonchalant police guard earned the ire of critics. Some wondered if police went easy on the bikers.

A 2014 ATF report said biker gangs count working police officers, firefighters and 911 workers as members. The report details a California Highway Patrol dispatcher listening to the scanner and tipping off her husband, a Hells Angel prospect, that the police were headed to a fight he was involved in. The husband took off before the cops arrived. In another instance, the dispatcher ran a license plate for undercover agents working on a weapons sting against her husband.

In New York City, Detective Wojciech Braszczok is on trial, charged with joining a mass of angry motorcyclists — though not a gang — who assaulted an SUV driver during a wild highway chase in 2013. Braszczok said he didn't intervene because he thought it could compromise his unrelated undercover work.

The gulf between outlaw biker gang and motorcycle club is vast, and the great majority of the law enforcement or veterans clubs perform community services year round, like delivering toys at Christmas or the Patriot Guard Riders, who provide a rumbling motorcade — and a buffer against protesters — at the funerals of fallen soldiers.

Still, Laconia police Chief Chris Adams, whose New Hampshire town will attract hundreds of thousands of bikers to its annual Motorcycle Week starting on June 13, said he has seen some officers instantly transform when they're wearing club colors instead of their uniform.

"Some of them won't look at you or talk to you," Adams said. He called the fuzzy lines between police and bikers a "valid concern."

Adams said his department maintains a "working relationship" with the region's dominant motorcycle gang, the Hells Angels, to address problems big and small.

"I think it can be helpful," Adams said. "It can be as trivial as a parking problem. Rather than towing 50 bikes, 'Hey, can you get these bikes out of here?'"

Look around during Laconia's Bike Week — or at any of the other big rallies like in Sturgis, South Dakota, or Daytona, Florida — and you will see the colors of law-abiding motorcycle clubs made up of police, firefighters and veterans.

The Blue Knights, among the most recognized law enforcement clubs, has almost 20,000 members in 640 chapters in 26 countries, but there are others sprinkled all over the country. The Blue Knights International, based in Bangor, Maine, did not return a call and email seeking comment.

Steve Cook, who leads the Midwest Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association, says some of the legit clubs go to "totally embarrassing" lengths to ingratiate themselves to criminal gangs.

"They're going to a 1-percent gang and asking permission to start their club up," he said. "You've got to pick a side. You're either a cop or a biker."

But the very existence of law enforcement clubs can stoke violence, Fuller said.

In 2008, Seattle police Officer Ronald Smith was charged with felonies after shooting a Hells Angels member during a bar fight. Smith belonged to the Iron Pigs motorcycle club, made up of police and firefighters. The charges were later dropped.

And in 2012, two officers who belonged to a law enforcement motorcycle club were involved in a bar fight with bikers in Prescott, Arizona.

"They want to be like them, but not them," Fuller said of the law enforcement clubs. "It agitates the real 1-percenters that cops want to come and imitate them at all."

Jay Dobyns, a former undercover agent who infiltrated the Hells Angels for the ATF, worries that chumminess between biker gangs and the more benign law enforcement motorcycle clubs can lead to a perception that cops will go easy on the outlaws.

When Dobyns was undercover, he said, cops from motorcycle clubs would try to cozy up to the outlaw bikers.

"I'm talking about the clean-cut law enforcement officers who wear a uniform and ride around in marked cruisers every day; then Saturday comes around and they put on a black bandanna and black T-shirt and scowl at everybody," he said.

The gang members were having none of it.

"'We're never going to be friends,'" was how "true believers" in the bike gang reacted to such interlopers, Dobyns said. "Some of these cop clubs don't get that."

http://www.gazettextra.com/20150608/blurry_lines_between_bikers_police_clubs_draw_concern#sthash.x5xNH0Lr.dpuf

A bikers’ rally counting hundreds of attendees took place on Sunday in Waco, Texas. The bikers were protesting the illegal incarceration of more than 150 bikers after the fatal events at Twin Peaks restaurant.

The purpose of this rally was to protest the incarceration of some of the bikers who had no involvement in the Twin Peaks shootout that resulted in nine deaths and 18 people severely injured.

The ‘All for 1’ peaceful protest had the McLennan County Courthouse as its final destination. Police and judges alike are being held accountable by the biker community for ruining the lives of perfectly innocent people.

Initially, bikers from North Texas gathered at Arlington’s Six Flags Mall before they joined with others and set out to circle the detention center and the jail where their peers are being held in sign of support and understanding.

The rally’s message goes beyond the results of the fatal events that took place at the Twin Peaks restaurant in the previous weeks. Its initiators and hundreds of supporters wish to draw attention on the stereotyping of bikers, of biker gangs and the unjust treatment they are subject to due to these stereotypes.

177 motorcyclists were forcefully arrested last month after the brawl that left nine people dead and 18 injured. Until Sunday, when the ‘All for 1’ rally took place, only 34 had been released. The rest are awaiting lengthy ballistic analysis and are under charges. Their only option for the moment is to pay 1 million dollars in bail individually.

Perhaps not surprisingly, in the aftermath of the Twin Peaks shootout, everyone present was gathered by the law enforcement forces, regardless of not having criminal records whatsoever or having minor charges in their file.

For the biker community, that is injustice at its peak. Many others outside the community support their cause as well.

In response, the peaceful protest featured signs reading: “I’m not a gang member”, “We are not criminals”, “Bikers’ lives matter”, etc.

Skee Dodson, participant in the rally mirrored the opinion of many when saying:

“I think we’re here in solidarity to support innocent people who have gone to jail who were in the wrong spot at the wrong time. We’re doctors, lawyers and brokers, we’re not gang members, and I just want to make sure nobody mistakes me for a gang member”.

Participants were strongly encouraged on the Facebook page to not have anything that might be mistaken for a weapon on themselves. Even the signs featured safety measures. Also, calm and respect for the laws in places was urged from the participants.

Even so, restaurants in the area attentioned the bikers that whoever is wearing a club vest is not welcome.

The ‘All for 1’ protest ended peacefully and the bikers message hopefully got across. The 300,000 strong Texas biker community fully supported the rally and its intentions.

http://www.trinitynewsdaily.com/all-for-1-waco-texas-biker-rally-sends-powerful-message/2462/

LACONIA — The 92nd Laconia Motorcycle Week begins Saturday with organizers, the business community, city officials and local law enforcement looking forward to a safe, successful and, hopefully, rain-less rally.

Promoted by the Laconia Motorcycle Week Association, Motorcycle Week is the oldest of the “Big Three” annual biker celebrations, predating the Daytona Bike Week and the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally by about two decades.

Although the heart of Motorcycle Week is the area of Lakeside Avenue and Endicott Street North in The Weirs section of Laconia, the event has related activities scheduled in the North Country, Seacoast and numerous points in between.

“We are looking forward to a good year and the normal influx of visitors from across the country and the world and we want everybody to come and have a good time and then get home safely,” Charlie St. Clair, longtime executive director of the LMWA, said on Sunday.

Motorcycle Week, which runs June 13-21, is expected to attract between 250,000 and 300,000 visitors to the state, but hard numbers are impossible to get. The rally is free, and unlike other biker events, there is no single point of entry.

As he does every year, St. Clair said he will be watching the skies for rain, which literally will put a damper on some would-be daytrippers.

Even though the rally is frequented by a number of clubs that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has labeled as outlaw motorcycle gangs, St. Clair said he has heard nothing about any potential problems at Motorcycle Week.

On May 17 in Waco, Texas, nine people were killed and 18 injured in a shoot-out at the Twin Peaks Restaurant that involved several outlaw gangs, but not the Hells Angels, whose New Hampshire Nomads chapter has a clubhouse in The Weirs.

Last week, attorney P. Scott Bratton of Lowell, Mass., who has been the New Hampshire Nomads’ legal representative for more than a decade, echoed St. Clair’s statement.

“I don’t think anything will happen or expect any problems,” Bratton said.

He noted that the incident in Waco is far removed from Laconia, which in the recent past has hosted two international Hells Angels gatherings known as World Runs without incident.

Laconia Police Chief Chris Adams said his agency, in coordination with county, state and federal law enforcement, is expecting another orderly Motorcycle Week but nonetheless is prepared for trouble.

Overall, Adams said Motorcycle Week has increasingly become a family affair, thanks to a variety of offerings with a broad-based appeal and municipal ordinances that prohibit open containers of alcohol and public nudity. Adams said the number of Motorcycle Week arrests continues to go down each year.

Karmen Gifford, executive director of the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce, reports that most of the chamber’s lodging members were booked solid for the rally.

According to the City of Laconia, 56 individual properties will host Motorcycle Week-activities, two more than in 2014. Licensing fee revenues are also roughly on par with last year’s, at just over $50,000. -

http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20150608/NEWHAMPSHIRE05/150609289

Bikies will be banned from entering clubhouses if tough new proposed laws in South Australia pass through parliament.

The state government is preparing a blacklist of known bikie clubhouses and headquarters in Adelaide and the surrounding regional areas, including 10 known locations which house gang headquarters.

Many of the clubhouses are surrounded by barbed wire and security - but some neighbours say they don’t object to the presence of bikie gangs on their street.

One resident of Mansfield Park, where a Trafford Street address is home to a Hells Angels clubhouse, said they never disrupted neighbours.

“They don’t bother anybody, ok they’ve got their bikes, well so what – they’re big boys with big toys,” he told 9 NEWS.

An elderly resident in another suburb of Adelaide said bikies from the local Mongols clubhouse had tried to maintain a good relationship with her.

“One day, they were having a big party over there, so they brought me a bottle of wine, so I’d keep quiet,” Hazel Abbott said.

However, Ms Abbott said she had worried when the clubhouse was peppered with bullets earlier in the year.

If the new laws pass, it will be an offence for gang members to enter clubhouses, carrying a maximum penalty of three years’ jail.

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/06/08/19/30/south-australian-government-passes-on-with-bikie-property-blacklist#kusSTagMVs7r8a6K.99

A lawyer has criticised the “poor quality” of Queensland police intelligence on bikie gangs after the collapse of another prosecution under contentious anti-association laws.

Charges against three accused Rebels bikies who were pulled over in a car on the Gold Coast – one of the first cases brought under laws passed by the former Newman government – were struck out in Southport magistrates court on Friday last week.

It means the laws – which mandate between six months and three years’ jail for any gang “participants” caught knowingly in public in a group of more than two – will go under the microscope of a government-appointed review without having secured a single conviction in 19 months.

It is the second anti-association case to be aborted after charges were dropped in April against librarian Sally Kuether, whose arrest for visiting a pub with her bikie boyfriend and his clubmate provided a high point of controversy under Newman’s bikie crackdown.

The Palaszczuk Labor government is poised to announce an independent taskforce to examine the anti-association laws and the related Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act (Vlad), which mandates an extra 15 to 25 years’ jail for gang crimes.

The prospect of the laws being overturned has prompted defence lawyers to seek to delay trials involving defendants who may have already spent months in solitary confinement under harsh prison conditions formerly reserved for accused bikie associates.

The laws were introduced by the Liberal National party government in October 2013 in response to a public brawl on the Gold Coast that was sparked by a love triangle involving a Bandidos bikie. They have had an unprecedented effect on outlaw motorcycle clubs, prompting blanket police scrutiny of a secretive subculture that has included men who have collectively amassed hundreds of years in jail time in recent decades.

However, solicitor Andrew Bale said the dismissal of charges against his clients on Friday represented the latest in a growing array of cases that showed “the quality of police intelligence is not up to standard”.

“The fact of reality is the intelligence material that police think they’re putting before the court, aside from generally being complete hearsay, is also of a very poor quality,” he said.

“I put [prosecutors] on notice that if they lost I was going to ask for costs.

“I suspect they didn’t want to throw good money after bad because they had really poor intelligence to prove these guys were members of the Rebels.”

Jamie Adams, Nathan Stewart and Zavia Scott were pulled over in a car in Southport on 21 October, 2013, days after the LNP passed the laws. The trio had been scheduled to go on a trial that was set to run over five days from 15 June. But a magistrate dismissed the charges after prosecutors entered no evidence.

None of almost 50 people charged under the anti-association laws has yet been convicted. But many of them were held in extended solitary confinement under a prison policy reserved for alleged bikie “participants” that was later abandoned.

Superintendent Mick Niland, commander of the police gang squad Maxima, set up under the LNP crackdown, defended the quality of intelligence produced since as “excellent”.

Niland said police knowledge of gang workings had increased “exponentially” in line with more informants and direct contact with bikies.

“With the commencement of Maxima, there was room for improvement on our intelligence holdings at the time,” he said. “It’s a secretive world because it’s organised crime, and it’s fluid: there’s movement in and out of the gangs.

“It provided the opportunity to increase our intelligence holdings of the motorcycle gangs and they have increased exponentially.

“It’s come around by three ways: an increase in human sources; increase in visitations to OMCG [outlaw motorcyle gangs] and frontline interactions with OMCG. The quality of that intelligence has been excellent.”

Convictions under the laws, section 60 of the criminal code, dictate compulsory jail time for bikies not only gathering in public but also attending clubhouses or recruiting.

The first person convicted under the separate Vlad laws last week – a cannabis trafficker from a syndicate unconnected to bikies – was spared an extra 15 years after he cooperated with police, the only way of avoiding the mandatory additional punishment.

Labor in opposition pledged to repeal Vlad and the anti-association laws. In government it has committed only to a review of the laws, although the attorney general, Yvette D’Ath, has flagged concerns with anti-association and mandatory sentencing that removes discretion from judges.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jun/08/police-intelligence-on-queensland-bikies-poor-says-lawyer-as-latest-case-dropped

DENVER - Dozens of motorcyclists gathered in Denver Sunday for a Colorado Confederation of Clubs meeting.

"The Goals of Confederation of Clubs are to bring patch holders together, communication between clubs, and a judicial coming together to protect our rights through the courts," the website states.

A "Unity Statement on the Waco Incident" from the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) posted on the website reads, in part:

"On Sunday, May 17, a meeting of the Confederation of Clubs was scheduled for the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco. The Cossacks MC and Scimitars, who are not a part of the Confederation, came to the COC meeting and an altercation began in the bathroom. Members of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club were in attendance as well as other clubs, motorcycle ministries and associations."

"It is of great concern for us as part of the NCOM family, to see the backlash by the mainstream media, targeting Bandidos mc with little reporting on the Cossacks mc, calling all those who have been detained as gang members, and the misinformation and speculation of citizens who have reacted as ‘experts.'"

A separate message on the website read: "There will be a Very Urgent, And Important Colorado Confederation of Clubs Meeting On June 7th @ noon."

The meeting was held at the VFW on South Platte Street Sunday afternoon.

Riders wearing patches for the Peligrosos, Sons of Silence and Mongols MCs were in the parking lot, along with dozens of motorcycles.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/motorcyclists-gather-for-colorado-confederation-of-clubs-meeting-in-denver

GARY, IND.
A 68-year-old man found with his throat slashed inside a burning house in Gary over the weekend was the brother of a former Outlaws Motorcycle Club leader who's facing federal racketeering charges, authorities said.

Firefighters spotted Gerald Yager's body after responding to a fire at his home about 4 a.m. Saturday, Lake County Sheriff John Buncich told The (Munster) Times (http://bit.ly/1G6WFnE ).

Buncich said Yager's throat was cut and his hands were handcuffed in front of him.

"All indications show it was arson," Buncich said. "Gas cans were found in the residence."

The sheriff said Yager was an Outlaws member, but wasn't as involved as his brother.

Federal prosecutors in Milwaukee have charged 59-year-old Randy Yager with participating in murders, bombings and arson aimed at rival clubs in the 1990s. The former Gary resident was arrested in Mexico last October — 17 years after he was first indicted.

Buncich said investigators were looking into a statement from a relative of Gerald Yager's that the slain man had received notes containing death threats he believed were from his brother.

A federal judge ordered during a May 22 hearing that Randy Yager remain in custody and he was silent on entering a plea to the racketeering charges, according to court records. A message seeking comment was left Monday by The Associated Press for Randy Yager's defense attorney, Stephen Hurley of Madison, Wisconsin.

Yager was president of the Outlaws' Chicago region when he and 16 other members of the Detroit-based gang were indicted by a Wisconsin federal grand jury in 1997. Yager was the only remaining fugitive in the indictment. He landed on the U.S. Marshals' list of most wanted fugitives in 2004.

http://www.bnd.com/news/state/illinois/article23501731.html#storylink=cpy

Local Defense Attorney Michael J. Crawford says a Corsicana man arrested after the May 17 biker shootout in Waco is free after a deal cut on Monday.

James Stallings, 57, is free on $50,000 bond, Crawford said Monday. Stallings, who is a member of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club, will not be required to wear an ankle monitor.

He has been jailed on a $1 million bond since the shootout at the Twin Peaks in Waco that left nine dead and 18 injured.
“He was outside, and had no weapons,” Crawford said. “He’s 57 years old and a hard worker.”

Crawford said he negotiated the deal with McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna over the last week and half. Stallings had a bond reduction hearing set for June 12, but Crawford finalized the deal Monday.

http://www.corsicanadailysun.com/news/local_news/corsicana-bandidos-member-free-after-deal/article_67df00b8-0e3d-11e5-9413-93654f12e75f.html

Three weeks have passed since the biker gang shootout in Waco that left nine dead and 18 wounded. Yet surprisingly little information has emerged to justify the incarceration of about 120 people, many of whom appear guilty only of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Without question, egregious criminal activity occurred outside the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco. Some bikers, mainly from the rival Bandidos and Cossacks gangs, appear to have arrived at the restaurant armed and ready to do battle.

The continued jailing of scores of others seems based on little more than an assumption of guilt by association. To gain freedom pending trial, they must each either produce a $1 million bond (of which bail bondsmen require a 10 percent payment) or persuade a judge to reduce bail to an affordable amount. In about 70 cases, attorneys have negotiated lower bonds, but only about 53 have paid and gained release.

Guilty until proven innocent is not how the American justice system is supposed to work. It appears that many of the 177 originally arrested were taking cover when the shooting began and were only bystanders. Their profiles include war veterans, plumbers and business owners. Most have no criminal record. At least one has no biker club affiliation at all.

Law enforcers were at the scene and videotaping when the shooting started. No recordings have been released, and some publicly released police reports have been redacted. Authorities haven’t clarified whether police gunfire caused some of the deaths or injuries.

A McLennan County prosecutor told a judge Friday that recordings depict “Bandidos shooting Cossacks and Cossacks executing Bandidos,” according to the Waco Tribune-Herald. Video also shows members of the Cossacks taking up sentry positions along the patio and double-checking their holstered weapons, as if preparing for trouble. They instantly bounded over the patio railings when a line of Bandidos rode through the parking lot, the prosecutor said.

That describes the actions of only a fraction of those arrested. The mass-arrest decision and excessively high bail smacks of collective punishment, not a precautionary measure to minimize flight risk. Because McLennan County allows only video visitations, those jailed remain cut off from face-to-face meetings with loved ones.

This newspaper absolutely wants to see justice served for all who participated in the shootout. We fear, though, that McLennan County authorities are overwhelmed by the magnitude of this case and are assuming guilt based on superficialities such as physical presence at the scene or the display of logos on leather vests.

If they’re not able to come forth with facts, sift nonparticipants from shooters and administer swift justice, it might be time for McLennan County to ask Gov. Greg Abbott or federal authorities for help.

Lingering questions

How many among the 177 arrested are confirmed participants?

Who initiated the gunfire?

Could police have intervened earlier to prevent tragedy?

Did police gunfire contribute to the casualty toll?

How many of those arrested were inside the restaurant during the shooting?

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20150608-editorial-bandidos-cossacks-guns-and-dubious-justice.ece

Dozens of Canadian Hells Angels took their death-head-emblazoned vests to Greece this month for an international biker parade and convention, but at least three of them didn’t return.

A trio of full-patch Alberta Hells Angels are in jail in Greece after being arrested last week following the near-fatal beating of a Greek man.

At least nine B.C. Hells Angels also attended the international meeting, in which more than 2,000 Hells Angels from 500 chapters descended on Athens. Some of the B.C. Hells Angels stopped along the way in Paris to do some sightseeing at Notre Dame Cathedral.

The three Alberta Angels made a court appearance last Friday. The 41-year-old man they allegedly beat up is on life support.

The Canadian government is providing consular services, spokesman Francois Lasalle confirmed, without identifying the people involved.

“We are aware of reports of Canadian citizens detained in Greece. Canadian officials are in contact with the individuals and providing consular assistance as required,” Lasalle said in an email to The Vancouver Sun.

“Due to the Privacy Act, further details on this case cannot be released.”

Mike Tucker of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team said two of the Hells Angels arrested are from the Westridge chapter in Edmonton and one is from the Nomads, which are based in Red Deer.

Tucker said his agency is working with Greek officials.

Ontario Provincial Police Det.-Staff Sgt. Len Isnor said it’s not known yet what charges the three Canadians may face.

“All I know it was an assault. How that assault took place, I couldn’t tell you,” said Isnor, a leading Canadian expert on the Hells Angels.

Isnor said he has been liaising with his European counterparts about the world gathering, an annual event, and the involvement of Canadian Hells Angels.

“We speak back and forth. We knew everything that was going on,” he said.

Isnor said he doesn’t have the final tally of Canadian bikers that attended.

Every chapter in Canada — and there are 31 chapters — has to send at least one representative and some send two because they don’t like to have one guy travelling alone
“Every chapter in Canada — and there are 31 chapters — has to send at least one representative and some send two because they don’t like to have one guy travelling alone,” Isnor said.

There are nine B.C. chapters.

The week before the meeting, two Hells Angels from the Mission chapter were photographed outside Notre Dame in Paris, admiring the cathedral’s stone angels.

They are there basically on vacation, but they do their business
“They are there basically on vacation, but they do their business,” Isnor said.

He said the “world run” happens once a year and includes a procession with bikers from around the world riding their Harleys through the street with their country’s logo on their backs.

“It is in a different country every year,” said Isnor, who has attended world runs in the past. “They also have what’s called their world meeting.”

Only Hells Angels executive members from each country attend the meeting, Isnor explained.

“World meetings are to resolve world motions. A lot of motions come forward that would change the constitution and the way they do business on the surface,” Isnor said.

But don’t expect the world run to be held anywhere in Canada or the U.S.

Isnor said Canadian immigration law “doesn’t allow any members of a criminal organization into Canada, so they can’t have a world run in Canada.”

“They can’t have a world run any longer in the United States also because they also created a law similar to what we have in Canada that won’t allow international members of the Hells Angels into the United States.”

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/b-c-hells-angels-join-biker-parade-n-athens-but-three-havent-returned-after-a-near-fatal-beating-of-a-greek-man

Patrol officers were seldom sent to investigate trouble at Twin Peaks restaurant prior to the May deadly biker shootout in Waco, Texas, records obtained by Yahoo News reveal.

The scarce number of calls conflicts with how law enforcement portrayed the self-described “breastaurant” immediately after the brazen lunch-hour rampage.

“We have been made aware in the last few months of rival biker gangs — rival criminal biker gangs — being here and causing issues,” Waco police Sgt. Patrick Swanton told reporters outside the sports bar turned crime scene last month. “We have attempted to work with the local management of Twin Peaks to get that cut back, to no avail.”

If Twin Peaks was a powder keg leading up the deadly brawl — there’s apparently not much of paper trail to prove it.

A police dispatch log shows officers averaged less than one call a month to Twin Peaks between the restaurant’s opening in August and the May 17 shooting.

Out of eight trips, just two of the calls — a car break-in and a domestic assault — merited officers filing offense reports. No one was arrested at Twin Peaks in the nine months it was open, records reveal.
Prior to the shootout, an officer had not been dispatched to Twin Peaks since Feb. 26, according to the police log, which Yahoo News obtained through the Texas Public Information Act.

The absence of police responding to Twin Peaks is just one of several contradictions in the narrative since the shooting took place. Authorities initially said the deadly brawl began in the restaurant bathroom. But a security video shown to the Associated Press showed only one round being fired from the restaurant — by a biker on the patio before running inside. Swanton told CNN that 1,000 weapons had been recovered before later backing off that number. The latest count is at least 475, including 151 guns, police said.

“You start pulling some strings and this whole thing is just coming apart,” Dallas attorney Clint Broden told Yahoo News. “As more and more information comes out, they are being caught in more and more either outright lies or exaggerations.”

Broden represents Matthew Clendennen, one of the 177 bikers jailed after the lunch-hour melee that left nine dead and 18 injured. Clendennen, a college graduate, father and local businessman, said he wasn’t involved in the fighting. He recently filed a civil rights lawsuit to address “carelessness from the justice system.”

A month after the shootout, no murder charges have been filed, and the Waco city attorney’s office has asked the Texas attorney general for permission to bar basic police reports about those who died. Forty of the arrested bikers remain behind bars, some of them in lieu of $1 million bond — the identical amount initially assigned to everyone. Research by the AP found that 117 of those arrested had never been convicted of a crime in Texas.

Waco police, who were involved in the shootout, haven’t revealed who fired the fatal shots — although Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman said last week that most of the 44 shell casings found at the scene were from suspects’ guns. Casings are still being counted, but as of last week, police stated only a dozen were discharged by officers, “in defense of their selves of a third party.”

Believing that trouble was brewing that Sunday, at least 16 officers were stationed in marked and unmarked cars near the restaurant prior to the shooting. Twin Peaks’ management, police said, rejected advice to not let a coalition of bikers meet.

“This criminal element came here to kill people. They didn’t come here to drink beer and eat barbecue,” Swanton told a reporter at the scene. “If police are asking for assistance and you don’t listen, bad things can happen.”

Yahoo News requested copies of all written communication — letters, emails, texts, etc. — between police and the Waco restaurant or Twin Peaks’ corporate office in 2015. The Department responded that no such records exist.

“I know our officers had visited with (Twin Peaks managers),” Swanton told Yahoo News on Wednesday. “I do know our SAFE Unit (Support, Abatement, Forfeiture and Enforcement) that works with problem clubs had also visited with them, but I do not know to what extent.”

Law enforcement often recruits the assistance of state liquor authorities in cracking down on balky businesses. But the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission had received no complaints or reports of violations at Twin Peaks prior to the shooting, said agency spokesman Chris Porter.

Neither the Dallas business group that owns the Waco restaurant nor their attorneys replied to a message seeking comment for this story. Twin Peaks Waco has not reopened and is now in a legal battle over the franchise rights.

Two days after the shooting, a Twin Peaks waitress posted this comment to Facebook: “There are always fights on bike nights, so we expected the usual. Nobody thought it was gonna be taken this far.”

Swanton said he couldn’t explain why the records released to Yahoo News didn’t reflect other previous crimes or arrests at the location.

“I don’t have all of that,” Swanton said. “I can tell you we were aware of issues there.”

http://news.yahoo.com/waco-police-rarely-dispatched-to-twin-peaks-prior-to-biker-shootout-records-reveal-015135212.html

The city of Langford has issued a stop-work order at a biker gang clubhouse that set up shop there last year.
West Shore RCMP and bylaw officers served the order Wednesday afternoon at the controversial Devil’s Army clubhouse on Spencer Road.
A senior bylaw officer said inspectors determined work was being done on the property without proper permits.
No resident was on site during the inspection, said Lorne Fletcher.
The type of work being done is unclear, but Fletcher said officers inspected for fire safety and whether building regulations and bylaws were being followed.
Bylaw had previously attempted to conduct the inspection on May 1, but officers said they were met at the gate by tenants and turned away.
Fletcher said officials are “confident” they’ll be able to get in touch with the property owner to discuss the need for proper permitting.
The Devil’s Army moved in to the building in April, stirring up controversy in the Greater Victoria suburb.
Residents and politicians declared the clubhouse was not welcome due to its proximity to a school, though Mounties said they didn’t find any evidence of criminal activity there.
Earlier this year, the city applied for an injunction to shut down the clubhouse in BC Supreme Court.

http://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/stop-work-order-slapped-on-devil-s-army-biker-clubhouse-1.2427971

KILLEEN, TX - (KCEN) -- Ricky Wilson, Commander at American Legion Post 223, says he and several others who run biker bars and hangouts met with the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission after the deadly biker brawl at Twin Peaks Restaurant in Waco back in May.

At that time, Wilson says representatives told them not to let anyone into their establishment who are wearing their “colors”... or else.

The colors, cuts and vests are the clothing bikers usually wear to distinguish one group from another.

”I mean they stressed it that we would get the max punishment if they didn't comply,” he says.

TABC representative Chris Porter tells KCEN the agency suggested the ban to the bar owners thinking it could help diffuse animosity between groups when they're out in social settings.

“It's up to the individual retailers if they choose to either enforce the suggestion or let things continue as the normal have,” says Porter.

But Wilson tells KCEN many feel coerced to enforce the ban, despite the drop in businesses.

"We felt pressured by the TABC to follow these guideline,” he says.

Besides losing money, Wilson says the ban started to take away many of the patrons spirit, so members at the Legion voted to lift it a few days ago.

He thinks it's worth it and is watching to see if others will follow suit.

Porter says the TABC does not have have a set time limit for the ban. It will continue until "the threat of violence dies down,” explains Porter.

http://www.kcentv.com/story/29346786/some-biker-bars-lifting-clothing-ban

Breitbart Texas sent a Texas Public Information Act request to the City of Waco for certain enumerated information and videos related to the Twin Peaks biker arrests on May 17, 2105. The City of Waco responded to the request… sort of.

On June 4, 2015, Breitbart Texas sent the City of Waco a Public Information Act Request asking the custodian of records for the Waco Police Department to allow “an opportunity to inspect or obtain copies of public records pertaining to: all video related to the May 17, 2015, shootings at, or around, the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas, including but not limited to surveillance video from the Twin Peaks and Don Carlos restaurants, and the police dash cam video.”

Breitbart Texas’ letter to the City specifically stated that “If you deny any or all of this request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.”

On June 16, 2015, Breitbart Texas received an email response from the City of Waco.

The City first attached a list of the 177 bikers arrested. The nineteen pages of incident reports were also attached. There was also a letter from the City to the Texas Attorney General.

The letter to the Attorney General claimed certain legal exceptions to the public disclosure of the information requested by Breitbart Texas, and requested an opinion about the disclosure or exemption from disclosure of the requested information. The City stated it would wait on the release of the other information until after the Attorney General issued a response to the City’s letter to the AG claiming certain exceptions.

The attached list of those arrested included their names, date of birth, addresses, criminal charge, amount of the bond, and case number. All of those arrested were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, and had $1 million bonds.

The 19 pages of incident reports included summaries and incident reports relating to only 13 of the arrestees.

Moreover, the letter attached to the City’s response to Breitbart Texas’ request for public information was the City’s letter to the Texas Attorney General as it relates to seven requesters not associated with Breitbart Texas, and it related to a pending City of Waco Police Report.

In this letter to the Attorney General, the City responded that a pending City of Waco Police Report was requested. The City claimed certain legal exceptions to disclosure of this information and asked for an Attorney General opinion on the issue.

The pending Waco PD report was, in the City’s view, exempted from disclosure under a law enforcement and prosecutorial information exception. Specifically, exceptions dealing with information held by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor that deals with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of a crime if the release of that information would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of a crime.

The City also claimed an exception stating the pending Waco police report contained information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial opinion.

Another exception claimed to the pending Waco PD police report, is for information that relates to an employee or officer of the governmental body which is excepted under the law if, under the specific circumstances pertaining to the employee or officer, disclosure of the information would subject the employee or officer to a substantial threat of physical harm.

The City requested an opinion by the Attorney General on all of these claimed exceptions.

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/06/17/city-of-waco-responds-sort-of-to-breitbarts-twin-peaks-biker-open-record-request/

The South Australian government is poised to enact tough anti-bikie laws. Its bill, currently in the state parliament, mirrors aspects of the suite of laws enacted by the then-LNP government in Queensland in 2013.

South Australia has chosen to adopt those provisions that the High Court upheld in November 2014. But while the proposed laws may be constitutional, there are clear reasons why their introduction is at best premature – and at worst a very bad idea.

What does the South Australian bill do?

The bill copies a set of new criminal offences from Queensland’s laws. These offences focus on declared criminal organisations, which may be identified by a court or at the attorney-general’s discretion.

Former Queensland attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie identified 26 such organisations and said that his reasons for doing so may never be made public. An almost identical list is part of the South Australian bill.

However, the South Australian bill is broader than the Queensland laws when it comes to declaring criminal organisations. It provides that once an organisation is declared, a change in its name or even its membership will not affect its status as a criminal organisation. If members of the declared organisation re-form to create a new organisation, that group will also be a “criminal organisation”.

This vastly extends the bill’s reach. It may encompass groups well beyond the list of declared organisations.

The new offence provisions criminalise the wearing of anything – names, logos, symbols, insignia and so on – that indicates association with a declared criminal organisation on licensed premises. This offence carries onerous fines and potential terms of imprisonment. There is a A$10,000 penalty for persons responsible for the licensed premises (including employees) if they knowingly allow a person carrying one of these items to enter or remain on the premises.

Once organisations have been declared, its participants are prohibited from doing certain things. A participant is defined very broadly as anyone who takes part in the organisation’s affairs, attends more than one gathering of members, or in any way asserts or even seeks an association with the organisation.

Once a person qualifies as a participant in a criminal organisation, that label sticks. So, a person who attended two Hells Angels meetings in the 1970s, or sought membership of the Bandidos in the 1990s, or was seen wearing Gypsy Jokers colours thereby asserting some association with the group, will qualify as a “participant in a criminal organisation” today and into the future.

A participant in a criminal organisation commits an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment if they:

meet with two or more other participants in public;

recruit to the organisation; or

attend prescribed places or events (that non-participants are free to attend).

The Queensland experience

The High Court has upheld the Queensland laws as in keeping with the separation of powers under the Constitution. During that case, other states – particularly South Australia and Western Australia – indicated that they would consider enacting any laws that were upheld by the High Court.

While the new offence provisions withstood constitutional scrutiny, the experience in Queensland since then suggests that a cautious approach should be adopted to implementing similar provisions elsewhere.

No less than three government inquiries are currently on foot – two in Queensland and one in South Australia – on the organised crime threat and what kinds of measures would be effective to combat it. One of these inquiries is in the form of a high-level taskforce designed specifically to review the bikie laws enacted in Queensland and report on their effectiveness. The taskforce will also report on how the laws might be improved to better achieve their aims.

All three inquiries are due to report by the end of the year. A move to enact the South Australian bill seems pre-emptive in this context, and eschews an opportunity to enact better, more effective laws in a few months' time.

Despite being in existence for nearly two years, the effectiveness of Queensland’s laws remains unproven. Two sets of charges for the offence of “participants in a criminal organisation meeting in public” have been dropped before the trial commenced. Success stories of prosecutions under the laws are notably absent.

Some have argued that the laws have not made any significant contribution to the fight against organised crime in Queensland. The laws may reduce the visibility of bikie gangs, but there is little evidence to suggest they have prevented serious crime.

The laws grossly impact civil liberties. Even the High Court acknowledged that their impact on citizens is severe and disproportionate. The laws highlight the absence of personal rights to associate, or to express oneself through clothing, or to attend events and places that most persons are free to attend.

The impact of the laws on civil liberties had considerable political consequences for the former Newman government. While a tough law and order stance is usually a successful political strategy, these laws arguably went too far. Protests against the laws occurred not only across Queensland but around the world.

During its successful state election campaign, Labor vowed to repeal the bikie laws. The government has convened the Organised Crime Inquiry and high-level taskforce to fulfil this promise.

Potential for executive overreach

The laws have been applied in a way that shows their capacity for executive overreach. While the rhetoric around the laws is aimed squarely at bikie gangs, the potential scope of the laws is far broader.

When Queensland’s laws were challenged in the High Court, Justice Hayne accepted that the attorney-general’s capacity to declare an organisation was effectively unreviewable. He accepted that it could extend to basically any organisation that the government decided to declare.

Already, the South Australian government has inadvertently named an amateur motorcycle club as a declared criminal organisation in the bill. This apparent slip could have grave consequences for participants in that club, who risk imprisonment for meeting in groups of three or publicising the club – regardless of whether they quickly leave the club or re-form under a different name.

Recent trends indicate that if South Australia enacts these laws, other states may follow regardless of the serious concerns raised above. Political pressure to look tough on crime and avoid becoming a haven for bikie gangs tends to outweigh concerns over the laws’ impact on society or actual effectiveness.

http://theconversation.com/queensland-holds-lessons-for-states-set-to-crack-down-on-bikies-43317

Union boss Brian Parker says he does not have a close relationship with controversial figure George Alex after a string of intercepted phone calls and texts between the two were revealed at the unions royal commission.
Mr Parker, who has stood aside as NSW secretary of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU), told the commission on Thursday he had no personal relationship with Mr Alex, who called him "Sparkles" and ended phone calls with "I love ya."
"He's an employer in the industry," Mr Parker said.
Intercepted calls show Mr Parker and Mr Alex, who has been linked to a series of labour hire companies at the commission, arranging evening meetings at Mr Alex's apartment, sharing a joke and Mr Parker seeking Mr Alex's sponsorship for his niece's overseas softball tour.
In one 2011 phone call, Mr Parker arranged a meeting at Mr Alex's office, telling him: "I've got to tell you a whole heap of things. You're going to be a bit shocked, I think".
Mr Alex asks Mr Parker if he is "with us", to which Mr Parker replies "a hundred per cent".
Mr Alex ends the call saying: "I love ya, you're the best" and calling Mr Parker by his nickname, Sparkles.
Mr Parker said there was nothing unusual in Mr Alex using his nickname and ending calls with "love ya" as he said those things to many people.
Asked by counsel assisting the commission, Sarah McNaughton SC, what Mr Alex meant by asking if he was "with" him, Mr Parker said it was just a figure of speech.
Records from Mr Alex's mobile phone also show Mr Parker tried to call him on the morning of January 28, 2014 - the day a Fairfax Media story linked Mr Alex, the CFMEU and bikie gangs in the supply of labour to Sydney's Barangaroo construction site.
When asked why he, as a union man rang Mr Alex, "a boss", Mr Parker replied: "To get the lowdown from Mr Alex about what was going on in the media probably."
Mr Parker was asked why the CFMEU gave enterprise bargaining agreements (EBAs) to some labour hire firms that had a history of "phoenixing".
Phoenix companies - which collapse owing worker entitlements then re-register under a new name - are a subject of inquiries at the commission.
He said the union would give EBAs to phoenix companies to protect the wages and conditions of the employees.
Mr Parker was asked about a labour hire company, Capital, that was linked to Mr Alex and an EBA it secured from the union in 2014.
"There are companies there bigger and a lot worse than probably even some of Mr Alex's companies, out there in the industry," he said.
The hearing resumes on Friday.
Mr Alex is due to appear before the inquiry next week.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-3128538/Public-sector-union-members-strike.html#ixzz3dQYBPbUo

(USA) Waco PD report Twin Peaks victim shot inside restaurant

(USA) One arrested during motorcycle club meeting in Lower Valley

(CAN) Tenants pulled into dispute over Langford property that drew bikers

(USA) Frederick police expert leads presentation on gxxg activity

(USA) Blurry lines between bikers, police clubs draw concern

(USA) ‘ALL FOR 1′ WACO, TEXAS BIKER RALLY SENDS POWERFUL MESSAGE

(USA) 92nd Laconia Motorcycle Week revving up

(AUS) South Australian government presses on with bikie property blacklist

(AUS) Police intelligence on Queensland bikies poor, says lawyer as latest case dropped

(USA) Motorcyclists gather for Colorado Confederation of Clubs meeting in Denver

(USA) Ex-biker gxxg leader's brother slain in burned Gary home

(USA) Corsicana Bandidos member free after deal

(USA) Editorial: Bandidos, Cossacks, guns and dubious justice

(CAN) Hells Angels travel to Greece to join parade but three full-patch members from Alberta haven’t returned

(USA) Waco police rarely dispatched to Twin Peaks prior to biker shootout, records reveal

(CAN) Stop-work order slapped on Devil’s Army biker clubhouse

(USA) Some Biker Bars Lifting Clothing Ban

(USA) CITY OF WACO RESPONDS (SORT OF) TO BREITBART’S TWIN PEAKS BIKER OPEN RECORD REQUEST

(AUS) Queensland holds lessons for states set to crack down on bikies

(AUS) Union boss Parker denies Alex relationship