Under And Alone: The True Story Of The Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
Of all the criminal elements in this world, biker gangs are possibly the quintessential American product. In other countries you have urban gangs, the mafia, government goons, weapon runners and drug smugglers. But at the heart of those enterprises is the desire for money and power. Traditional gangsters engaged in gangster shit as a job, a way to earn some scratch. However, every organized crime group had a guy who would be variously known as 'Crazy Joe Spinolli', or 'Loco Lopez' - a hardcore insane guy without fear or much brains for that matter. A killer, murderer, torturer. Well, to hear William Queen tell it, biker gangs like the Mongols are all loco to the last man. As Queen points out numerous times, it isn't about just being an 'outlaw, it was about living The Life'. Bikers live the Life of a gangster from waking to dreaming. Breakfast is a beer and a joint, and dinner is Jack Daniels with a chaser of meth. Raping, murdering, stabbing, plotting... it's all part of the Life. You have to live it day in and day out or you never will fit into this subculture. Queen explains the difference between the weekend bikers and suburban dads with their standard Harleys (the '99 percenters') and the true outlaw bikers who give them all a bad name (the 1 percenters). The most famous of the 1 percenters are the Hells Angels, of course. They are by far the largest and most successful. They are opposed by various regional gangs such as the Outlaws, the Bandidos, and the Mongols. Queen infiltrates the latter, which has been a fixture in the So Cal landscape since the '60s. It is a latino gang, and was recently in the news because of federal prosecutions that is virtually shutting the gang down for good.Queen does a remarkable thing in this operation: as an older white guy, he gains the trust of the Hispanic bikers and rises from a mere prospect being abused and untrusted, to a fully 'patched' member of the San Fernando Valley Mongols. He even becomes the Treasurer of the gang, which allows for some convenient looks into the financial doings of the gang for that all important RICO prosecution! Wow, no one ever said bikers were smart. Queen certainly loses no opportunity to point that out. The timing of this book for me was spot on: it is probably because of Queen's own dangerous and pioneering work into this gang that the Mongols were recently infiltrated by no less that *four* undercover operatives from the federal and state level, who all got patched as full members. They brought the whole Mongol organization in California down late last month (October, 2008). Remarkable undercover work. I absolutely love the intricacies of this genre. It has made me very appreciative of just how ballsy undercover ops are and makes me sit up when I hear about some UC operation on the news.This book is filled with a host of shady characters, some of them endearing, others scary, and almost all of them certifiably insane. This is a culture filled with incessant partying, hard drug use, defiance of the law, and violence. Lots of violence. The Mongols used violence to solve anything and everything. It got them the respect they needed to live their outlaw existences. Random beatdowns, drug fueled rages and liquored up bar brawls are part and parcel of the standard night out in biker bars. Basic hygiene and civilized behavior was not a Mongol trait, indeed it was frowned upon; a particularly memorable biker named Rancid hadn't washed his waist length hair in months, and showered even less. The pungency wafted through the pages. I can only imagine how Queen kept from throwing up.Unlike a mafioso who may blend in with the Brooklyn neighborhood he runs rackets in, the Mongols have no desire to blend in with larger society - they are a force unto themselves. Memorable is a scene where hundreds of Mongols ride through a suburban California neighborhood, blocking intersections and openly defying cops, who gape at the motorcade to a fallen biker's funeral. At the grave site, Queen recalls getting hammered with his biker friends and listening in horror as they planned to ambush, torture and kill a young deputy who was keeping watch over the macabre gathering.Drugs are a major problem for an undercover. Gangs know that the truest test of a potential member is to force drugs on them - undercover cops aren't exactly coke fiends. Queen comes up on this problem repeatedly in his memoir but never owns up to doing drugs. It is kind of hard to believe that the Mongols would patch a prospect like Queen unless he engaged in more criminal behavior and drug taking than he recounts in this book. But that does not really take anything away from this memoir. The story he tells is quick and dirty, even though it encompasses a 2 year investigation. A compelling, powerful read. If you like undercover memoirs, this should be on your list.
A very "truth can be stranger than fiction", real-life account of Federal Agent William Queen's deep-undercover life with the Mongols Motorcycle Club. To say that the Mongols have a storied, crime-ridden history would be an understatement; if you can think of it, they've probably done it. Their most modern incarnation may be clean now - I'm not sure (and it's not really relevant) - but the events Queen recounts during his time with them are troubling, to say the least.Life in and among a "one-percenter" club is essentially full-time work for all of its members, but especially Queen, as he has to keep up the illusion of his membership. It is fascinating to read about how his entire life as Billy St. John has to be fabricated from the ground up, so that the Mongols truly believe he is one of them as they dig into his past. Queen even has to fake drug use to appear like he's one of the gang - hardly an easy thing to do. One false move or mistake and literally Queen's life is over. Sadly, this does take its toll on his real life and relationships, not the least of which is with his children.Scrutiny on Queen is at a fever pitch while he is a prospect - that is to say, before he is a full-fledged, trusted member. He's essentially an errand boy and at times, not a trusted one. Several members even threaten him with death if they find out he's a cop. Undeniably, this section of the book really builds the tension of what Queen's life is like for the sake of his job.There are some blurring of the lines here, too. As in life, not everyone in the Mongols is automatically horrible, and Queen feels a connection to some of the people he is deceiving. Similarly, people in law enforcement who don't know he's undercover treat him like dirt. He mentions how he suffers a personal loss and is readily consoled by his one-percenter family without hesitation - because they think he is family to them - and, yet, receives absolutely no consolation from his law enforcement brothers and sisters. It is quite the dichotomy.A minor criticism of this book by me is not a fair one, and that is my belief that this would make an amazing autobiography if it went into lengthier detail of William Queen's life before and after the Mongols. There are probably reasons of privacy and safety that precluded that from happening to begin with, which I completely respect. Nevertheless, it's a great story that pulls back the curtain on a life the vast majority of people will never know a thing about.
What do You think about Under And Alone: The True Story Of The Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (2006)?
A quick read. It shines an interesting light on some of the inner workings of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMG) as criminal organizations. Moreover, it also shows some of the dilemma's involved with being undercover long-term; with the disruption to your normal life and, in particular, the psychological bonding that happens with the people you have to befriend to eventually testify against. Queen covers it pretty well, but that element could have been taken deeper, as could the details of the OMG itself.Something it definitely does is strip the glamour and glitz that shows like Sons of Anarchy show OMG life in while at the same time, showing how shows like that "get" the family and brotherhood aspect of it.If you're at all interested in the subject you'll enjoy the book.
—Benjamin Rothman
Under and Alone,I bought this book on a whim, I usually don't read true life crime stories but for one reason or another this subject intrigued me at the time of purchase.The prose are not exactly great but I wasn't expecting a lyrical or even semi-lyrical novel when considering the source. This book is written well enough but I did find myself questioning the motivation. The means didn't justify the end.I truly felt the author held back information that could have been incriminating. I honestly don't believe he moved up in rank as quickly as he did in the Mongol nation without truly proving himself as a real outlaw. I also found myself questioning the authors true character. It takes a very callused person to accomplish such an undertaking, family and friends were left behind even his girlfriend became a victim of his actions.The goal was to take down the Mongols gun-trafficking network, bust their drug-dealing operation, prosecute them for extortion, robbery, rape,and murder. In the end a small number of Mongols' were arrested, a small number of guns came off the streets, and the Mongol nation still thrives today.Seventy illegal firearmsSeventeen stolen bikesTwo kilo's of cokeAnd ten's of thousands in cash!54 indictment and 53 convictions.This was the biggest undercover mission ever. Sadly, I feel we wasted government money. This mission was as affective as a fly trying to take your head off by buzzing around your ear for an hour or so.As much as I dislike the activities of the Mongols and others like them, I found myself not liking Billy and his ATF friends as well. I found the operation to be a waste of time and government money.
—Kevin
What’s it like living in the midst of the Mongols, the outlaw motorcycle gang the ATF dubbed the “most vicious”? William Queen goes undercover, and while he comes out the other side with enough warrants to shake the club, he also takes away some of the camaraderie that pulls men together and holds them bonded by a common passion. In fact, Queen is later heard commenting that he was tempted to quit government service and join the gang. Senseless violence? Yes. Drug trafficking, extortion, and money laundering? Absolutely. But, what makes this group tick? What lies at the root of their disdain for law enforcement? And, is this gang-wide or only a few outliers?Queen is no seasoned reporter. He’s a conflicted law enforcement agent who knows his purpose but learns the hard way not to judge things by their appearance. Read this book before watching one of the Gangland episodes on YouTube for a better appreciation of one of the country’s top motorcycle clubs.
—Joe
