Pagans Motorcycle Club are one of the big 4 one percenter motorcycle clubs, along with the Hells Angels MC, Bandidos MC and Outlaws MC.
Unlike other motorcycle clubs such as the Hells Angels MC and Bandidos MC, the Pagans MC website shares little information about the club, in fact, the Pagans MC website is merely a shell for advertising events and doesn’t provide any history about the club or the locations where they are active, so information must instead be sourced from a number of other places. It is this cloud of mystery that the club most likely wants to grow, as it is also makes it harder for law enforcement to identify their size and locations.
Pagans Motorcycle Club Founding / Pagans MC History
The Pagans Motorcycle Club was founded in 1959 by Lou Dobkin in Prince George’s County which is located in Maryland, USA. When first founded they consisted of only 13 members.
When first founded the Pagans could usually be seen wearing blue denim jackets and riding Triumph motorcycles, however by the mid 1960’s this had changed and they had transformed to be more in line with the other one percenter motorcycle clubs riding Harley Davidson motorcycles and wearing more common one percenter attire.
Pagans Motorcycle Club Logo / Pagans MC Patches
The Pagans MC Patch is made up of the Norse fire-giant Surtr who is sitting on the sun and holding a sword.
Pagans MC members do not wear a bottom rocker, which usually would display the location of their chapter. This is said to have been done so that the police and other law enforcement agencies will not know which area the Pagans member has come from.
Some of the common other patches that may be seen on members include the following numbers:
- Number 4: The motto “Live and die”.
- Number 5: The Nazi SS motto.
- Number 7: An “In memory” patch.
- Number 9: The Pagans member’s chapter.
- Number 13: Affiliation with the mother chapter.
Many Pagans Motorcycle Club members also wear Nazi and other white supremacist patches and common tattoos including “ARGO” (standing for “Ar Go Fuck Yourself”) and “NUNYA” (standing for “Nun ‘Ya Fuckin’ Business”).
Pagans MC Motto
The Pagans often wear the number 4 patch, which signifies the motto “Live and Die”, so many people see this as a semi-official Pagans MC Motto.
Pagans MC Chapters
A significant amount of the growth of the Pagans Motorcycle Club chapters can be attributed to their merging with smaller clubs.
Their biggest presence is on the East Coast of the USA, with a total of over 40 chapters. The main hubs for chapters are the following areas:
- Pagans MC Delaware
- Pagans MC Florida
- Pagans MC Maryland
- Pagans MC New Jersey
- Pagans MC North Carolina
- Pagans MC Pennsylvania
- Pagans MC Virginia
- Pagans MC West Virginia
Rumours exist of Pagans MC France, Pagans MC Sweden and Pagans MC Europe chapters, however no hard evidence exists to prove that this is the case. These areas are heavily held by other motorcycle clubs including the Hells Angels MC.
The Pagans Motorcycle Club Headquarters are in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Like most information about the club, details are somewhat vague. The above image of the “clubhouse” in Indian River County, which is located in Florida, is the only image that could be found of any of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club Clubhouses. This is in stark contrast to almost all of the other big 4 clubs including the Hells Angels and Outlaws MC, who have large plaques outside of their clubhouses, which makes them much easier to identify.
Famous Pagans MC Members
Lou Dobkin – Pagans MC Founder
Lou Dobkin founded the Pagans Motorcycle Club in 1959. Lou Dobkin served in the Navy as a medic before being honourably discharged.
John “Satan” Marron – Former Pagans Motorcycle Club Leader
John Marron, also known as Satan Marron, led the club during the 1970’s and steered their direction towards higher levels of crime.
Pagans MC Support Clubs
- The Sons of Satan MC are one of the known Pagans MC Support Clubs. The club at one point was run by John “Satan” Marron, who later went on to become the Pagans National President.
- Thunderbirds MC, which is a Baltimore based black motorcycle club, is also one of the Pagans MC Support Clubs. This is rather unusual as it is a black motorcycle club in support of a predominately white motorcycle club.
Pagans MC Enemies and Allies
Pagans MC Enemies:
- Hells Angels. The Pagans MC biggest enemies are known to be the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, due to fights over territory in some areas.
- Demon Knights MC are enemies, they are a support club of the Hells Angels.
- Fates Assembly are also known to be Pagans MC Enemies, however this club have also combined with the Hells Angels MC, so they can almost fall into the point above about the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. The same can also be said for other Hells Angels MC supporter clubs including the Tri-County MC which is mentioned later in this article, where a fight broke out and members of the Pagans were killed.
- The Breed MC are a known enemy of the Pagans in the North East area of the USA.
- Avengers MC are enemies in the Midwest.
- Road Disciples are enemies.
Pagans MC Allies:
- Thunderguards MC are a close ally.
- Tribe MC are a close ally.
- Mongols MC are allies.
- Sons of Satan MC are allies (Pagans support club).
Pagans Motorcycle Club In The Media / Pagans MC Crime
1991 – 28 May, 1991. There is a fight outside a bar in Baltimore between Fates Assembly Motorcycle Club and the Pagans MC. One member of the Pagans, Mike Massaro, is killed and two members of Fates Assembly are injured.
1991 – 26 July, 1991. Members of Fates Assembly Motorcycle Club are waiting for the Pagans Motorcycle Club at the Woodbridge Inn in Woodbridge, Virginia, where the Pagans were expected to be attending a party. Upon noticing Pagans member Kirby Gallaghan entering the carpark in his truck Fates Assembly members Richard “Wolf” Capote and Melvin Payne begin following him in a van. The two men shoot into the van driven by Kirby Gallaghan, however miss. Kirby Gallaghan returns returns fire, hitting Richard Capote in the head, killing him. The funeral for Richard Capote is held on 27 July, 1991 and shortly after war is declared on the Pagans.
1991 – August, 1991. Fates Assembly members throw a hand grenade into the house of Pagans MC member Kirby Gallaghan (the shooter on 26 July), however the grenade does not explode.
1991 – August, 1991. Members of Fates Assembly plan multiple ambushes on Pagans members armed with pipe bombs and rifles, however the ambushes are unsuccessful.
1991 – 12 September, 1991. A remote control bomb is constructed by Fates Assembly. The bomb is placed on a vehicle driven by members of the Pagans and explodes. Nobody is seriously harmed, although the explosion causes damage to the vehicle including blowing off a wheel and the gas tank.
1991 – 4 October, 1991. A bomb is constructed and Fates Assembly members George “Pit Bull” Hughes, Robert Paris and Melvin Payne drive to the house of Kirby Gallaghan (the shooter on 26 July) and attach it to a vehicle owned by a roommate. The vehicle is driven to Kirby Gallaghan’s workplace in an industrial complex in Fairfax County, however fails to explode. The Fates Assembly members retrieve the unexploded bomb and decide to attempt the attack again. Later they return and attempt to reattach the bomb, however it explodes, killing Fates Assembly member George Hughes and injuring Robert Paris and Melvin Payne.
1994 – Pagans MC Jersey – July 17th, 1994. 8 members of the Pagans Motorcycle Club showed up to an event of the Tri-County Motorcycle Club. A fight erupted and 2 Pagans Motorcycle Club members were shot dead, with more injured. It is believed that Pagans MC attended the event to intimidate the Tri-County MC who were allies with the Hells Angels MC.
2005 – Pagans MC Philadelphia – 2005. Pagans members shot to death the Hells Angels Vice-President of the Hells Angels Philadelphia chapter as he was driving along the Schuylkill Expressway in his truck. The Hells Angels MC Philadelphia Chapter closed not long after this incident.
2009 – October, 2009. National Leaders of the Pagans as well as over 50 members and associates are indicted on planning to kill and extort rival outlaw motorcycle clubs. Included in the indictment are Pagans President David Keith “Bart” Barbeito and National Vice President Floyd B. “Jesse” Moore. Also named are members and associates in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Florida. One of the main charges in the 44 count indictment are that David Barbeito and Floyd Moore conspired to kill an inmate suspected of cooperating with law enforcement. Floyd Moore is also charged with conspiring to murder a chapter President from Avengers MC, although this killing did not proceed.
2010 – Pagans MC New York – September, 2010. 19 Pagans members were arrested for conspiring to murder members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. Agents from the ATF agency infiltrated the Pagans and rose to roles as high as Sergeant-At-Arms in order to gather the evidence required to bring these charges.
2011 – June, 2011, Dennis “Rooster” Katona, the former Pagans Motorcycle Club National Leader is charged and convicted of drug offences. A police raid of his home found over 84 grams of cocaine and almost 100 grams of meth with a total street value of $20,000. In 2014 he was sentenced to 40-80 months in prison, which he later appealed in 2015 on the grounds that the grounds for the search warrant were illegal.
2015 – 17 October, 2015. Suffolk County Police make 11 arrests of members of the Pagans MC, Dirty Ones MC, Steel Wheels MC, Black Sheep MC and Armored Saints MC in Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York at a fundraiser event being held by the Pagans Motorcycle Club at Duffy’s Ale House. Five handguns, a rifle, a shotgun, marijuana, cocaine, crystal meth, a billy club and three vehicles are seized. Those arrested were:
- Pagans MC – Michael John Parnsip – Two counts of Criminal Possession of Controlled Substance 4th Degree, three counts of Criminal Possession of Controlled Substance 7th Degree for possessing crystal meth, cocaine, and morphine.
- Pagans MC – Jason Lucian Craft – One count of Criminal Possession of Controlled Substance 4th Degree and three counts of Criminal Possession of Controlled Substance 7th Degree for possessing crystal meth, cocaine, and morphine.
- Pagans MC – Boudewijn Rob – Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd Degree for possessing two loaded firearms.
- Pagans MC – Kenneth Reynolds – Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd Degree for possessing two loaded firearms.
- Pagans MC – Adam Sockriter – One count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd Degree for possessing a loaded firearm and two counts of Criminal Possession of Controlled Substance 7th Degree for possessing crystal meth.
- Pagans MC – Todd Hathaway – One count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd Degree for possessing a loaded firearm and one count of Criminal Possession of Controlled Substance 7th Degree for possessing crystal meth.
- Dirty Ones MC – Julio Rosa – Criminal Possession of Marijuana 5th Degree.
- Dirty Ones MC – Manuel Tull – Criminal Possession of Marijuana 5th Degree.
- Steel Wheels MC – Edward Otto – Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 7th Degree for possessing cocaine.
- Black Sheep MC – Mark Harmon – Criminal Possession of Controlled Substance 7th Degree for possessing cocaine.
- Armored Saints MC – Eneldo Rivera – Criminal Possession of a Weapon 4th Degree for possessing a billy club.
2016 – 2 December, 2016. The Pennsylvania Court of Appeals find in favour of Dennis “Rooster” Katona in his appeal against his 2011 drug offence charges.
2017 – 17 February, 2017. Pagans MC members Joseph Mitchell and Patrick Treacy are sentenced to 20 years in prison for their involvement in a drug operation. Together with Pagans associate Joseph Mehl a.k.a “Joseph Montanero” and osteopathic medicine doctor William O’Brien the group had arranged for recruited patients to receive hundreds of prescriptions for restricted drugs including oxycodone, which were then sold on the streets for significant profit. The investigation showed that from March 2012 to January 2015, more than 700,000 pills containing oxycodone and other Schedule II controlled substances were distributed by members of the conspiracy. William O’Brien had earlier been sentenced on 5 October, 2016 to 30 years in prison and on 16 October, 2016 Pagans MC member Joseph Mitchell was sentenced to 9 years prison and on 24 August, 2017 Pagans associate Joseph Mehl is sentenced to 180
months prison for his involvement.
2018 – 23 May, 2018. Rhode Island State Police announce that 49 people related to the Pagans Motorcycle Club and Kryptmen Motorcycle Club have been arrested as part of a year-long police investigation which had been named Operation Patched Out. Members of the groups were believed to have been involved in gun and drug trafficking, large scale agricultural equipment theft and other crimes. Included in those arrested was Jason Oliver, who is believed to be in the leadership group of the Massachusetts Pagans MC. Police had performed wire taps, monitored text messages and performed other electronic surveillance before raids were performed on several properties beginning at 4am, mainly around the Rhode Island area. 53 illegal guns and drugs including a large amount of heroin were found during the raids.
Pagans MC Books & Media
Pagans MC on YouTube
A compilation of various short clips showing members of the Pagans riding:
Pagans Book – Riding on the Edge: A Motorcycle Outlaw’s Tale by John Hall. Starting from the 1960s, where John Hall was the Pagans Long Island President. Find out more on Amazon (link opens in a new window).
Pagans Book – Jersey Tough by Wayne “Big Chuck” Bradshaw
Wayne Bradshaw was a member of the Pagans in the late 1970s before leaving to join the Middletown New Jersey Police Department where he had a 20 year career. Find out more on Amazon (link opens in a new tab).
Read More:
- List of One Percenter Motorcycle Clubs
- What is a one percenter motorcycle club?
- Hells Angels MC
- Bandidos MC
- Outlaws MC
- Famous Hells Angels Members
- Outlaw Motorcycle Club Books
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