New biker gang being formed

New biker gang being formed Bitter rival of Hells Angels, but little muscle By: Bruce Owen Posted: 01/13/2011 1:00 AM

The former vice-president of the now-defunct local chapter of Bandidos outlaw motorcycle gang is behind a recent move to form a new biker gang in Winnipeg to compete against the Hells Angels, police and other sources say. The formation of the Vagos in the city is part of a country-wide move to establish a second biker gang in Canada to fill a void created with the dissolution of the Bandidos and the Rock Machine, sources say. The Vagos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Green Nation, is based in southern California and is a bitter rival of the Hells Angels. Last August, the two gangs got into a daylight gunfight in Chino Valley, Ariz. Five people were injured and 27 people were arrested. Winnipeg Police Service Const. Jason Michalyshen said police are aware of the gang's presence. "Currently, there is no known membership in Winnipeg but we're continuing to monitor it," he said. However, sources say there is at least one gang member in the province and likely more waiting in the wings. A recent report said there are now about 25 members and prospects in Canada belonging to the Vagos Nomads chapter, most being in the Toronto area. The original Toronto members, formerly of the Rock Machine, joined the Vagos in late November. Sources say former Winnipeg Bandidos member Jamie "J.C." Korne is behind establishing the Vagos in the province. Until Wednesday Korne's Facebook profile sported Vagos gang colours. Korne grew up in the Maples area. Sources say it's not known if local Vagos members are openly wearing the gang's colours. A newspaper report said so far gang members in Canada are only wearing T-shirts and hoodies with gang insignia. Sources also said it's believed the Vagos will have little muscle to compete with the Hells Angels and their puppet gang, the Zig Zag Crew. Both have been hit hard by police stings over the past few years and recently had their clubhouse seized by the province, but have slowly been rebuilding despite having many members and associates still in prison. "I don't think they have the wheels to do anything," one source said of the Vagos. Korne, 40, is most known for being the vice-president of the local Bandidos as it was forming several years ago in Winnipeg under the leadership of Michael "Taz" Sandham, a former East St. Paul police officer who is now serving a life term in prison for his role in the April 2006 murders of eight fellow Bandidos bikers in rural southwestern Ontario. The eight were killed as part of an internal cleansing. What's unclear is whether the Vagos will also absorb members of the Rock Machine in Manitoba. The Rock Machine, another rival biker gang to the Hells Angels, rose in prominence locally after the demise of the Bandidos. Rock Machine members have had several violent run-ins with the Hells Angels over the past three years, one in which the local Rock Machine chapter president was severely beaten in a south Winnipeg parking lot. The most recent biker-related killing was last Nov. 1 when Daniel Benjamin Kachkan, 34, was shot dead execution-style in the back of the head in his Point Douglas home. No one has been arrested. Kachkan had been a member of the Zig Zag Crew. Who are the Vagos? The name is derived from the words "vagabonds" and "vagrants". Their origin goes back to the 1960s in southern California. They were originally called the Psychos and the Los Vagos They incorporate an image of Loki, the Norse god of mischief, in its patch or colours. The Vagos' Facebook page says the organization has approximately 600 members among 24 chapters in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and three chapters located in Mexico. Two hundred members are in Riverside County, where the gang was started. The FBI and California authorities classifies Vagos as an outlaw motorcycle club involved in methamphetamine and marijuana distribution, extortion, insurance fraud, money laundering and weapons violations.