DON'T MESS WITH THE ANGELS

There are four major outlaw motorcycle clubs in t he United States:
　
The Hell's Angels were formed in 1948 in San Bernardino, California and have chapters all over the Western World. The Bandidos are based in Texas and have chapters in the major cities of the Americas, Europe and Australia. The Outlaws were formed in 1935 just outside Chicago and are reputed to be the wealthiest of the outlaw biker gangs. The Pagans have 44 chapters strung down the East Coast between New York and Miami and have the fiercest reputation of all the biker gangs.
　
I am very familiar with the Angels because their headquarters were near where I spent most of my law enforcement career. I can tell you that those suckers were a bunch of tough and mean hombres. What made them so dangerous in any confrontation was that they were not afraid to die.
　
Many, although not all of the Hells Angels chapters are believed to derive much of their income from the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamines. As with the other biker gangs, many of their ‘old ladies’ worked as pole dancers in strip clubs.
　
When I was working the streets, the ball peen hammer was their favorite weapon and they would swing it with reckless abandonment during brawls with members of other biker gangs. You really didn’t want to mess with the Angels.
　
I once visited a parolee in Riverside General Hospital. His swollen head and busted-up face looked so grotesque that I hardly recognized him. He told me he was riding with the Devil’s Disciples, a small biker gang, when they came across a group of Angeles. That’s all it took for the fur to fly. And he wasn’t about to file a police complaint – ‘Holy fuck man, how long do you think I’d stay alive if I did that?’
　
In New York, the people living in neighborhoods frequented by the Angels considered them their heroes because those neighborhoods remained almost completely crime and gang free – no crook in his right mind and no competing gang would infringe on the territory of the Hells Angels.
　
And now the Angels have taken on legitimate businesses for infringing on their long-time logo, the winged death head.



HELLS ANGELS SUE ALEXANDER McQUEEN AND SAKS OVER WINGED DEATH HEAD TRADEMARK
By Tamara Abraham
　
Mail Online
October 27, 2010
　
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation is suing Alexander McQueen for breach of trademark, after the fashion house featured motifs similar to its famous winged death head.
　
Lawyers for the motorcycle gang cited four products from the late designer's final collection, created shortly before his suicide in February this year.
　
They named the £895 'Hells Angels' jacquard box dress, and a £300 knuckle-duster ring in the complaint, as well as a scarf and a handbag.

It is also suing U.S. department store Saks Fifth Avenue and e-tailer Zappos.com for selling the products.
　
The complaint argues that the symbol has been used by the Hells Angels since at least 1948, and that it is protected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
　
'From decades of notoriety, the HAMC marks have acquired very widespread public recognition, consequently they evoke strong and immediate reactions whenever used,' it reads.
　
'The impact of these marks is virtually incomparable, and as a result they have great commercial value.'

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles on Monday. HAMC lawyer Fritz Clapp explained: 'This isn't just about money, it's about membership.
　
'If you've got one of these rings on, a member might get really upset that you're an imposter.'
　
Representatives for Saks, Zappos.com and Alexander McQueen, which is owned by PPR's Gucci Group, have refused to comment.
　
Yesterday Harry Potter costume designer Jany Temime was accused of copying an Alexander McQueen dress after film stills were released from the first instalment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.