By Mike Rush
St. Louis, MO (KSDK) - Racketeering, kidnapping and murder are some of the charges facing suspected members of a motorcycle gang. A federal grand jury indicted 21 men, including five from St. Louis.
Some of the nicknames listed in the forty page indictment might seem amusing - "Animal", "Low Rider" and "Big-T" - but what the men behind those nicknames are accused of doing is no laughing matter.
Like something out of a movie, the indictment describes an exclusive and violent gang of motorcycle thugs called 'Wheels of Soul'. United States Attorney Richard Callahan says there are chapters in more than 20 states governed by a mother chapter in Philadelphia.
There are dues to pay, an oath to defend members to the death and the paperwork also describes drug and gun sales, and revenge killings on rival members.
Callahan says the investigation started with a tip surrounding a St. Louis murder in 2009. The case spread to other states. Now, the United States Attorney says the gang is suffering.
"This was at least a significant disruption of the outlaw gang," said Callahan. "It's really almost an end of their leadership personnel. What happens after that, I don't know."
KSDK