Ousted and disgruntled former members of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Pagans Motorcycle Club have regrouped and started a new MC now known as the “Jackals”, according to Biker World Sources familiar with the new organization.
Those sources tell Mobtalksitdown.com that 20-25 former Pagans, who either left the club on their own or were pushed out by Pagans leadership over the past few years, have been meeting on a regular basis, mostly in Northeast Philadelphia.
Sources say the new club is not a 1% club, but may be trying to patch things up with Pagans leadership in an attempt to rejoin the Pagans on a national level.
Authorities say since 2018, the Pagans MC nationwide have been lead by Keith “Conan” Richter, who has been on an expansion tear in the last few years, aggressively signing up new members to the club.
The Pagans were founded in the 1960s out of Maryland. They have 30 chapters in 12 states, according to a recent N.J. State Commission of Investigation report on the biker world. Investigators say there are currently chapters in Philadelphia, South Jersey, Bucks and Delaware counties.
Last year, a Pagans MC sponsored party in Northeast Philadelphia drew over 300 members of the Pagans from up and down the East Coast wearing their “colors”, including “Conan” himself. Law enforcement investigators were also present and snapping pictures at the annual gathering.
“They want to take over the entire East Coast,” SCI Special Agent Edwin Torres testified at a hearing last year. Law enforcement has long said the Pagans are allegedly involved in a wide range of criminal activity, from drug and gun trafficking to prostitution.
Alleged high ranking South Jersey Pagans member Hugo Nieves testified under subpoena at an SCI hearing on the bikers. While refusing to acknowledge he’s a member of the Pagans, Nieves did say “It’s not the policy of this club for anyone to participate in illegal activity….and that’s all I’m going to say.”
The formation of the “Jackals” comes as the Pagans are under fire, allegedly from the Hells Angels MC, according to NYPD investigators after the President of the Bronx, New York chapter of the Pagans was killed back in May.
Pagans President Francisco Rosado was gunned down gangland style in the Bronx in broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon by a pair of assassins in black clothing and masks. The shooters’ weapons were equipped with silencers.
The NYPD just charged two high ranking members of the Hells Angels, Frank “Loose Cannon” Tatulli, 51, and Sayanon Thongthwath, 29 with murder, weapons offenses and manslaughter.
NYPD investigators say the targeted hit was well planned and orchestrated after the Hells Angels sought revenge for someone shooting up their new New York City club house in the Bronx, a longtime Pagans stronghold. The Angels, investigators say, suspected the gunfire came from the Pagans. No arrests have been made in that case.
A third suspect in the Rosado’s execution, Anthony DeStefano, 27, a reputed member of another biker gang, was also charged in Rosado’s murder.
There have been no further reported incidents of violence since the three arrests, according to investigators who monitor biker activity on a daily basis.
