Sources tell Mobtalksitdown.com there’s been a changing of the guard within the Pagans MC in recent weeks after National President Keith “Conan” Richter decided to step aside and Robert Francis, aka “Big Bob”, stepped in to fill the leadership void in the troubled outlaw motorcycle club.
Richter, who spearheaded a widespread expansion of the club known as “The Blue Wave”, plead guilty last week to being a felon in possession of a gun after facing federal gun charges in New Jersey. Richter is facing a possible 10 year sentence, but is expected to serve 2 years, nine months, according to federal authorities.
Sources tell Mobtalksitdown.com that “Big Bob” and an entourage of Pagans from Virginia made two appearances in New Jersey last month, one at a Pagans event in Atlantic City, the other at a funeral in Linden.
Richter has already served a 16 year sentence for conspiracy to commit murder. He was arrested on the latest charges back in February after an SUV he was riding in was stopped by federal and local authorities as it crossed state lines from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. Police discovered a hidden compartment containing a loaded handgun. Richter and a fellow Pagan were released and sent on their way, but several days later Richter was charged by federal authorities in Newark, New Jersey.
Sources say Richter had just left a meeting of the Pagan hierarchy in Lancaster, Pa. and was headed to his Bayshore, Long Island home when the pair was pulled over. According to biker experts and insiders, there is widespread thinking among club members that Conan was betrayed by someone within the Pagans who knew about Richter carrying a gun to the Pennsylvania meeting.
Biker world sources also tell Mobtalksitdown.com that there were some high ranking Pagans upset with Richter’s tactics while increasing the ranks of the Pagans by the hundreds in recent years. There were indications that some new members bought their way into the club with cash. There were also reports that some new members were not required to serve a probationary period before being granted full membership, as was the Pagans policy in years past.
The Pagans in New Jersey have been under fire from federal authorities in the past year with 11 members being charged in a variety of cases, some involving violence committed against other Outlaw Motorcycle clubs and their own associates.
The president of the Bronx, New York chapter of the Pagans, Francisco Rosado, was also gunned down execution style in May 2020 by a pair of hitmen in a brazen broad daylight hit. The murder came after someone opened fire at the new Bronx headquarters of the Hells Angels. Some believe the move was in retaliation for the clubhouse shooting.
Authorities say two Hells Angels members, Frank “Loose Cannon” Tatulli and Sayanon Thongthawath, were arrested a year ago for the murder of Rosado. The entire hit was caught on video by a nearby surveillance camera. It showed the two masked gunmen exit a Jeep armed with weapons equipped with silencers and open fire on Rosado and another Pagan member, who was wounded. The two gunmen jumped back in the SUV and fled the scene while horrified neighbors looked on.
Police sources say there has been no retaliation by the Pagans for the Rosado hit.
Now sources say Richter has been replaced as President, at least on an interim basis, by Robert “Big Bob” Francis who lives in Virginia. Francis, an imposing figure much like Conan, proudly wears a patch on his Pagans colors indicating he was one of 73 Pagans members arrested on Long Island back in 2002 at the so called “Hellraisers Ball”.
One man was killed, three others were wounded at that Long Island brawl between the Pagans and the Hells Angels. It was supposed to be a tattoo and motorcycle show before it turned violent and bullets started flying. It was attended by more than 1,000 people. Police said baseball bats, knives, clubs and guns were confiscated.
Insiders tell Mobtalksitdown.com that “Big Bob” is well respected within the Pagans MC and will most likely assume a much more low profile stance as the new leader.
Some other changes in Pagans leadership, including at least one in the Philadelphia chapter, have occurred since Richter’s arrest. No details have been disclosed as to the Pagans involved in those changes.
