until this wild shootout near Waco in
May of 2015 a lot of people had never
heard of the Bandidos biker club but by
the time this happened federal agents
were already knee-deep in an
investigation involving assaults and
murder tonight for the first time
channel 2 investigates is taking you
inside the criminal case against the
Bandidos top leaders investigator Robert
Arnold obtained undercover video and
wiretaps that brought down the
organization's bosses for three and a
half years DEA and FBI agents launched
in collected evidence there's a massive
investigation an investigation focusing
on top members of the Bandidos
motorcycle club hasn't been a criminal
enterprise for 16 years
DEA officials say the case actually
began as a drug investigation
federal agents started monitoring calls
made by then Bandidos national sergeant
at arms Justin Forrester some of those
were within Bandidos national vice
president john Portillo assistant US
attorney Erich Fuchs in DEA assistant
Special Agent in Charge Dante Soria Nelo
say what was heard on these wiretaps led
to an investigation that went beyond
drugs violence it was one the one thing
they knew they had and the one thing
that they could exert that included
murders that went unsolved for years one
included the 2002 murder of Robert Laura
who the Bandidos believed killed one of
their own you have a rival gang member
that has killed your member if they
didn't react they would be viewed as a
weak on the streets Puke says the
Bandidos prided themselves on being the
top outlaw motorcycle organization in
Texas and went after anyone who
encroached on their turf it's the
Bandidos home it's where they were
founded it's the most important state to
them puke says protecting home turf led
to the 2006 murder of Anthony Benesh in
Austin who was trying to start the Hells
Angels chapter the Bandidos warned them
they said hey stop need to stop wearing
this vest around Austin he didn't in was
shot and killed outside a restaurant
surveillance video shows his girlfriend
and sons running for help a third murder
was at a bar in Fort Worth in 2014
a member of a motorcycle club that
supported a rival group was shot during
a melee the federal officials say that
included in all-out war with a rival
organization known as the Cossacks the
Bandidos told the cossacks not to wear a
texas rocker on their gear other
instances the government used a trial
included a planned attack on a cossack
clubhouse in odessa that law enforcement
prevented and an attack with a claw
hammer against a cossack member at a gas
station in Palo Pinto County there was
also an attack on Cossacks members in
Port Aransas it was kind of understood
that if you came across one of these
guys for war you know how to you know
how to act
after years of intercepted calls and
undercover recordings federal officials
arrested Bandidos National President
jeffrey pyke vice president john
Portillo and sergeant at arms Justin
Forrester Fuchs says Forrester and other
members took plea deals to testify
against Pike and Portillo they were
convicted of running a criminal
organization and sentenced to life in
prison
well not part of the federal case Puke
says what happened in Waco highlighted
the violence that was part of a war over
a patch at his quarters about three
things it was about territory it was
about power it was about reputation pike
and Portillo are appealing their
convictions Pike's attorney dicta Guerin
says his client was convicted based on
testimony from in his words a bunch of
snitches who were trying to get lesser
sentences in lied Jeff wasn't involved
in any of this and couldn't possibly
know what every member was doing
we've got more detail on this case under
the investigates section of
click2houston.com Robert Arnold KPRC
Channel 2 News