March 28, 2024
Local News

Genoa police keeping an eye on Outlaw Motorcycle Club

GENOA – Despite the violent and exciting portrayal of motorcycle gangs on TV, acting Genoa Police Chief Robert Smith said he’s had virtually no problems with a local chapter of what law enforcement officials said historically is a violent motorcycle gang in the community.

The Outlaw Motorcycle Club (Outlaws MC), which has established a clubhouse at 231 E. Railroad Ave., Genoa, has been in DeKalb County for about three years, Smith said.

“You could drive by and you would never know it’s a motorcycle club. I think there’s bad apples in any club or organization,” Smith said. “Maybe the one we have here is not as bad as the other ones. It’s still a concern. It’s not like they’re Boy Scouts. They’re organized and connected to crime.”

The Outlaws are no club, said Steve Cook, executive director of the Midwest Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigation Association.

The Outlaws are recognized as a highly structured criminal gang by both the FBI and the United States Department of Justice. In 1993, two of its members were convicted for murdering a McHenry County couple for $15 and laughing when police wrongfully arrested the couple's son, Gary Gauger, who was sentenced to death and served 31/2 years on death row before he was released.

Cook said he thinks it's only a matter of time until the DeKalb County chapter of the Outlaws publicly butts heads with its biggest rival, the Hell's Angels, who have a chapter only 30 miles away in Rockford.

“You don’t get to be a member of the Outlaws without being about something, and when I say ‘being about something,’ I mean something criminally,” Cook said.

The Genoa City Council tabled a request April 6 from then-Genoa Police Chief Ty Lynch to set up video surveillance overlooking the Outlaws' clubhouse. At least two Genoa residents spoke up at the meeting with their concerns for the approval of a police camera system.

Although there is no police video surveillance monitoring the Outlaws, the bikers have equipped their clubhouse with cameras to keep an eye on the property, Genoa Police Detective Greg Edwards said.

It seems unfair the Outlaws will point cameras at the community but object to any surveillance of their clubhouse, Edwards said.

“It’s kind of a double standard,” he said.

Some, including Smith, do not believe the Outlaws pose enough of a threat to warrant spending a maximum of $11,500 on a camera system, according to the meeting minutes.

“We drive by. We talk to them. We haven’t been inside. When they’ve had their events, we just beef up extra patrols,” Smith said. “Besides that, we hardly even know they’re there. I’d say a couple times a year they have major events, and that’s it.”

So far, the gang’s presence hasn’t resulted in anything more than a noise complaint stemming from loud motorcycle engines, Smith said.

“They’re connected to crime, and I understand the concern,” Smith said. “But they’re not here that often, and the time that they are here, we can just beef up controls and take care of it that way.”

A member of the Outlaws MC even reached out to Smith and Genoa Mayor Mark Vicary and suggested a sit-down meeting to talk about obvious concerns arising from the club’s presence in town. The club member even left them with a name and phone number to contact the Outlaws about potential complaints, Smith said.

“They just wanted to tell us that they’re in the area and if we have any problems, to contact them and try to address it that way,” Smith said.

When reached by the Daily Chronicle, the same member declined to comment.

The transparency with which the Outlaws seem to be presenting themselves is no more than a strategically planned facade, Cook said.

“That’s pretty typical of them to do that,” he said. “They know that people are going to find out, and if they can have somebody try to schmooze, the reality of it is that still isn’t going to change the activity and behavior that these guys are going to be participating in.”

For now, Genoa police will continue to keep an eye on the gang with extra patrol during scheduled gang events and by providing specialized gang training, Smith said.

Edwards, who works largely with gang investigations in the Genoa area, will attend an Outlaw Motorcycle Gang investigator certification course led by Cook from Sept. 14 to 18 in Missouri.

“It’s not like what you would see on TV, where they’re there every day hanging out causing problems,” Edwards said. “We always try to keep an eye on them no matter what. We’re never going to let our guard down because you never know.”

Unless an extraordinary incident takes place, causing police to force the Outlaws out of town, the gang is here to stay, Smith said.

“I think they’re based out of DeKalb County, and why they chose Genoa is beyond me,” Smith said. “But they’re here.”