Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws
My Infiltration of America's Deadliest Biker Gangs
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3.8 • 23 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The basis for the hit TV series Gangland Undercover!
Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws presents the gripping account from an ex-con who went undercover to help the ATF infiltrate three of America's most violent biker gangs.
Despite lacking any experience with motorcycle gangs, Charles Falco infiltrated three of America's deadliest biker gangs: the Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws. In separate investigations that spanned years and coasts, Falco risked his life, suffering a fractured neck and a severely torn shoulder, working deep under cover to bring violent sociopaths to justice.
His dedication was profound; Falco spent almost three years infiltrating the Vagos gang and rose to second in command of the Victorville, California chapter. He even served time in San Bernardino's Murder Unit and endured solitary confinement to protect his cover and the investigations. Falco recorded confessions of gangland-style killings and nearly became a target himself before he sought refuge in the Witness Protection Program. But discontent to remain on the sidelines and motivated by a strong sense of duty, Falco eventually left the Program and volunteer his talents again to infiltrate the Mongols and Outlaws, rising in rank to Vice President of the Petersburg, Virginia Outlaws chapter.
His efforts culminated in sixty two arrests of members for various crimes, including assault and murder. Executing one of this country's most successful RICO prosecutions and effectively crippling the criminal enterprise, Falco's engrossing narrative of the dangers of the biker underworld harkens back to Hunter S. Thompson's classic Hell's Angels, vividly recounting a life undercover.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Falco was facing a minimum sentence of 22 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute and manufacture hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine when the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department made him an offer he couldn't refuse become an undercover informant instead of going to jail. The bulk of this fascinating autobiography describes in detail Falco's work infiltrating the Vagos Motorcycle Club, an outlaw biker gang considered in 2003 to be the "largest urban terrorist" organization in the U.S. Falco's main assignment reads like a synopsis of the book: "Get inside, gather intelligence on the gang, identify the club's leaders, purchase drugs from them, and collect as many illegal firearms as you can." Falco describes in almost excruciating detail how he rose in the Vagos ranks from a go-fer to a full-fledged member, a three-year descent into a violent world of drug abuse, Neanderthal treatment of women, and constant fighting that left Falco living constantly "in a state of veiled paranoia," even after the Vagos gang was brought down by the law. It is Falco's unrelenting depiction of the stupidity and brutality in the Vagos biker world that makes his story powerful.
Customer Reviews
Good read
After watching an episode of "Gangland undercover " I thought I should read Falco's book and it was a good easy turn paging read.
Hope the entire show is as good as his book!