Friday, August 26, 2022

Mid-century Modern Gladiators?

Somebody was having fun with a "source" for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and I bet it wasn't a seasoned source from one of the alphabet agencies.


courtesy of realmofhistory.com 


July 31, 1969

Office Correspondence

From: Sergeant William Gleason

Motorcycle File

To: Captain James C. White

Records and Data Bureau


Subject: Weapons and Explosives in Possession of Outlaw Motorcycle Club, Malibu Station Patrol Area

Earlier this date, this writer received the following information from Los Angeles Police Department Devonshire Division Officers Marshall and Patten.

The officers advised that they had received information from a confidential source the members of the Satans Slaves, Hells Angels, and Galloping Gooses were presently living at Spahn Movie Ranch, Santa Susana Road, Chatsworth. These persons are reportedly in possession of a .50 caliber machine gun, along with a number of cases of dynamite. The source also stated that the dynamite is wired to a large amount of marijuana that is buried on the Ranch property. The exact location of the machine gun, dynamite, and marijuana is unknown. The Spahn Movie Ranch encompasses several hundred acres of land.

The source told the officers that the various clubs are gathering at the Spahn Ranch in preparation for a gang war. It is unknown what other clubs the above-mentioned clubs are planning to fight with, or where this gang war is to take place. Apparently, the above-mentioned clubs are going to fight smaller outlaw clubs in the Southern California area. The source stated that when the above-mentioned clubs feel like they are up to full strength, they will have a party for approximately one week and that after this party, they will fight the other clubs.

The Los Angeles Police Department Division verified that there were several members of the various clubs living at Spahn Ranch, also that two clips of .30 caliber ammunition have been found in the Spahn Movie Ranch area.

This writer has had reports of members of various clubs staying at the ranch, also Malibu Station has made some arrests at the ranch including an Assault With Deadly Weapon arrest reported under file 469-00721-1071-055.

The Devonshire Division officers will forward any further information, as it is received.

Sergeant Stern, Intelligence Bureau, was contacted and notified of the above. Sergeant Stern has previously received the same information from another source.

For Your Information.

(signed) William C. Gleason



13 comments:

orwhut said...

Another great find Deb.
I guess the bikers were living at Spahn before most of the family moved to the Death Valley. If I ever knew they lived there together, it had slipped my mind.

DebS said...

orwhut, I imagine there were bikers that visited Spahn and maybe a few even spent the night with some of the Family girls but I doubt that they actually lived there. The whole scene of bikers gearing up for a future fight with some of the smaller 1%er clubs does not ring true to me. Generally, bikers are more spontaneous and will brawl at the drop of a hat when they feel they have been slighted or bad mouthed by someone. I've never known a biker to train for a brawl!

The source sounds to me like they could have been one or more of the teen-aged runaways that were kept at the back of the ranch. They were probably told all sorts of things to keep them away from certain areas of the ranch.

But the end of July, when this report was written, was when the sheriff's department and the fire department stepped up their surveillance of Spahn Ranch. The report gave them a reason to dig deeper into the goings on at the ranch.

Who rigs their marijuana with live dynamite? That's just crazy and likely told to those who they didn't want getting into their stash.

Rock N. Roll said...

Galloping Gooses?

Thanks as always to DebS!

orwhut said...

Thanks Deb. Your explanation of the causes for the strangeness in the account fits well.

orwhut said...

Blogger Rock N. Roll said...
Galloping Gooses?

They must have been one tough club to carry off a name like that.

Doug said...

GALLOPING GOOSES -

Even their patch is bizarre looking. They were legilt though

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galloping_Goose_Motorcycle_Club

Doug said...

More on the Galloping Goose MC

https://www.google.com/amp/s/onepercenterbikers.com/galloping-goose-mc-motorcycle-club/amp/

Buntline II said...

It is my understanding that The Satans Mothers, The Gramercy Riffs and The Baseball Furies were also at Spahn during this period.

Doug said...

Don't forget the Fordham Baldies, Del Bombers and, the Wongs!

But, don't fuck with the Wongs!

orwhut said...

Doug,
Thanks for the photo of the patch. Galloping Goose M.C. doesn't sound nearly as likely to attract a comment that would start a brawl as Galloping Gooses.

Buntline II said...

Galloping Geese?

Loegria15 said...

DebS, thanks for another great post!

FiveGunsWest said...

That same spiel was everywhere. In Manteca, at the same time period, there were numerous law enforcement declarations that the Gypsy Jokers, the Misfits, the Angels, and numerous others were going to have a brawl in the median strip of Hwy 99 - any day now.

There were tales of bikers pulling old men out of their cars and murdering them in front of their families. Of course, the press such as it was then never carried these dubious stories in the press or on telly. But it sure inflated budgets, just like terrorism today, nonexistent unless the US pays for it.