The Comanchero Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle gang in Australia. The Comancheros are participants in the United Motorcycle Council of NSW, which convened a conference in 2009 to address legislation aimed against the "bikie" clubs, their poor public image in the wake of several violent clashes and ongoing biker wars, and defusing deadly feuds such as the Comancheros' battles with the Hells Angels.[5][6] The sincerity of these efforts to defend the battered image of the clubs has been met with skepticism.[7]
William George "Jock" Ross, a Scottish immigrant, formed the club in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1968.[1] He chose the name after seeing the 1961 John Wayne film The Comancheros. (There was already a Californian motorcycle club of the same name, first mentioned in a 1965 article by Hunter S. Thompson, and in his book Hell's Angels a year later.[2][8]) Ross hung a sign on the wall of the Comancheros' clubhouse that read: "If it's white, sniff it/If it's female or it moves, fuck it/If it narks-kill it".[9]
Ross-who gave himself the grandiose title of "Supreme Commander"-ran his club in extremely authoritarian and militaristic manner.[10] The Comancheros were considered to be the most violent of Australia's many outlaw biker clubs in the 1970s-1980s owning to their frequent brawls.[10] Ross required his men to engage in weekly para-military drills and he formed an elite force which he called the Strike Force of especially tough members.[10] Many Comancheros disliked Ross as one former member told the media: "If I wanted to march around in the fuckin' backyard, I would had joined the fuckin' army".[10]
In late 1982 a second Comanchero chapter was formed by Anthony Mark "Snoddy" Spencer, who had broken away from the first chapter after challenging Ross' authority. When visiting the United States with Charles Paul "Charlie" Scibberas, another member of the second chapter, Spencer met with members of the Texan motorcycle club the Bandidos and the two gangs became allies. At the time, P2P, one of the chemicals necessary for manufacture of amphetamines', were legal in Australia, but not in the United States..[11] The Bandidos wanted an alliance to have P2P smuggled into the United States to assist with manufacturing amphetamines, the market for which they dominated in Texas.[11] The Bandidos eventually patched-over the second Comanchero chapter to become the Bandidos' first Australian chapter in November 1983.[12]
The Comancheros and Bandidos were now rivals, and in September 1984 the two clubs engaged in the Milperra massacre, a shoot-out that left seven people dead – four Comancheros, two Bandidos, and a 14-year-old bystander.[13] Ross received a lifetime jail sentence for his involvement in the gunfight,[1] but served only five years and three months before he was released.[why?][citation needed]
The Comancheros and Hells Angels clashed at Terminal 3 of Sydney Airport on 22 March 2009 in a brawl involving 10 people in the two rival bikie gangs. The brawl left Anthony Zervas, the brother of a Hells Angel, dead. The fighting was witnessed by over 50 travellers, CCTV cameras and airport staff, including airport security, who could do little to intervene. The security staff were unarmed and Australian Federal Police arrived late.[14] Six Comancheros were arrested as a result of the altercation and convicted of "riot and affray".[15] In November 2011 Comancheros leader Mahmoud "Mick" Hawi was found guilty of affray and murder,[16] but in May 2014 the murder conviction was overturned on appeal and a retrial ordered. Hawi pleaded guilty to manslaughter and in March 2015 he was sentenced to a minimum of 3.5 years jail.[17][18][19] In February 2018 Hawi was shot dead, at age 37, whilst sitting in his car outside a gym in Rockdale, NSW.[20]
In late 2009 Duax Ngakuru was elected as national president. Four years later Mick Murray was elected.[6][21][22]
The Comancheros expanded to New Zealand in 2018.[23]
Perth chapter
The Comancheros established a single Western Australian chapter in 2010 which is located on Wellman Street, Northbridge, at the Fitness and Fight Centre.[24]
The Comanchero expansion into Western Australia was delayed by the 2010 arrest of Steve Milenkovski who was about to be patched as the Perth's Chapter president when he was arrested in the culmination of Operation Baystone.[25] Operation Baystone resulted in Milenkovski, Yavuz Ozan, Hao Bi, and Mark Vick Kitos being charged with various drug offences. The operation seized 7.5 kilograms of methylamphetamine brought to Western Australia from New South Wales.[26]
In August 2012 Milenkovski was found guilty of two counts of Possess a Prohibited Drug with Intent to Sell or Supply after a 9-week Perth District Court trial and sentenced to 17 years jail as the "king pin". Two of his co-accused, were convicted of one charge each of attempted possession including David Tanevski who was sentenced to eight years' jail. Hao Bi, who was alleged to have been the courier was acquitted.[27][28]
In May 2014 eight men including two patched members of the Comanchero were charged for allegedly extorting businesses in Northbridge.[29]
Infighting
On 5 September 2012, Comanchero member Faalau Pisu was murdered, being shot in the head outside the Serbian National Defence Council at Canley Vale, New South Wales whilst attending a wedding. A 25-year-old gang member and a 27-year-old associate of the club were also shot and injured.[30] NSW Police allege that an internal rift within the Comancheros was behind recent shootings involving Comanchero members.[31]
It was later revealed by authorities and media that the Comancheros were at conflict with the Rock Machine Motorcycle Club, who had been partially responsible for the infighting. Members of Rock Machine chapters in New South Wales had reported links to a Serbian organized crime group and used that influence to patch over members of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club in mid 2012, causing tension with existing Sydney Comancheros. One of those Rock Machine members to patch over, Faalau Pisu, would be shot dead at a wedding in south-west Sydney on November 5.[32] Two days later, the Rock Machine Sydney chapter retaliated against the Comancheros for the murder of Pisu. Comancheros member, John Devine, was shot six times at a construction site in Rhodes. Devine was the cousin of Comancheros leader, Mark Buddle. Australian authorities also reported tensions between the Rock Machine chapter in Maroubra and the Comancheros in Milperra. The situation would resolve itself, with Mark Buddle, being forced to flee Australia due to a litany of charges against him for unrelated matters.[33]
^"The Comancheros motorcycle gang are rolling west into Victoria". Retrieved 24 August 2018.
^Australia’s most dangerous biker gangs 23 April 2009 30 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine, ralph.ninemsn.com.au; accessed 1 September 2015.
^"Conference bikies converge on Brisbane", Brisbane Times, 7 August 2009
^ abWelch, Dylan; Dart, Jonathan (7 August 2009). "Secret list of bikie club members accidentally sent to rival gang". The Sydney Morning Herald.
^Kent, Paul (7 August 2009), "Ferreting out the truth on outlaw bikie gangs", The Daily Telegraph, retrieved 6 March 2016
^Thompson, Hunter S. (2 March 2005). "The Motorcycle Gangs - The Nation". Retrieved 24 August 2018 – via www.thenation.com. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
^Kent, Paul (28 March 2009). "The gang wars explained - 40 years of bikie hatred". Herald Sun. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
^Brown, Malcolm (22 April 2006). "Heavy price of loyalty". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
^Dylan Welch, Les Kennedy and Ellie Harvey (23 March 2009). "Bikie killed in Sydney Airport brawl". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
^Davies, Lisa (2 November 2011). . The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 November 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
^Wells, Jamelle (court reporter) (2 November 2011). "Bikie boss guilty of murder over airport brawl". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 March 2017. The jury was told: Anthony Zervas suffered massive head injuries and stab wounds as he was attacked with metal bollards, kicked, punched and stomped on as he lay on the ground
^R v Hawi (2015), austlii.edu.au; accessed 6 March 2016.
^Wells, Jamelle; Hoerr, Karl (13 March 2015). "Ex-bikie boss sentenced to jail over fatal Sydney Airport brawl". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
^Arup, Tom (30 March 2009). "Police response to airport brawl in spotlight". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
^"'Not good for business': Former Comancheros chief Mahmoud Hawi gunned down in gym car park". ABC News. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
^. The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
^ "Bikie court bungle 'put lives at risk'", ABC News, 7 August 2009, retrieved 16 December 2015
^[NZ street gangs are facing an influx of Australian outlaw bikers] Carl Bradley, The New Zealand Herald (7 February 2019) 1 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine
^Bikies fly in for club celebration, au.news.yahoo.com; accessed 1 September 2015.
^Halting steps mark bikie battle, au.news.yahoo.com; accessed 1 September 2015.
^"Comanchero president in drug bust". The Australian. 26 February 2010.
^Three men guilty of drugs charges, ABC.net.au; accessed 1 September 2015.
^Brown, Anne-Louise (14 September 2012), "Head bikie gets 17 years for drug haul", watoday.com.au, retrieved 1 September 2015
^WAHLQUIST, Calla (23 May 2014), , perthnow.com.au, archived from the original on 27 May 2014, retrieved 1 September 2015
^Morello, Vincent (5 November 2012), "Comanchero bikie shot dead at wedding", The West Australian, retrieved 1 September 2015
^"Comanchero rift may be behind Sydney shooting", The West Australian, 8 November 2012, retrieved 1 September 2015
^"'Bloodiest bikie war' set for next chapter". 27 August 2013.
^"Violence erupts in bikies' leadership vacuum". 11 November 2012.
January 06, 2023
comanchero, motorcycle, club, outlaw, motorcycle, gang, australia, comancheros, participants, united, motorcycle, council, which, convened, conference, 2009, address, legislation, aimed, against, bikie, clubs, their, poor, public, image, wake, several, violent. The Comanchero Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle gang in Australia The Comancheros are participants in the United Motorcycle Council of NSW which convened a conference in 2009 to address legislation aimed against the bikie clubs their poor public image in the wake of several violent clashes and ongoing biker wars and defusing deadly feuds such as the Comancheros battles with the Hells Angels 5 6 The sincerity of these efforts to defend the battered image of the clubs has been met with skepticism 7 Comanchero Motorcycle ClubFounded1968 55 years ago 1968 1 or 1973 2 Founded atSydney AustraliaTypeOutlaw motorcycle clubRegionNew South Wales Victoria Auckland Bosnia Spain USA Thailand 3 Membership650 1000 2019 est 4 Contents 1 History 2 Perth chapter 3 Infighting 4 See also 5 Books 6 ReferencesHistory EditWilliam George Jock Ross a Scottish immigrant formed the club in Sydney New South Wales in 1968 1 He chose the name after seeing the 1961 John Wayne film The Comancheros There was already a Californian motorcycle club of the same name first mentioned in a 1965 article by Hunter S Thompson and in his book Hell s Angels a year later 2 8 Ross hung a sign on the wall of the Comancheros clubhouse that read If it s white sniff it If it s female or it moves fuck it If it narks kill it 9 Ross who gave himself the grandiose title of Supreme Commander ran his club in extremely authoritarian and militaristic manner 10 The Comancheros were considered to be the most violent of Australia s many outlaw biker clubs in the 1970s 1980s owning to their frequent brawls 10 Ross required his men to engage in weekly para military drills and he formed an elite force which he called the Strike Force of especially tough members 10 Many Comancheros disliked Ross as one former member told the media If I wanted to march around in the fuckin backyard I would had joined the fuckin army 10 In late 1982 a second Comanchero chapter was formed by Anthony Mark Snoddy Spencer who had broken away from the first chapter after challenging Ross authority When visiting the United States with Charles Paul Charlie Scibberas another member of the second chapter Spencer met with members of the Texan motorcycle club the Bandidos and the two gangs became allies At the time P2P one of the chemicals necessary for manufacture of amphetamines were legal in Australia but not in the United States 11 The Bandidos wanted an alliance to have P2P smuggled into the United States to assist with manufacturing amphetamines the market for which they dominated in Texas 11 The Bandidos eventually patched over the second Comanchero chapter to become the Bandidos first Australian chapter in November 1983 12 The Comancheros and Bandidos were now rivals and in September 1984 the two clubs engaged in the Milperra massacre a shoot out that left seven people dead four Comancheros two Bandidos and a 14 year old bystander 13 Ross received a lifetime jail sentence for his involvement in the gunfight 1 but served only five years and three months before he was released why citation needed The Comancheros and Hells Angels clashed at Terminal 3 of Sydney Airport on 22 March 2009 in a brawl involving 10 people in the two rival bikie gangs The brawl left Anthony Zervas the brother of a Hells Angel dead The fighting was witnessed by over 50 travellers CCTV cameras and airport staff including airport security who could do little to intervene The security staff were unarmed and Australian Federal Police arrived late 14 Six Comancheros were arrested as a result of the altercation and convicted of riot and affray 15 In November 2011 Comancheros leader Mahmoud Mick Hawi was found guilty of affray and murder 16 but in May 2014 the murder conviction was overturned on appeal and a retrial ordered Hawi pleaded guilty to manslaughter and in March 2015 he was sentenced to a minimum of 3 5 years jail 17 18 19 In February 2018 Hawi was shot dead at age 37 whilst sitting in his car outside a gym in Rockdale NSW 20 In late 2009 Duax Ngakuru was elected as national president Four years later Mick Murray was elected 6 21 22 The Comancheros expanded to New Zealand in 2018 23 Perth chapter EditThe Comancheros established a single Western Australian chapter in 2010 which is located on Wellman Street Northbridge at the Fitness and Fight Centre 24 The Comanchero expansion into Western Australia was delayed by the 2010 arrest of Steve Milenkovski who was about to be patched as the Perth s Chapter president when he was arrested in the culmination of Operation Baystone 25 Operation Baystone resulted in Milenkovski Yavuz Ozan Hao Bi and Mark Vick Kitos being charged with various drug offences The operation seized 7 5 kilograms of methylamphetamine brought to Western Australia from New South Wales 26 In August 2012 Milenkovski was found guilty of two counts of Possess a Prohibited Drug with Intent to Sell or Supply after a 9 week Perth District Court trial and sentenced to 17 years jail as the king pin Two of his co accused were convicted of one charge each of attempted possession including David Tanevski who was sentenced to eight years jail Hao Bi who was alleged to have been the courier was acquitted 27 28 In May 2014 eight men including two patched members of the Comanchero were charged for allegedly extorting businesses in Northbridge 29 Infighting EditOn 5 September 2012 Comanchero member Faalau Pisu was murdered being shot in the head outside the Serbian National Defence Council at Canley Vale New South Wales whilst attending a wedding A 25 year old gang member and a 27 year old associate of the club were also shot and injured 30 NSW Police allege that an internal rift within the Comancheros was behind recent shootings involving Comanchero members 31 It was later revealed by authorities and media that the Comancheros were at conflict with the Rock Machine Motorcycle Club who had been partially responsible for the infighting Members of Rock Machine chapters in New South Wales had reported links to a Serbian organized crime group and used that influence to patch over members of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club in mid 2012 causing tension with existing Sydney Comancheros One of those Rock Machine members to patch over Faalau Pisu would be shot dead at a wedding in south west Sydney on November 5 32 Two days later the Rock Machine Sydney chapter retaliated against the Comancheros for the murder of Pisu Comancheros member John Devine was shot six times at a construction site in Rhodes Devine was the cousin of Comancheros leader Mark Buddle Australian authorities also reported tensions between the Rock Machine chapter in Maroubra and the Comancheros in Milperra The situation would resolve itself with Mark Buddle being forced to flee Australia due to a litany of charges against him for unrelated matters 33 See also EditList of outlaw motorcycle clubs Criminal Law Criminal Organisations Disruption Amendment Act 2013Books EditEdwards Peter 2010 The Bandido Massacre A True Story of Bikers Brotherhood and Betrayal HarperCollins Publishers Ltd ISBN 978 0307372765 Sher Julian Marsden William 2010 Angels of Death Inside the Bikers Empire of Crime Toronto Alfred Knopf Canada ISBN 9780307370327 References Edit a b c d e McDougall Bruce 23 March 2009 Warring bikie gangs revive infamous Milperra Massacre The Daily Telegraph archived from the original on 17 January 2010 a b Veno Arthur 2004 The Brotherhoods Allen amp Unwin p 168 ISBN 1 74114 137 0 Retrieved 16 December 2015 The Comancheros motorcycle gang are rolling west into Victoria Retrieved 24 August 2018 Australia s most dangerous biker gangs 23 April 2009 Archived 30 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine ralph ninemsn com au accessed 1 September 2015 Conference bikies converge on Brisbane Brisbane Times 7 August 2009 a b Welch Dylan Dart Jonathan 7 August 2009 Secret list of bikie club members accidentally sent to rival gang The Sydney Morning Herald Kent Paul 7 August 2009 Ferreting out the truth on outlaw bikie gangs The Daily Telegraph retrieved 6 March 2016 Thompson Hunter S 2 March 2005 The Motorcycle Gangs The Nation Retrieved 24 August 2018 via www thenation com a href Template Cite magazine html title Template Cite magazine cite magazine a Cite magazine requires magazine help Edwards 2010 p 44 45 a b c d Sher amp Marsden 2010 p 117 a b Edwards 2010 p 44 Kent Paul 28 March 2009 The gang wars explained 40 years of bikie hatred Herald Sun Retrieved 16 December 2015 Brown Malcolm 22 April 2006 Heavy price of loyalty The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 16 February 2009 Dylan Welch Les Kennedy and Ellie Harvey 23 March 2009 Bikie killed in Sydney Airport brawl The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 11 September 2011 Davies Lisa 2 November 2011 Comanchero Club boss Mick Hawi found guilty of airport murder The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 16 November 2012 Retrieved 2 January 2012 Wells Jamelle court reporter 2 November 2011 Bikie boss guilty of murder over airport brawl ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation Retrieved 8 March 2017 The jury was told Anthony Zervas suffered massive head injuries and stab wounds as he was attacked with metal bollards kicked punched and stomped on as he lay on the ground R v Hawi 2015 austlii edu au accessed 6 March 2016 Wells Jamelle Hoerr Karl 13 March 2015 Ex bikie boss sentenced to jail over fatal Sydney Airport brawl ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation Retrieved 8 March 2017 Arup Tom 30 March 2009 Police response to airport brawl in spotlight The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 24 August 2018 Not good for business Former Comancheros chief Mahmoud Hawi gunned down in gym car park ABC News 15 February 2018 Retrieved 15 February 2018 Green stops Jones in first round The Sydney Morning Herald Archived from the original on 8 December 2009 Retrieved 31 January 2011 Bikie court bungle put lives at risk ABC News 7 August 2009 retrieved 16 December 2015 NZ street gangs are facing an influx of Australian outlaw bikers Carl Bradley The New Zealand Herald 7 February 2019 Archived 1 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine Bikies fly in for club celebration au news yahoo com accessed 1 September 2015 Halting steps mark bikie battle au news yahoo com accessed 1 September 2015 Comanchero president in drug bust The Australian 26 February 2010 Three men guilty of drugs charges ABC net au accessed 1 September 2015 Brown Anne Louise 14 September 2012 Head bikie gets 17 years for drug haul watoday com au retrieved 1 September 2015 WAHLQUIST Calla 23 May 2014 Three men linked to the Comancheros charged with extortion perthnow com au archived from the original on 27 May 2014 retrieved 1 September 2015 Morello Vincent 5 November 2012 Comanchero bikie shot dead at wedding The West Australian retrieved 1 September 2015 Comanchero rift may be behind Sydney shooting The West Australian 8 November 2012 retrieved 1 September 2015 Bloodiest bikie war set for next chapter 27 August 2013 Violence erupts in bikies leadership vacuum 11 November 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Comanchero Motorcycle Club amp oldid 1131581749, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
