tic states; and the Bandidos (Houston, 1966), 26 chapters in the south, midwest, and northwest U.S. (Penn, 1984; McGuire, 1986; others). These are commonly referred to as "The Big Four," although a fifth, the Sons of Silence (Colorado Springs) now has at least 17 chapters and at least 150 members, and may have formed an alliance with the Hells Angels (Serwer, 1992).
The ATF has characterized OMGs as non-traditional organized crime groups (Thomas-Lester, 1991), and "the most reprehensible of criminal organizations. Their members consist of remorseless killers, psychotics, panderers, and social misfits" (McGuire, 1986). In 1982, the FBI "officially designated OMGs as a national investigative priority within its Organized Crime Program" (Sessions, 1990). According to the National Organized Crime Planning Council (McGuire, 1986), organized crime is defined as:
those self-perpetuating structured and disciplined associations of individuals, or groups, combined together for the purpose of obtaining monetary or commercial gains or profits, wholly or in
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