Welcome to Episode 18 of In the Chill of the Night. In this episode, Ray and George are joined by Guest Ken Croke, a former ATF undercover Agent who infiltrated the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang in New York and became a patched member and Sergeant at Arms. A very unique achievement indeed, to be able to pass the strict, thorough, and albeit unorthodox process that the gang uses to vet the backgrounds of its potential members to screen out anyone, especially cops, who ooooomay pose a threat to the “club”. Unorthodox, in the sense that if you fail to pass the background – you die.
Ken shares just enough of his story (check out the video preview here) to make you want to log right on to Amazon and order his book: Riding with Evil, which he wrote with Dave Wedge, a New York Times Bestselling Author. Ken’s story takes you into a world of bikes and bikers, crime and violence, and drugs and depravity, told through a series of vignettes occurring over a two-year period and artistically woven together.
Wince, as you listen to Ken describe the “witching hour” the primary method used by the gang to maintain order within the club. Essentially it’s a beat down of the prospects to demonstrate the toughness of becoming a member. Ken will describe what it felt like when he thought his turn had come and some very unpredictable results.
Listen as Ken speaks of the wide circle of people he lived amongst everyday – people with names like Roadblock and Hogman. Squirm in your seat, as Ken thinks that his cover is blown and he may not see his family again, how he’s kicked out then invited back in, how he panics for the first time when he realizes that he may have been deliberately lured away from his undercover partner. Lastly, hear him discuss the toll it takes on him and his real-life ATF agent wife and children.
Most importantly, come to learn a bit more about the types of work that the brave and dedicated men and women of law enforcement do every day to make our world a safer place in which to live.
Share this post