Feds arrest more than a dozen LI biker gang members

More than a dozen members of the Pagan motorcycle gang were arrested Wednesday as federal agents fanned out throughout Suffolk County and parts of New York and New Jersey in an effort to crush the gang's attempted resurgence on Long Island, according to officials and court documents.

Those arrested face charges of conspiracy to commit murder in cases involving the Pagans' longtime bitter rivals, the Hells Angels, according to the court papers. Those arrested also face assault, distribution of cocaine and oxycodone, conspiracy to commit extortion and weapons charges.

Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives agents arrested suspects early Wednesday at the Long Island Pagans' alleged headquarters, a tattoo parlor in Rocky Point.

Between 1999 and 2002, more than 100 members of the Pagans -- estimated to be about a quarter of the gang's national membership -- were convicted in federal prosecutions on Long Island, all but eliminating the group's presence on the Island, officials said.

In the largest federal case, more than 70 members of the Pagans were convicted of assault charges in 2002 after they attacked a Hells Angels gathering at a catering hall in Plainview. At the time, the Hells Angels were running what they called a hell-raisers ball at the Vanderbilt catering hall in Plainview.

The Pagans were sentenced to up to 78 months in prison as a result of that incident - which left one Pagan dead and nine injured.

Murder charges were dropped against the Hells Angel accused of killing the Pagan after the Nassau County district attorney's office said it determined the suspect was acting in self-defense.