Pagan’s Motorcycle Club Crackdown: Two Biker Gang Members Nabbed For Assault

Two top members of the outlaw Pagan’s Motorcycle Club were seized by law enforcement on Monday, marking the latest arrests in a long-running federal probe into the illegal activities of the biker gang, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig.

The Pagans members Luis “LuRoc” Arocho, 43, of Keansburg, New Jersey, and Maurice "Dawg" Guzman, 51, of Newark, have been hit with separate counts of aggravated assault in aid of racketeering. The charges relate to an April 2018 encounter with the Hells Angels during which they assaulted an associate of their rival gang, WABC reported.

The men fronted court by videoconference on Monday before the U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre. Both Arocho and Guzman were released on a $100,000 unsecured appearance bond.

"We have now charged 11 members of this outlaw gang with various weapons, drug-trafficking, and violent crimes," Honig said. "Together with our federal, state, and local partners, we remain fully committed to combating violent crime in New Jersey and prosecuting the members of the criminal organizations who are responsible for it."

According to court documents, LuRoc, Dawg, and other associates allegedly punched, kicked, and pummelled their victim using an ax handle, resulting in significant injuries, at a Newark service station on April 24, 2018. Authorities noted that the Pagans and the Hells Angels have a long-standing feud in their illicit business.

New Jersey members Nicholas "Lefty" Marino, 75, of Williamstown, Anthony "Fugit" D’Alessandro, 55, of Williamstown, and Michael "Cage" Dorazo, 42, of Gloucester City, were previously charged by a federal criminal complaint about their roles in the assault.

The Pagans have been officially deemed as an outlaw motorcycle gang by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Its members have had consistent scrapes with the law for engaging in narcotics, weapons trafficking, as well as violent crime, according to authorities.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig also announced further charges filed by the federal grand jury as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces investigation into the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club.

NJ noted that police have since seized 10 firearms and more than 800 grams of methamphetamine since the crackdown has been launched, ultimately dismantling the leadership of the Pagans by slapping multiple charges against its national and local chiefs.

The operations saw the arrest of Nicholas "Booch" Bucciarelli, 56, of Brooklawn, on aggravated assault in aid of racketeering, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, as well as possession of firearms by a convicted felon. Bucciarelli was also charged for distributing at least five grams of methamphetamine, court records show.

Keith "Conan" Richter, the national president of the Pagans, had earlier been arrested and charged in connection with his illegal possession of a firearm on Feb. 20, 2021.

Meanwhile, Larry “Savage” Ortiz, 31, of Elizabeth, and Junius "Jayo" Aquino, 38, of Vauxhall, have been slapped with charges of aggravated assault in aid of racketeering and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence for their roles in a shootout with the Hells Angels on Oct. 28, 2020, on the New Jersey Turnpike.

Daniel "Jersey" Hooban, 33, of Bayonne, was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine as well as possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He was the sergeant at arms for the Pagans’ Jersey City membership chapter at the time of his arrest.

Meanwhile, Pagans long-time member Glen "Glenny" Turner, 73, of Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, was charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine after cops executed a search warrant at Turner’s residence on Dec. 10, 2020, recovering approximately 450 grams of methamphetamine.

The Pagans was established in 1959 in Prince George’s County, Maryland and has since carried a mammoth gang presence in South Jersey before “violently” expanding into North Jersey in recent years, according to authorities.