Raid derails 18 members of Wheels of Soul

TO HEAR longtime Wheels of Soul member "Clee" describe it, the Philadelphia-based motorcycle club is a mostly peaceful group of guys who like to drink beer, chase women and ride Harleys.

Not necessarily in that order.

"We hold block parties. And back-to-school programs," said Clee, an affable 62-year-old diesel mechanic, who asked that his full name not be printed.

Federal prosecutors painted an entirely different picture in a 40-page racketeering indictment unsealed yesterday, describing Wheels of Soul as a national outlaw gang of heavily armed, murderous thugs who take their marching orders from the "Mother Chapter" in West Philadelphia.

Agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raided the club's headquarters, under the Market-Frankford El at Market and Dewey streets. City police assisted. Raids also occurred in six other states, leading to the arrest of 18 members for murder, robbery, arson and related charges.

"Today's nationwide takedown has disrupted and dismantled the Wheels of Soul Motorcycle Outlaw Gang by targeting the senior leaders," said Dennis Baker, special agent in charge of the FBI's St. Louis division, which conducted the two-year investigation with the ATF.

Most of the alleged crimes stem from feuds with rival motorcycle gangs in the Midwest and elsewhere. The indictment does not mention any violence in the Philadelphia region, although it alleges that some weapons flowed from here to Chicago.

The only local member arrested yesterday was the club's national vice president, James "Animal" Smith. He allegedly instructed members in other chapters how to respect the club hierarchy, stand up to other motorcycle gangs and avoid law-enforcement surveillance by speaking in code.

Despite the club's precautions, the indictment is packed with quotes from closed-door Wheels of Soul meetings, including one at which a Midwest regional president allegedly said to another member, "Do you know how many f---ing murders we have on our hands?"

Smith, 64, who appeared in court yesterday in blue jeans and a braided ponytail, was detained pending a Friday extradition hearing. The feds want him sent to Missouri. Smith's attorney, William J. Brennan, described him as a law-abiding repairman who works 55 hours a week.

Back at the Wheels of Soul headquarters, Clee said the FBI snagged only a couple of shotguns and bags of clothing with the club's emblem printed on it. Smith's Harley was placed on a flatbed truck and towed away.

"Hopefully, none of my s---," Clee said as he waited for a receipt.

Inside the black-walled clubhouse, it smelled like stale smoke and a thousand parties, but the New Age music that Wheels of Soul member "Pacman" uses to sleep was still piping out of the TV speakers after the feds left.

Pacman, the 47-year-old caretaker of the West Philly headquarters, said he had crashed on the couch after an early-morning booty call when federal agents busted through the door and shoved a large gun in his face.

"It was some military s---," he said of the gun, holding his cane like a rifle pointed at where he was sleeping. "They said, 'Don't move!' I said, 'No problem.' "

Pacman, who has a bum leg and can't ride a motorcycle anymore, limped across the grimy tiles and grabbed the phone behind the bar to inform another member about their security breach.

"Now I gotta clean this s--- up," he said.