Riding with Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Gang

by Ken Croke, Dave Wedge, Will Damron (Read by)

Overview

Sons of Anarchy meets The Departed in this fast-paced, high-wire act memoir from former ATF agent Ken Croke, the first federal agent in history to go undercover and successfully infiltrate the infamous—and infamously violent—Pagan Motorcycle Club, a white supremacist biker gang.  

Longtime ATF agent Ken Croke had earned the right to coast to the end of a storied career, having routinely gone undercover to apprehend white supremacists, gun runners, and gang members. But after a chance encounter with an associate of the Pagan Motorcycle Gang created an opening, he transformed himself into “Slam,” a monstrous, axe-handle wielding enforcer whose duty was to protect the leadership “mother club” at all costs. He befriended the club’s most violent and criminally insane members and lived among them for two years, covertly building a case that would eventually take down the top members of the gang in a massive federal prosecution, even as he risked his marriage, his sanity, and his life. With today’s law enforcement largely moving toward the comparative safety of cyber operations, it became one of the last of its kind, a masterclass in old school tactics that marked Croke as a dying breed of undercover agent and became legendary in law enforcement.

Now for the first time, Croke tells the story of his terrifying undercover life in the Pagans—the unspeakable violence, extremism, drugs, and disgusting rituals. Written with bestselling crime writer Dave Wedge and utilizing the exclusive cooperation of those who lived the case with him, as well as thousands of pages of court files and hours of surveillance tapes and photos, Croke delivers a frightening, nail-biting account of the secretive and brutal biker underworld.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798200855070
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/15/2022
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

James Patterson is the world's bestselling author. The creator of Alex Cross, he has produced more enduring fictional heroes than any other novelist alive. He lives in Florida with his family.


Casey Sherman is a New York Times bestselling author of eleven books including The Finest Hours and Hunting Whitey. He's an award-winning journalist who's written for the Washington Post, Esquire, and the Boston Herald.


Dave Wedge is a New York Times bestselling author of four books, including Boston Strong and Hunting Whitey. He's an award-winning journalist who's written for the Boston Herald, Vice, and Esquire.

Will Damron is an Audie Award-nominated narrator. A native of historic Tidewater Virginia, he studied theater at Middlebury College and has performed Off-Broadway and in regional theater throughout New England and Virginia. He lives and records in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/24/2022

Croke, with the help of bestseller Wedge (The Last Days of John Lennon with James Patterson), debuts with a nail-biting account of how he became the first ATF agent to infiltrate the Pagans, a violent white supremacist motorcycle gang. For two years starting in 2009, Croke lived undercover in fear for his life, knowing the gang members would beat him to death if his cover was blown. In vivid detail, Croke recounts mass gatherings with as many as 5,000 Pagans, which were filled with guns, drugs, and sex workers. In addition, Croke witnessed and was involved in buying illegal guns and bombs and planning attacks against Hells Angels. He also had to deal with emotional problems back home with his wife and children, media focus on an old case of his, and the threat of a war breaking out between the Pagans and Hells Angels. Ultimately, he got out alive and was able to make a RICO case that put 20 Pagans behind bars after they were convicted of racketeering, murder conspiracy, assault, drugs and weapons possession, and witness tampering. What sets this above the pack is Croke’s attention to how hard it was to return to normal life after the case. Happily, despite the physical and mental challenges Croke faced, which included therapy for transitioning from deep undercover back to normal life, his career continued, his family remained intact, and his eldest daughter went on to become an ATF agent. This engrossing account about the realities of undercover work is must reading for true crime aficionados. Agent: Peter Steinberg, Foundry Media. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Reads like a fast-paced action thriller but much scarier because it’s all too real. Each page is full of hair-raising details of a deadly, secret world of drugs, violence and debauchery… a remarkable true story that will keep you awake at night." — Providence Journal

"A nail-biting account of how [Croke] became the first ATF agent to infiltrate the Pagans, a violent white supremacist motorcycle gang...This engrossing account about the realities of undercover work is must reading for true crime aficionados." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The authors pack the brisk narrative with insider details and compelling action, creating a riveting hybrid of true-crime journalism and intensive memoir...A breathless, enthralling thrill ride.”   — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2022-01-20
The story of an agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who went undercover to bust a disreputable motorcycle gang.

In a book co-authored by former Boston Herald investigative journalist Wedge, Croke chronicles the risky years he spent infiltrating the notorious Pagan Motorcycle Club. In 2009, Croke embarked on an undercover mission with the group, posing as a merciless defender of the club’s upper echelon. No stranger to undercover work—“I had faked doing coke with…MS-13 gangbangers”—he employed all of the manipulative, resourceful survival skills he knew to work his way into the Pagans’ favor. However, his cover became increasingly difficult to maintain, and the situation became life-threatening once he observed the club’s unpredictable inner machinations, which included extreme violence, rape, ubiquitous drugs, extortion, and murder. Though the authors braid Croke’s personal history into the text and how his fascination with “the many ways criminals grifted the system” became his “calling,” his assignment with the Pagans remains the captivating centerpiece. Driven by a combination of justice and adrenaline, Croke became fully ensconced in the group’s clandestine, nefarious world, operating inches away from mercurial members—e.g., Roadblock, Hogman, “a behemoth of a man” and “a disgusting human”; Hellboy, “a former mixed martial arts fighter and big meth tweaker”; and Cano, “one of the only non-white members,” whose rap sheet included “drug and weapons trafficking, robberies, gambling violations, conspiracy, being a fugitive from justice, and several assaults.” Nearing the investigation’s climax, the threat of exposure escalated and compromised the safety of his wife and children. The authors pack the brisk narrative with insider details and compelling action, creating a riveting hybrid of true-crime journalism and intensive memoir. In a revealing, highly personal conclusion, Croke writes about how he tried to put the daunting ordeal behind him, but the psychological fallout forced him to eschew motorcycle riding altogether: “The bike came to symbolize danger and an outlaw lifestyle that kept me from those I loved most.”

A breathless, enthralling thrill ride.

Kirkus Reviews