[62] Barger and his Oakland contingent rented a house on Toledo's Sylvania Street, and the Angels showed a significant presence in the city throughout the court case. Barger's testimony challenged earlier assertions by government witnesses who testified that Anthony Benesh, a motorcyclist who was shot dead in Austin on March 18, 2006, after attempting to establish a Hells Angels chapter in the city, was killed by Bandidos members because he had ignored the club's warnings to not set up a HAMC chapter in Texas. Sonny Barger obituary | Register | The Times That went nowhere, but the day before the march, Barger announced the Angels would stay away out of patriotic concerns that anti-American marchers might provoke violent acts by us and only produce sympathy for this mob of traitors. Sonny (Ralph Hubert) Barger, motorcycle club leader, born 8 October 1938; died 29 June 2022, Longtime Hells Angels president who cultivated his outlaw image and turned the motorcycle club into a global brand, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The apostrophe you would expect in Hells would not fit on their new patch. He asserted that violence only started once the crowd began vandalizing the Angels' motorcycles. [61] The trial took place in Lucas County circuit court in Toledo, a city considered Outlaws territory. [52], Barger and 17 of his co-defendants went on trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California at the San Francisco federal courthouse beginning on October 4, 1979. A delegation of Angels and their chief rival motorcycle gang, the Gypsy Jokers, met the activist Jerry Rubin and poet Allen Ginsberg in front of 1,000 people at San Jose State College to negotiate clearance for the November march scheduled for Oakland. Sonny Barger Obituary, Funeral, Burial, Memorial Service Sonny Barger 7 ;s funeral plans will be announced by the family. [87] Barger's role within the Arizona Hells Angels was reportedly an advisory position, as he did not hold officer status and he rarely attended rallies or public events. [93] The talks began on July 18, 1998, in the Copacabana strip club in the Illinois town of Alsip with Edward "Shock" Anastas, the president of the Outlaws Milwaukee chapter, serving as their lead negotiator. [22] Barger and the Hells Angels, many of whom were military veterans, considered themselves anti-communist and anti-subversion. [24] Ginsberg invited Barger and the Oakland Hells Angels to a party where he provided the bikers with free alcohol, drugs and sex in exchange for their guarantee that the rally would not be attacked. I think it was a devastating blow to the government, and I couldnt be happier with the verdict except if I had been found innocent myself. Funeral for Hells Angels leader Sonny Barger set to happen Saturday in [23] The indictments followed two car bombings targeting law enforcement officers in northern California, which were blamed on the Hells Angels. [47], On March 16, 1973, Barger was sentenced to a prison term of ten years-to-life after he was convicted of possession of narcotics for sale (37 grams of heroin), and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. Around a hundred Hells Angels wearing full "colors" attended the trial, as did the country singer Johnny Paycheck, a friend of Barger. Hells Angels Founder Ralph 'Sonny' Barger Dead At 83. Hood and Jarman had been bound, gagged and beaten, while Huddleston had survived having his throat cut. Of the remaining twelve, nine were convicted and three including Sonny and Sharon Barger were acquitted. Hells Angels pay tribute to leader of outlaw motorcycle gang Sonny Barger [7] According to Barger's chief attorney James Crew, Ivaldi himself was involved in the conspiracy to kill Agero and, knowing he was a prime suspect and fearing retaliation from the "Texas Mafia", he tried to shift the blame to the Hells Angels. Two years later Barger appeared in Tom Wolfes Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test when the author and counterculture figure Ken Kesey invited the Oakland Angels to a party; Kesey introduced the bikers to LSD. July 1, 2022. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [6] The defense team endeavored to expose the government's "outrageous" investigative conduct and discredit Tait, whom the government acknowledged was paid $300,000 in salary and expenses for the information he provided. As the longtime president of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, Sonny Barger, who has died aged 83, was the epitome of the outlaw biker. Wish you were here. [22], On January 22, 1972, Barger and four other Hells Angels Russell Beyea, Bobby "Durt" England, "Oakland" Gary Popkin and Bert Stefanson were traveling through Redwood Regional Park in two cars, a Pontiac and a Cadillac, when they were pursued in a high-speed chase by park rangers, who suspected the occupants of the vehicles of poaching. [6] As a result of critical media attention given to the HAMC after the concert, he went on KSAN, a local Bay Area radio station, to justify the actions of the Hells Angels and to present their side of the story. Barger reportedly celebrated his 50th birthday in the midst of the trial by partying and smoking marijuana at the home of Thomas Clay, Michael O'Farrell's lawyer, in Goshen, Kentucky. Barger also circulated a photograph of the two Outlaws who killed Webb, firstly at an Oakland chapter meeting on November 30, 1986, and again at a summit of West Coast chapter officers on January 3, 1987. Barger's Guardian obituary also noted that "in 1979 Barger was one of 33 people charged with racketeering under federal Rico (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) laws. [87][89] In 1999, Lavigne wrote: "The Hells Angels obviously have big plans for Arizona. [5] The author Hunter S. Thompson called Barger "the Maximum Leader" of the Hells Angels,[6] and Philip Martin of the Phoenix New Times described him as "the archetypical Hells Angel", saying he "didn't found the motorcycle clubbut he constructed the myth". Tucker Carlson gives speech at Sonny Barger's NorCal funeral Furthermore, the Appeals Court ruled that the district court did not act in error to sentence Barger under the federal guidelines. Sonny Barger has acquired notoriety throughout the years for his contentious career and court difficulties. [23] Six Hells Angels members were arrested and a Berkeley police sergeant suffered a broken leg in the brawl. Sonny Barger, Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Leader, Dead at 83 Birthday: October 8, 1938 How Old - Age: 84 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. [52] Barger was held on a $1 million bail and spent 14 months in San Francisco County Jail before and during the trial. [32] Barger married Gruhlke while he was incarcerated at Folsom State Prison in 1973. [44], Along with fellow Hells Angels members Sergey Walton, Donald Duane "Whitey" Smith, and "Oakland" Gary Popkin, Barger was charged with the May 21, 1972, murder of Servio Winston Agero a drug dealer from McAllen, Texas, who had traveled to Oakland with a consignment of narcotics for sale which allegedly occurred following a dispute over an $80,000 cocaine deal. Barger returned on November 29, 2011, in the season 4 finale, part one. As of 2023, Barger has accumulated an estimated net worth of $1 million. [49], Barger was arrested on a parole violation charge of possession of firearms when police officers discovered a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, a .38 caliber revolver, and a rifle after arriving at his Oakland home on March 27, 1978, to serve a subpoena and to conduct a parole search. The ten defendants went on trial at Louisville federal court beginning in July 1988, accused of plotting to bomb the clubhouse of the Outlaws' Louisville chapter, located in the city's Portland neighborhood, in retaliation for the killing of John Cleave Webb. He escaped drug-dealing, kidnapping and murder charges, but was finally convicted in 1973 of possession of heroin and firearms. Between 2010 and 2012 he made three appearances on the biker TV drama Sons Of Anarchy. [7] The Oakland chapter, with Barger serving as its president, assumed an informal position of authority within the Hells Angels that began following a standoff with local police and the California Highway Patrol in the aftermath of an outlaw motorcycle meeting in Porterville in September 1963. Sonny Barger Funeral | Sonny Barger, Face of the Hells Angels, Dies at 83 | Sonny Barger Obituary.Sonny Barger, biker outlaw and founder of Hells Angels, pas. [95], In 2000, Barger became a bestselling author with his autobiography, Hell's Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. For the politician, see, Barger, Sonny; Zimmerman, Keith; and Zimmerman, Kent, Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Federal Correctional Institution, Phoenix, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, "Sonny Barger, Face of the Hells Angels, Dies at 83", "Hells Angels founder Ralph Hubert "Sonny" Barger, Jr., laid to rest at North Bay cemetery", "How Hell's Angels 'maximum leader' Sonny Barger got convicted in Louisville and still 'won', "Look Homeward Angel: Cycle Icon Sonny Barger Kick-Starts Life As A Free Man By Violating Parole", "Sonny Barger, counterculture force and face of the Hells Angels, dies", "Hells Angels founder Sonny Barger dies after cancer battle", "Sonny Barger, biker outlaw and founder of Hells Angels, dies at 83", Compelling And Captivating Accounts In Hells Angels Sociology, "Hell's Angels on Trial: Tales of Drugs & Death", "U.S. Drug Investigation Brings a Round of Arrests for Hell's Angels", "Hells Angels vs. Allen Ginsberg: The unlikely Vietnam War-era confrontation", Ralph "Sonny" Barger Confronts VDC / Press Conference, Angels, Protesters and Patriots: What a Long-Ago Skirmish Says About Love of Country, Angels in Court: The Strange Tale of Baby Huey, "Jail Terms Deplete Ranks of Hell's Angels", "Just a Shot Away: Peace, Love, and Tragedy With the Rolling Stones at Altamont", "In search of Altamont, 50 years after the hippie dream died", The Rolling Stones Vs. Hells Angels founder Ralph "Sonny" Barger and his wife Sharon are shown after his release on $100,000 bond in San Francisco, Aug. 1, 1980. [66] He said of the government's case against him: "There never was a crime thought up by the Hells Angels. Sonny Barger: Funeral & Obituary. [67] He also covertly recorded club meetings by wearing a wire. Obituaries News News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, . We feel that a crack group of trained guerillas could demoralize the Viet Cong and advance the cause of freedom. Passaro was acquitted on grounds of self-defence. Sonny Barger Biography- Salary, Net worth, Married, Affair, Wife [66] While most of the Hells Angels arrested in northern California were charged with drug offenses, Barger and O'Farrell were accused of conspiring to violate federal firearms and explosives laws. Ralph "Sonny" Barger, the larger-than-life godfather of the Hells Angels who helped to transform a California-born motorcycle club into an icon of countercultural rebellion, forging a mythology. Obituary Sonny Barger was a founding member of the Oakland, California Hells Angels and a bestselling author and actor. His mother left him when he was just four months old. Sonny Barger - IMDb Oakland police sergeant Edward "Ted" Hilliard testified in 1972 that he accepted guns, dynamite, and grenades from Barger personally in return for deals on arrests during at least fifteen separate meetings, the most recent of which took place in the spring of 1971. Alleged kidnapping mastermind apparently fabricated family ties to Hells Angels founder, American Legend Sonny Barger celebrate his 80. It was something he had earned, but also an image he cultivated with charisma and shrewdness, turning Hells Angels into a worldwide brand. LIVE STREAM Sonny Barger's Funeral Service @ Speed Union TV - Sat Sept [58] U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese stated that Barger's arrest had averted five murders. [1] He had no biological children. Philanthropist. Barger withdrew from public leadership of the Angels and by 1998 was living in Arizona. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. "If you are. A year later he and Don Boots Reeves founded the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels, using a logo borrowed from a club in Sacramento. Sonny Barger would not pull up roots, after forty years in the Bay Area, on a whim. Vested with a quasi-military code of honour, the Angels golden rule was to ratpack on the side of any brother in a fight. [50] He and fifteen others were arrested during a series of raids carried out in the Bay Area by around 200 Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents. Ralph Hubert "Sonny" Barger, Jr. (October 8, 1938 June 29, 2022) was an American outlaw biker, convicted criminal, author and actor who was a founding member of the Oakland, California chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club in 1957. And they have no idea how many of us there areWe have money, many allies that are outlaw bikers that are not Hells Angels, that would probably do anything we asked them to, if something happened". [39] In March 1983, Clarence "Butch" Crouch, a founding member of the Hells Angels' Cleveland chapter, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee that the club had an "open contract" on members of the Rolling Stones and had made two failed attempts on the life of Mick Jagger. "[72], On March 10, 1989, Barger was sentenced to 57 months' imprisonment at the Federal Correctional Institution, Phoenix in Arizona. [7] To celebrate the end of his parole, he held another private party in Livermore on November 6, 1994, which was attended by approximately 700 guests, including the politicians Gary Condit and Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Barger died at the age of 83 of cancer in Livermore and was the founding member of the Oakland branch of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, known for its outlaw reputation and the scrapes with law enforcement that resulted. Keep your head up high, stay loyal, remain free, and always value honor. The Rough Rider: Entrepreneur. Rednecks couldn't stand us either. The Hells Angels want to hold the memorial service in the Coliseum parking lot in August. The club also hired public relations specialists and began participating in charity fund drives. [19] On October 16, 1965, Barger led a group of Hells Angels in an attack on anti-war demonstrators marching from Berkeley to the Army Terminal in Oakland to protest against munitions shipments. LIVERMORE, Calif. Sonny Barger, the leather-clad fixture of 1960s counterculture and figurehead of the Hells Angels motorcycle club who was at the notorious Rolling Stones concert at Altamont. "[19] The incident led to a collection of students, left-wing political groups, and labor unions led by Allen Ginsberg and Jerry Rubin meeting with motorcycle club representatives, headed by the president of the Sacramento Hells Angels chapter, in a cafeteria at San Jose State College, seeking assurance that a planned Vietnam Day Committee protest march in Oakland on November 20, 1965, would go undisturbed. By 1960, the Oakland Hells Angels had established an extensive narcotics network within the club. Sonny Barger, figurehead of Hells Angels, dies at 83 They got exactly what they wanted a dark scary atmosphere to play 'Sympathy for the Devil'Just because you sing well doesn't mean you can act like a bunch of assholes to your fans and that's what they did that night at Altamont". Please know that I passed peacefully after a brief battle with cancer. On June 29, 2022, Barger died of liver cancer aged 83 at his home in Livermore, California. [85] The Canadian journalist Yves Lavigne wrote that Barger's ability to impose a truce on the Scandinavian branches of the Hells Angels showed that his power over all of the Hells Angels chapters around the world was real, not nominal, and it was significant that he only took action in response to the possibility of a ban on outlaw biker clubs. [23] Prosecutors claimed that the Angels accumulated $160,000 per day in street sales of the drug. He lent the EPIC manual to Tait for photocopying after Anchorage chapter president Edwin Hubert, who also expressed retaliatory sentiment after Webb's killing, instructed Tait to acquire a copy of the manual in September 1986. [62] He denied that jurors were intimidated by the Hells Angels' presence at the trial, saying: "The only ones that are intimidated are the ones the feds tell to be". Hell's Angel Sonny Barger is just a regular guy. [7] When students at the University of California, Berkeley announced an anti-Vietnam War rally, the Oakland Hells Angels denounced the rally as "a despicable un-American activity". Sonny Barger obituary | US news | The Guardian [17] After a chance encounter a member of a pre-existing Hells Angels chapter, Barger learned of the club's history, rules, regulations and procedures. Hippies no longer dug us. Sonny Barger was born on October 8, 1938 and is 84 years old now. [6] He took up running for exercise in prison, saying: "I'm slow but I can go on forever". Sonny Barger, Figurehead Of Hells Angels, Dies At 83 A farewell message, which the biker and writer had prepared before his death, was published on his Facebook profile. The Pontiac struck a tree after its tires were shot out by pursuing park rangers, and England and Stefanson fled into the brush only to be apprehended later. Sonny Barger, the longstanding kingpin of the US motorcycle club Hells Angels, has died aged 83 after a brief battle with cancer. Sonny Barger and Hells Angels: How Hollywood Shaped the - Variety In 1967 he was consultant on, and had a cameo part in, Richard Rushs Hells Angels on Wheels, which starred Jack Nicholson, and graduated to a speaking part as himself in the movie Hells Angels 69 (1969). He died on 29 June 2022 in Oakland, California, USA. I'll usually say "Fuck Harley-Davidson." [35] He blamed the Rolling Stones' extended delay before making an onstage appearance for worsening the hostility of the crowd, and said the Hells Angels refused to act as bodyguards for "a bunch of sissy, marble-mouthed prima donnas" when the band asked the bikers to escort them to the stage. A scene from the 1970 documentary Gimme Shelter showing violence at the Altamont free festival. Sonny Barger, biker outlaw and founder of Hells Angels, dies at 83 Registered in England No. He was convicted and served three and a half years of a four-year sentence; he insisted he had been entrapped by the FBI. Hells Angels leader Sonny Barger dies at 83 | Reuters "[7] On January 23, 1991, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld Barger's convictions, stating that granting him amnesty "would greatly intrude into the law enforcement functions of the executive branches of federal and state governments". Sonny Barger Funeral Details :Authority Confirmed - 24Update His wife and relatives were with him. [96] He subsequently wrote several biker-related novels. Barger was the face of the Hells Angels for decades, but the origin story of the Hells Angels. [14] After his return from the Army, Barger drifted between menial jobs and lived with his father in a single residence at a hotel, later moving in with his sister and her children. Barger, the founder of the Oakland chapter, died in late June at the age of 83. [77][78] The Angels' November 1994 "patch over" of the Hell's Henchmen biker gang in the Outlaws' home base of Chicago resulted in a number of shootings and bombings. As he was a former felon, both were illegal. On October 18, 1987, Tait informed Barger of a fictitious plot to bomb the Outlaws' Chicago headquarters, which he purported would likely kill five or six people, and Barger replied: "That'll be really nice after that Joliet thing." Barger's death was announced on his Facebook page late Wednesday. [59], In October 1982, Barger was part of a large group of Hells Angels from across the country who attended the murder trial of Jack "Jack-O-Lantern" Gentry, a member of the club's Cleveland chapter accused of shooting Outlaws member Ralph "Real Time" Tanner behind the Outlaws' Toledo clubhouse on November 30, 1980. His father had German and Dutch ancestry, and his mother was of Italian descent. [7] Barger and the Hells Angels became associated with the counterculture phenomenon of the 1960s. Jordan Potter. Between October 20 and 23, 1987, Michael O'Farrell periodically stayed in a Hyatt hotel room booked by Tait and drove Tait's rental car. In October 1965 some Angels attacked an anti-war demonstration in Berkeley, California; six were arrested. There are seven [Hells Angels] chapters in England and he comes over here a lot. Although I've had a public persona for decades, i've mostly enjoyed special time with my club brothers, my family, and close friends. [4][13] Growing up, Barger was suspended from school several times for assaulting teachers, and he often fought with other boys. Sonny Barger, biker outlaw and founder of Hells Angels, dies at 83 For decades, he was the public face of a nationwide counterculture tribe of bearded, denim-clad road warriors memorialized in. HELLS Angels founder Sonny Barger has died at the age of 83 after battling cancer. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes. Fourteen months later he was discharged honourably, as he had lied about his age to join without parental permission. Who was Sonny Barger? Tributes pour in as Hells Angels - Sportskeeda [16] Barger was not the founder of the Hells Angels as is often claimed the group was founded in 1948 but he became its best known member to such an extent that he is often misidentified as the club's founder. The defendants shook hands with Mullen and thanked him for his testimony. In December 1969 the Angels were hired by the Rolling Stones to provide security at the Altamont free festival. [5][12] Barger grew up in Oakland in the post-war era, during which time the city's shipbuilding and automobile industries went into decline, leading to a significant rise in unemployment. [4][7], The dispute between the Hells Angels and the Rolling Stones was compounded when the band refused to compensate the Angels for $50,000 in legal fees accrued by the club in the trial of Alan Passaro, who was acquitted of Hunter's murder on the grounds of self-defense. Early in his biking career, after having his skull fractured by police, Barger added a 1% patch to the Angels outfit, in response to the head of the American Motorcyclist Association claiming 99% of motorcyclists were law-abiding. A Hyatt hotel room key and a handwritten note deemed to have been written by Barger after evaluation by a handwriting expert listing Anthony Tait's hotel room number and rental car license plate number were also found at Michael O'Farrell's residence. The Hells Angels: Mick Jagger Dodged Murder Contract From Mad Bikers In 1970s, Sonny Barger, fearsome leader of the Oakland Hells Angels, dies at 83, Hell's Angel racketeering defendants reduced by two, They Are Not Club Activities: The Hells Angels and the Early Struggles of the RICO Statute, Mistrial Declared in 8-Month Hells Angels Trial on Coast, Legendary Hells Angels-Outlaws Biker War Can Be Traced Back To 1974 Triple Murder In South Florida, Five-state sweep produces arrests of 32 Hells Angels, Police search spectators in area Hell's Angels trial, Biker War Hit The Heartland In 1980s: Outlaws Murder In Toledo Brought Hells Angels To Town En Masse For Trial, Daughter says life in hiding led to fathers death, Gang's terror aimed at police, FBI report says, Hells Angels Stage Funeral for Leader Killed in Bar Fight, FBI report says informant uncovered Hells Angels crimes, 38 Hells Angels Arrested In Operation Roughrider, Louisville trial gives bikers an easy ride, "Jury Finds Hells Angels Leader Guilty in Plots", Jury Finds National Hells Angels Leader Guilty of Conspiracy, Harley-riding senator says bikers get bum rap, 'Taco' Bowman, ex-head of Outlaws biker gang, dies at 69, Ex-Biker Boss: Outlaws MC Power Spike ONeill Put Wrench In Potential Peace Treaty With Hells Angels In 93, The Lancaster National Speedway Slayings: Hells Angels-Outlaws Biker War Peaked In 1990s With Racetrack Fight, Bombings in Chicago, Rockford linked to motorcycle gang merger, Hell's Angels motorcycle gang expands territory in Illinois, The Legend of Taco Bowman: Beloved Outlaws MC Leaders Biker Empire Began Crumbling In Summer Of 97, Chico Mora Led the Dirty Dozen Into the Hells Angels' Camp, Claiming Arizona for the Red and White, Ex-Outlaws biker boss speaks out, sees trouble with Hells Angels, Biker killed in gang fight at Hellraiser Ball, "Biker killed in gang fight at Hellraiser Ball | the Independent | the Independent", 'Hellraisers' brawl: L.I. Sonny Barger, second left, in the film Hells Angels 69. [17] Under Barger's leadership, the club's membership began to increase. [41] During his incarceration, a bikers' magazine ran a "Free Sonny Barger" campaign, selling T-shirts and bumper stickers, which helped pay his legal expenses. [84][83], In 1997, the government of Denmark contemplated banning all outlaw biker clubs in response to the Great Nordic Biker War. One of his first actions was to relocate the club's "mother chapter" the national headquarters from San Bernardino to Oakland. [105], Barger's first wife Elsie Mae (ne George) died on February 1, 1967, from an embolism in her bloodstream after undergoing an illegal abortion. [29] He denied, however, that authorities permitted crimes committed by the Hells Angels. Sonny Barger, famous Hells Angel and bestselling author, dead at 83 of The biker, from California, passed away peacefully surrounded by his wife Zorana and his loved ones on June 29. [67] Two EPIC manuals and a homemade explosive device were discovered in Barger's home by federal agents. [32] He was among 33 members of the Oakland chapter arrested on drug charges after police raided a bar and a duplex apartment in the city on August 30, 1968. [63] A female juror was excused from duty after her son was threatened by a group of Hells Angels at a downtown Toledo bar that he would have "lots of problems" if his mother did not "vote the right way". [32] The drug charges against Barger were later dismissed, although Howarth was convicted and sentenced to serve five years-to-life in prison. $7,000 worth of heroin and $2,500 worth of other narcotics were confiscated, as were firearms including an M16 rifle, two shotguns, and an M1 carbine and a large cache of ammunition, knives, chains, and suspected stolen merchandise. Sonny Barger, a founding member of the Hells Angels who provided security at a notorious and fatal Rolling Stones show in 1969, has died. Barger was attracting attention, and in 1966 Hunter S Thompsons first book, Hells Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, appeared; though it was less gonzo than his later work, Bargers portrayal lent much to Thompsons own future image. Sonny Barger, who led the way as the Hells Angels grew from a local [20] The Oakland Hells Angels maintained a preeminent position as "first among equals" by having the largest membership of any U.S. chapter and because of Barger's esteem among club members internationally. He will retire only when he dies. After forming the Oakland chapter, Barger was instrumental in unifying various disparate Hells Angels chapters and had the club incorporated in 1966. Sonny Barger was born as Ralph Hubert "Sonny" Barger on 8 October 1938, in Modesto, California, the United States. [19], According to George Wethern who later testified against the club and entered the Federal Witness Protection Program in his 1978 book A Wayward Angel, Barger convened a meeting of the leaders of the Hells Angels and other California motorcycle clubs in 1960 in which the various clubs parleyed over the mutual problem of police harassment.