The bikers of the Hells Angels in Switzerland. Photo / AFP
The founder of the motorcycle club Angels of Hell (Hells Angels), Ralph ‘Sonny’ Barger, He died of cancer at the age of 83. They reported it on Thursday on their official Facebook page.
“If you are reading the message, you will know that I am gone. I requested that this note be published soon after my death“, reads the text signed by the promoter of this club, considered a criminal organization by the United States Department of Justice.
“Sonny” was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1983 and prostate cancer in 2010.
Ralph Sonny Barger at the Hells Angels Book Launch. Photo / Reuter
The violent life of Ralph “Sonny” Barger
His life has been linked to Los Angeles from hell since he laid the groundwork to start the Oakland (California) section in 1957 and whose criminal activities would soon transcend the streets.
“I have lived a long and beautiful life full of adventures and have had the privilege of being part of a fantastic club”, continues Barger’s post mortem,
In the 1960s, Barger began appearing publicly as a representative of the Hell’s Angels. and became famous after starring in the book “Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs” (1967), written by journalist Hunter Thompson.
The event that forever marked his legacy was the Rolling Stones concert at the abandoned Altamont airport (Northern California) on December 6, 1969.
Sonny Barger in 2003. Affected by cancer and in its last stage alive. Photo / AFP
The disastrous relationship between the Hells Angels and the Rolling Stones
Hell’s Angels (Hells Angels) were hired by the rock band to ensure the safety of a show that eventually got out of hand as audiences became impatient with the band’s delay.
Barger’s gang beat up the participants with pool sticks and they even took out Jeffeson Airplane lead singer Marty Balin who was in attendance at the event.
Also, one of the club members stabbed Meredith Hunter, a Stones fan, to death.
After that, Barger had other problems with the law after being accused of killing a drug dealer in 1972. and being convicted of drug and arms trafficking in 1973 and 1988, with sentences of four years in prison for each of the crimes.
“Sonny” recounted all these events in his autobiography “Hell’s Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club”published in 2000.
Sonny Barger signs books. Photo / AFP
On the other hand, the series appeared in three episodes “Sons of anarchy“(2010) as Lenny Janowitz.
After a life of constant skirmishes with the law, Barger said goodbye by sending a message to his followers: “Keep your head up, be loyal, stay free and always appreciate honor. “
Who were the Hells Angels
Hell’s Angels originated in the late 1940s in the United States as a “biker” club, as the jargon goes, fans of “chopera” style motorcycles, especially the Harley Davidson brand, and advocates a “free and anti-system” lifestyle.
Hell’s Angels in Switzerland. Photo / AFP
According to reports to the Télam agency by those close to the members of the Argentine Hells Angels, it is a highly structured organization, with veteran members who test candidates for at least two years to become “brothers” of the group and rituals of initiation.
On the US Department of Justice website, this group is characterized as a “criminal gang”after having been linked to criminal acts such as arms and drug trafficking and numerous violent clashes throughout the 20th century.
Source: Clarin