Gangland Undercover

Last updated
Gangland Undercover
Logo for Gangland undercover.jpg
Genre Drama
Created byStephen Kemp
Based onVagos, Mongols, and Outlaws: My Infiltration of America's Deadliest Biker Gangs by Charles Falco with Kerrie Droban
Written byNoel Baker
Stephen Kemp
Directed byStephen Kemp (series dir.)
Starring
Opening themeRuss Mackay
"We Will Not Go Quietly" by Sixx: A.M. (Season 2)
ComposersRuss Mackay
Allan Pynn
Paul Pitre
Country of originCanada
United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes14
Production
Executive producers
  • Stephen Kemp
  • Sherri Rufh
  • Santo Cornacchia Tanga
  • Spencer Medof
  • Elaine Frontain Bryant
  • Julian Hobbs
  • Stephen Mintz
  • Charles Tremayne
  • Brendan Deneen and Rob Kirkpatrick for Macmillan Entertainment
ProducerSanto Cornacchia Tanga
Production location Ontario, Canada
CinematographyGary Clarke
EditorsRob Chandler
Jason Gatt
Mark Holtze
Tom Fulford
Nathan Mandin
Susan Maggi
Buff Smith
Running time45 minutes
Production companies Shaw Media
McMillan Entertainment
A&E Television Networks (Season 2)
Cineflix (Biker 2) Inc. (S2)
Corus Entertainment (S2)
Canal D (Season 2)
Original release
Network History (CA)
History (U.S.)
ReleaseFebruary 24, 2015 (2015-02-24) 
May 20, 2017 (2017-05-20)

Gangland Undercover is a Canadian-American factual based drama television series written and created by Executive Producer Stephen Kemp and co-writer Noel Baker. It was inspired by the story of Charles Falco [1] a former ATF confidential informant (CI) who infiltrated an outlaw motorcycle club. The series is based on the memoir Vagos, Mongols, and Outlaws: My Infiltration of America's Deadliest Biker Gangs written by Charles Falco with Kerrie Droban. [2] It premiered on Tuesday, February 24, 2015, on the History Channel at 10/9c. [3] In Canada, Season 2 premiered on September 26, 2016. In the U.S., only the first episode of season 2 aired on December 8, 2016, on A&E. According to the trailer, "the new season" (Season 2) premiered on March 2, 2017. History US has cancelled Gangland Undercover just three episodes into Season 2. [4]

Contents

Premise

A description at the beginning of the first episode stated: "This program is based on Charles Falco's account of events that took place between 2003 and 2006, when he infiltrated one of America's most notorious biker gangs. Names, locations and key details have been changed to protect the identities of those involved."

Opening Introduction (narrated by Charles Falco – voice disguised):

When I first took a deal to become an undercover informant of a biker gang, I did it to save my own skin. But over the next three years, putting bad guys away became my personal mission. I saw it as a chance to make amends for my past mistakes. But I paid a heavy price. I'm Charles Falco, and this is my story.

Cast

Main cast

Season 2

Supporting/recurring cast

Season 1

Season 2

Guest cast

Motorcycle clubs hierarchies

Vagos Motorcycle Club
CharacterRankActor
FelixInternational President Markus Parillo
SchizoChapter President Paulino Nunes
KidChapter Vice President Stephen Eric McIntyre
DarkoChapter Sergeant-at-Arms Ian Matthews
LizardChapter Road Captain Don Francks
StashMember James Cade
Mongols Motorcycle Club
CharacterRankActor
MilesInternational PresidentMichael Copeland
TugNational Sergeant-at-Arms Andrew Jackson
Ziggy Pomona Chapter Sergeant-at-Arms (undercover) Ari Cohen
David "Bullet"Chapter Sergeant-at-ArmsThomas Mitchell
Pagan's Motorcycle Club
CharacterRankActor
CrowbarChapter President Shaun Benson
DirtbagChapter Sergeant-at-Arms Chris Ratz

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 6February 24, 2015 (2015-02-24)March 31, 2015 (2015-03-31)
2 8September 26, 2016 (2016-09-26) (CA)
March 2, 2017 (2017-03-02) (US)
November 14, 2016 (2016-11-14) (CA)
May 20, 2017 (2017-05-20) (US)

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

No.TitleOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(million)
1.1"Going Under"February 24, 2015 (2015-02-24)1.06 [5]
In the series premiere, Charles Falco, a private contractor infiltrator for the ATF risks his life undercover when he infiltrates the notorious Vagos Motorcycle Club, a one percenter motorcycle club at their headquarters in Southern California. As a "hang-around", he gets to know the members during a bike run. However, he must quickly prove himself when a surprise invitation by the club's president puts him right in the middle of the underground counterculture of outlaw motorcycle club.
1.2"A Tough Prospect"March 3, 2015 (2015-03-03)N/A
Six months in, Falco, now a prospect in the Vagos biker club, gets even closer to the members, but is subjected to constant hazing and waiting on their needs 24/7, including handling a drug deal with Dawg, a Nazi Lowrider. When a fight breaks out at the club's bar, a knockout punch earns Falco his "road name" by his sponsor, Kid, who calls him "Quick". A new motorcycle provided by Falco's handler, Koz, gives him added street cred with the club. However, after Lizard turns it into a real club bike, he now owes him a debt.
1.3"Patched In"March 10, 2015 (2015-03-10)N/A
Now a full-patched member, Falco is getting used to the addictive outlaw biker lifestyle, and ends up in trouble during the club's annual bike run to Reno. Meanwhile, ATF raid Darko and Stash's place, causing the Vagos international president, Felix to question Schizo about having a snitch in his chapter. Later, Falco is promoted to joint sergeant of arms, but he pays a heavy price when he loses his only friend, Kid in a drug deal gone south, and his girlfriend, Susana's trust, as well as making an enemy in the end.
1.4"Dangerous Game"March 17, 2015 (2015-03-17)N/A
Two years into his infiltration and four months after Kid's drug deal went south, Falco's collected enough evidence to put most of his brothers-in-arms away, however, he's still haunted by one crime. When Stash murders drug dealer Johnny H, the D.A.'s determination to convict him threatens to blow Falco's cover. Meanwhile, Falco proves he's a critical asset to both the Vagos and to his operation, now codenamed "22 Green", a joint operation between the ATF, DEA and local cops. But when he later throws the first punch in a bar brawl, Falco, Schizo, and Stash all find themselves behind bars on charges of attempted murder.
1.5"Solitary"March 24, 2015 (2015-03-24)N/A
Behind bars, Falco is under real pressure imprisoned for a month inside FCI Lompoc. Amidst some of the most notorious gangs in the world, Falco has to do what is necessary to survive, learning the ropes from his cellmate Thor. During his time, he rises within the ranks as "The Rep" in the "Woods", a part of the Aryan Brotherhood all while under pressure from Suzanna's numerous questions. Just when it couldn't get any worse, Falco's former partner Bernard discovers his location and puts out a hit on him. It's only a matter of time before it's carried out. He lands himself in solitary, where time stops and he's left with his conscience. Darko is made president of his own chapter, defecting Schizo's members.
1.6"Endgame"March 31, 2015 (2015-03-31)N/A
After three years of evidence gathering, Falco’s mission is nearly over. The ATF is finally ready to bring Operation 22 Green to an end, in a series of massive coordinated raids. Agent Koz wants Falco to lay low until the bust goes down, but when Schizo orders him (now the chapter VP) to orchestrate a major drug deal, keeping a low profile proves impossible. To make matters worse, Darko and Stash pressure him to defect and start cooking meth for their rival chapter, while Suzanna walks out on him for good. With the final police raid imminent, a vulnerable Falco is interrogated at gunpoint. Falco's whole life is torn apart and he has no idea if he’ll actually make it out alive.

Season 2 (2016-2017)

Note: * The first episode first aired in the U.S. on December 8, 2016, on A&E. It re-aired on March 2, 2017, returning to History Channel; after the third episode the show was pulled from the schedule.

No.TitleOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(million)
CanadaUnited States
2.1"Nowhere Man"September 26, 2016 (2016-09-26) [6] March 2, 2017*N/A
In the season 2 premiere, former undercover ATF confidential informant Charles Falco is now living off the grid in the U.S. Marshals witness protection program in 2008 as 'Charlie Conners' a year after taking down the Vagos. He is a car mechanic in Virginia Beach trying to live a normal life frequenting a diner and talking to Sarah Jane, a waitress there, but he struggles with putting his past behind him. One day, he receives a call from his ex-handler Koz who offers him a job as a part-time CI to infiltrate the biker underworld of Petersburg, Virginia, which is home to the notorious Pagans and Outlaws Motorcycle Clubs.
2.2"The Devil You Know"October 3, 2016 (2016-10-03)March 9, 2017N/A
Falco (aka Conners) goes back undercover in another biker gang. He is assigned to work with ATF special agent, Bullet who's the Mongols Sargeant-at-Arms, posing as his prospect, along with Bullet's handler, ATF agent Meredith Jones. They meet at a safe house in Tobacco Country and go over Operation Black Rain, an offshoot of a larger investigation into the Mongols in California. Falco gets a motorcycle and a nickname; 'Chef' after facing 20-odd years for cooking meth. The two are soon summoned to meet The Devil, the Outlaws vicious president who recently dismembered the Souls president over turf rights. Falco finds himself in the middle of a biker war between the Outlaws and Pagans against the Merciless Souls (aka Maggots) over drugs and territory in Petersburg.
2.3"Mongol Nation"October 10, 2016 (2016-10-10)March 16, 2017N/A
The history of the Mongols bloody patched-in initiation is revealed in 1977. Falco and Bullet head to California for the weekend, where Falco, a prospect, hopes to earn his patch as a full-member of the Mongols. They meet up with Koz currently undercover as a long-standing member as Sargent-at-Arms assuming the name 'Ziggy'. But earning the patch isn't as easy as it was in the Vagos since he has to get permission from the club's International President, Miles, who doesn't want Bullet running his own chapter in Virginia. Also he's harassed by fellow member Tug who takes to humiliating Falco in public and tries to out him as ATF informant 'Charles Falco'. However, Tug makes enemies with the Surenos gang leader Hector and is gunned down. At his funeral, Miles tells the club it was the Maggots, and sends Bullet and the now patched Falco back home to start their chapter.
2.4"Black Rain"October 17, 2016 (2016-10-17)May 20, 2017N/A
Operation Black Rain comes to a premature conclusion when the ATF raids the Mongols Motorcycle Club, incarcerating club president Miles. After the judge issues a ban on anyone wearing a Mongol's patch, it puts Falco's role as an informant in jeopardy, including Bullet's cover. Crowbar threatens them into joining the Pagans, but Bullet offers The Devil a deal to open a probationary chapter in the Outlaws to expand into Pagan territory and he agrees. However, they must find two more members to make a full chapter; a club made up with CI's. Through Meredith's ATF contacts, they find Chester Peters (aka Bug), a felon looking to make a deal. And to Falco's surprise, Darko who was in prison after the Vagos raid. Later, Falco receives unexpected news from Sarah Jane that she's pregnant just as she was about to leave for art school.
2.5"Club Adios"October 24, 2016 (2016-10-24)May 20, 2017N/A
Falco is requested to partner with his old nemesis Darko, which leaves him to contemplate quitting the mission; and the Devil and posse arrive to inspect the new clubhouse, and the night takes a hellacious turn.
2.6"Inlaws and Outlaws"October 31, 2016 (2016-10-31)May 20, 2017N/A
A chance run-in with the Devil exposes Falco and girlfriend Sarah Jane, putting them in a dangerous situation.
2.7"End of the Road"November 7, 2016 (2016-11-07)May 20, 2017N/A
Falco's chapter is ordered to off a rival biker, but Meredith gets wind of the plan and threatens to end the operation. Meanwhile, Bullet has other ideas, and a scheme unfolds to fool the Devil.
2.8"The Devil's Patch"November 14, 2016 (2016-11-14)May 20, 2017N/A
A missing cell phone that contains candid video recordings threatens to derail Falco's operation and leaves him facing a pivotal moment of truth.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bandidos Motorcycle Club</span> International outlaw motorcycle club

The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is an outlaw motorcycle club with a worldwide membership. Formed in San Leon, Texas, in 1966, the Bandidos MC is estimated to have between 2,000 and 2,500 members and 303 chapters located in 22 countries, making it the second-largest motorcycle club in the world behind the Hells Angels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outlaws Motorcycle Club</span> International outlaw motorcycle club

The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, incorporated as the American Outlaws Association or its acronym, A.O.A., is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Founded in McCook, Illinois in 1935, the Outlaws MC is the oldest outlaw biker club in the world. With 441 chapters located in 43 countries, and a membership of over 3,000, the club is also the third-largest in the world, behind the Hells Angels and the Bandidos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Machine Motorcycle Club</span> Outlaw Motorcycle Club

The Rock Machine Motorcycle Club (RMMC) or Rock Machine is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1986. It has eighteen Canadian chapters spread across seven provinces. It also has nine chapters in the United States and eleven chapters in Australia, with chapters also located in 24 other countries worldwide. It was formed in 1986, by Salvatore Cazzetta and his brother Giovanni Cazzetta. The Rock Machine competed with the Hells Angels for control of the street-level narcotics trade in Quebec. The Quebec Biker War saw the Rock Machine form an alliance with a number of other organizations to face the Hells Angels. The conflict occurred between 1994 and 2002 and resulted in over 160 deaths and over 300 injured. An additional 100+ have been imprisoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outlaw motorcycle club</span> Motorcycle subculture

An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a bikie gang, biker gang or motorcycle gang, is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the biker group.

<i>Under and Alone</i>

Under and Alone is a book written by undercover ATF agent William Queen and published by Random House in 2005 which chronicles his infiltration of the violent outlaw motorcycle gang, the Mongols.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongols Motorcycle Club</span> International outlaw motorcycle club

The Mongols Motorcycle Club, also known as the Mongol Brotherhood or Mongol Nation, is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Originally formed in Montebello, California, in 1969, the club is headquartered in Southern California. Although the Mongols' main presence lies in California, they also have chapters nationwide in 14 states and internationally in 11 countries. Law enforcement officials estimate approximately 2,000 "full-patched" members are in the club. The Mongols are the fifth-largest outlaw biker club in the world, after the Hells Angels, the Bandidos, the Outlaws and the Pagans.

Jay Anthony "Jaybird" Dobyns is a retired Special Agent and veteran undercover operative with the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), author, public speaker, high school football coach, and University of Arizona adjunct professor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Dunne Books</span> Defunct American publishing imprint

Thomas Dunne Books was an imprint of St. Martin's Press, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers. From 1986 until April 2020, it published popular trade fiction and nonfiction.

William "Billy" Queen Jr. is a retired undercover agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the author of the bestselling books Under and Alone and Armed and Dangerous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sons of Silence</span> International outlaw motorcycle club

The Sons of Silence Motorcycle Club (SOSMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club. Founded in Niwot, Colorado in the United States in 1966, the club has a membership of over 250, with 35 chapters based in 12 U.S. states and in Germany. The Sons of Silence are the sixth-largest motorcycle club in the world, behind the Hells Angels, the Bandidos, the Outlaws, the Pagans and the Mongols.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vagos Motorcycle Club</span> One percenter motorcycle club

The Vagos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Green Nation, is a one percenter motorcycle club formed in 1964 in San Bernardino, California. The club's insignia is Loki, the Norse god of mischief, riding a motorcycle. Members typically wear green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jax Teller</span> Fictional character in Sons of Anarchy

Jackson Nathaniel "Jax" Teller is a fictional character and the protagonist of the FX television series Sons of Anarchy, portrayed by Charlie Hunnam. A member of the titular outlaw motorcycle club, he spends the series as the Vice President and later President of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original (SAMCRO), charter based in the fictional town of Charming, California. The son of one of the club's founding member John Teller, his conflict between wanting to maintain the longevity of his father's organization by reducing the criminal element and his desire to become a law-abiding family man despite increasing levels of violence forms the central conflict of the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loners Motorcycle Club</span> Outlaw motorcycle club

The Loners Motorcycle Club (LMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada in 1979. It has seventeen chapters in Canada, eleven chapters in Italy, eleven in the United States. They also possess several chapters in other countries across the world. The club was established by two prominent Italian-Canadian bikers, Frank Lenti and Gennaro Raso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael O'Farrell (biker)</span> American outlaw biker and gangster (1949–1989)

Michael Vincent O'Farrell, nicknamed "Irish", was an American outlaw biker and gangster who served as the vice-president and acting president of the Oakland, California, chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC). O'Farrell was alleged by law enforcement officials to be the second-in-command to Sonny Barger, the reputed international president of the Hells Angels. During the early-mid 1980s, he deputized for Barger, serving as the Oakland chapter president and de facto international leader of the Hells Angels, while Barger recovered from a throat operation for cancer. O'Farrell was murdered in a bar fight in 1989 shortly before he was due to start serving a prison sentence for conspiring to bomb the clubhouse of a rival motorcycle gang, the Outlaws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hells Angels MC criminal allegations and incidents in California</span>

Numerous police and international intelligence agencies classify the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club as a motorcycle gang and contend that members carry out widespread violent crimes, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, gunrunning, extortion, and prostitution rings. Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes are the responsibility of the individuals who carried them out and not the club as a whole.

Numerous police and international intelligence and enforcement agencies classify the Rock Machine Motorcycle Club as a motorcycle gang and contend that members carry out widespread violent crimes, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, gunrunning, extortion, and prostitution operations. Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes are the responsibility of the individuals who carried them out and not the club as a whole. Members of the club have been accused of crimes and/or convicted in many host nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirty Dozen Motorcycle Club</span> Outlaw motorcycle club

The Dirty Dozen Motorcycle Club (DDMC) was an outlaw motorcycle club in Arizona. Founded in 1964, the Dirty Dozen became the preeminent motorcycle gang in the state, and ultimately merged with the Hells Angels in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hells Angels MC criminal allegations and incidents in the United States</span>

The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is designated an outlaw motorcycle gang by the Department of Justice. There are an estimated 92 Hells Angels chapters in 27 U.S. states, with a membership of over 800. Due to the club's designation as a "known criminal organization" by the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, the United States has a federal policy prohibiting its foreign members from entering the country. The Hells Angels partake in drug trafficking, gunrunning, extortion, money laundering, insurance fraud, kidnapping, robbery, theft, counterfeiting, contraband smuggling, loan sharking, prostitution, trafficking in stolen goods, motorcycle and motorcycle parts theft, assault, murder, bombings, arson, intimidation and contract killing. The club's role in the narcotics trade involves the production, transportation and distribution of marijuana and methamphetamine, in addition to the transportation and distribution of cocaine, hashish, heroin, LSD, MDMA, PCP and diverted pharmaceuticals. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the HAMC may earn up to $1 billion in drug sales annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bandidos MC criminal allegations and incidents in the United States</span>

The Bandidos Motorcycle Club has been designated an outlaw motorcycle gang by the U.S. Department of Justice. The club is involved in drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, explosives violations, motorcycle and motorcycle-parts theft, intimidation, insurance fraud, kidnapping, robbery, theft, stolen property, counterfeiting, contraband smuggling, murder, bombings, extortion, arson and assault. The Bandidos partake in transporting and distributing cocaine and marijuana, and the production, transportation and distribution of methamphetamine. Active primarily in the Northwestern, Southeastern, Southwestern and the West Central regions, there are an estimated 800 to 1,000 Bandidos members and 93 chapters in 16 U.S. states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongols MC criminal allegations and incidents</span> Criminal incidents involving the Mongols MC

The Mongols Motorcycle Club is considered a motorcycle gang by law enforcement and intelligence agencies in various countries internationally. Mongols members have a long history in the illegal drugs trade, money laundering, robbery, extortion, firearms violations, murder, and assault, among other crimes. However, senior Mongols members as well as attorneys for the club deny that the group as a whole is a criminal enterprise and claim that the Mongols' bylaws prohibit criminals and drug users from being members.

References

  1. "Gangland Undercover - About Charles Falco - HISTORY.com". Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  2. Lemons, Stephen. "Phoenix Author Kerrie Droban Talks About A&E's Gangland Undercover, Biker Books, and Drinking Goat Blood in Kenya". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  3. "'Gangland Undercover' to Premiere Tuesday, February 24 on History". TV by the Numbers . January 9, 2015. Archived from the original on January 10, 2015.
  4. "Gangland Undercover Cancelled by History – No Season 3". 15 April 2017.
  5. Kondolojy, Amanda (February 25, 2015). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Being Mary Jane' Tops Night + 'The Haves and the Have Nots', '19 Kids and Counting', 'Pretty Little Liars' & More". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  6. Please note that the episodes premiere date of this reference was for Canada air dates