After a member f the Pagans MC was assaulted by Hell’s Angels the leader of the club plotted a grenade attack on the rival gang, according to an A.T.F. investigation. The Pagans, who are outnumbered by the Angels and their Mexican Mafia allies, decided not to confront the Angels directly but were planning an ambush using home made explosives which would be thrown at the Angels as they rode through Long Island:

The Pagans and Hells Angels have been bitter enemies for years, but the murder conspiracy detailed in the 31-count indictment began in August 2009 after the beating of a Pagans member.

Then-Pagans “president of presidents” John (JR) Eberling ordered the violent response and tasked the undercover agent to carry out the plot, court papers say.

The agent secretly taped a planning session at a Rocky Point, L.I. tattoo parlor that doubled as the Pagans’ headquarters.

“Eberling cautioned that the Pagans were outnumbered at present and must be ‘smart’ about attacking. He promised the ‘hammer’s still going to drop on them (the Hells Angels),'” Miskiewicz said.

The Pagans members referred to the homemade grenades as “Christmas presents” they would lob at the Hells Angels as they rode through Long Island.

Eberling, 39, of Suffolk County, was arraigned in Long Island Federal Court and ordered held without bail.

Agents recovered the nail bomb in a safe in gang member Ezra Davis’ home in Holbrook.

With municipal services facing budget shortfalls and police departments facing cuts a Pagans/Angels war is the last thing any area needs, but ironically the receding authority of the state all but assures that war will happen.