September 4, 2021 — The Outlaws Motorcycle Club have quietly launched a Midwest expansion campaign in the shadow of the club’s push into New England and the seat of power in the Outlaws shifting to Western New York.

The club has opened a half-dozen new chapters across Indiana, Ohio and Illinois in the past 18 months. Traditionally, the Outlaws, the preeminent biker gang in the Midwest for decades, have been based out of Chicago and Detroit.

The new chapters in Indiana include outposts in Anderson and Frankfurt. There are three new chapters in Ohio at either official Outlaw status or on the verge of attaining official Outlaw status; Youngstown, Lima and Cambridge. Another chapter in Northwest Illinois also put out its shingle

The Outlaws International President, John (Tommy O) Ermin, green-lit both territory grabs, per sources. Ermin, 51, is from Buffalo and connected to the local Italian mob family.

According to court records, Ermin runs his day-to-day affairs out of Pharaoh’s Gentleman’s Club in the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga, New York. Pharaoh’s is owned by the nephew of reputed Buffalo mafia don Joseph (Big Joe) Todaro, Jr.

Per ATF documents, Ermin is spearheading a New England expansion of the Outlaws MC brand, focusing on Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Tommy O has worked at Pharaoh’s since the early 2010s as the club’s Head of Security. Ermin sports a scant police rap sheet. His lone run-in with the law was a spring 2010 arrest for assault stemming from his involvement in a barroom brawl that spilled out into street. Informants have told the FBI and U.S. Prosecutors that Ermin holds Outlaws MC chapter meetings, known as “church” in club circles, Wednesday nights at Pharaoh’s.