Michigan biker boss Jeff (Fat Dog) Smith was recently sentenced to life in federal prison for a drug and racketeering conviction from three years ago. The 63-year old Smith is the former national president of the Devils Diciples Motorcycle Club. He was indicted in 2012 along with more than 50 other gang members and associates. The Devils Diciples (intentionally misspelled) were founded out of California, but Fat Dog headquartered out of the Detroit suburbs. The club’s national warlord and sergeant at arms Cary (Gun Control) Van Diver was also hit with a life sentence this month. Patrick (Mr. Magoo) McKeoun and Michael (Mikey Tattoos) Rich were both smacked with 30-year terms. McKeoun was the “mix master” for the club’s Alabama chapter, responsible for cooking crystal meth. Rich was the president of the Alabama chapter. West coast boss Vincent (Vinnie Holiday) Witort of California and Fat Dog’s vice president and right-hand man in Michigan, Paul (Paulie D) Darrah are still awaiting sentencing. Smith, Van Diver, Rich and McKeoun and three others were all found guilty at a 2015 federal trial in Detroit that took four months to complete. The case against the club was jumpstarted in 2003 when Detroit Westside chapter boss William (Billy Wadd) Smith — no relation to Fat Dog — became an informant for the government upon Fat Dog putting a murder contract on his head after Billy Wadd turned his nephew into local police for robbing and murdering an innocent family. Billy Wadd let the ATF and DEA wire his bar, a well-known biker world hangout in Detroit’s rough Brightmoor neighborhood. According to the 2012 indictment, Fat Dog Smith assumed control of the Devils Diciples in 1993 and moved the club’s headquarters from California to the Motor City. Smith lived ten miles north of Detroit in Mount Clemens. In addition to Michigan, California and Alabama, club maintains chapters in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Texas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Washington, Oregon and Arizona. Court records allege he ordered Witord to massacre the entire Arizona chapter in the summer of 2003 for insubordination — Vinnie Holiday and his California crew kidnapped, assaulted and robbed chapter members instead. Under Smith’s leadership, the Devils Diciples operated cross-country narcotics and weapons trafficking networks and ran gambling and extortion rackets. Smith shot a club member in the leg at a 2007 club meeting while Darrah held him still as a punishment for an infraction. In 2008, Smith beat up a club member’s girlfriend for placing club colors on the floor. Darrah’s phone was tapped and he was overheard telling one DD member to warn another about talking subversively. “You need to get ahold of Thumbs (Danny Burby)….tell him to shut his motherfucking mouth before he doesn’t have one to shut at all….We’ll go over there and jerk his fucking head right off.” Back in the late 1990s, Smith shot and almost killed a rival, however, a generous plea deal in state court landed him only a short stint behind bars. The lenient sentence set off a federal inquiry to Smith’s connections in the judicial system. Smith openly boasted about his ties to a local judge he grew up with and his ability to acquire sensitive government documents detailing law enforcement intelligence on club affairs.
