Old newspaper stories about Mike and the club, from the Salem-News.com days. (The paper spelled his name ‘Kondash.’)
Oregon Bikers Help Find Answers for Vulnerable Missing Woman
October 27, 2011
Mike “Tattoo” Kondash of the USA Gypsy Joker MC and two friends stopped at a state park near The Dalles and found a confused woman who said she was supposed to meet an escaped prisoner. Mike called 911, a park employee fetched a psychiatrist who happened to be camping nearby, and they learned the woman was missing with her family actively searching for her.
Originally published by Salem-News.com
Biker Club Members Keep Salem Home From Going Up in Smoke
March 6, 2010
Free Soul and Gypsy Joker bikers out grabbing pizza in Salem ended up manning a fire hose and evacuating a family when a vehicle fire spread to a house. Mike shot the video of it all, and the Salem Fire Department praised the bikers.
Originally published by Salem-News.com
Six Americans Were Held Against Their Will in Norway
November 22, 2011
Six Americans, all past or present Gypsy Joker MC members including Mike, were detained and deported by Norwegian police during a five-day vacation, without charges. Mike — an honorably discharged U.S. Navy veteran — is the story’s main quoted source: “I was kidnapped and terrorized by another country.”
Originally published by Salem-News.com
Oregon Mother of Two Shot and Killed by Estranged Husband
October 13, 2013
Jessie Cavett, 27, a mother of two, was shot and killed by her estranged husband Joshua Cavett. Her brother Mike Kondash is quoted in the story.
Originally published by Salem-News.com
The Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club
Biker Wins $16,500 from City of Keizer
May 2000
Mike “Tattoo” Kondash of the Gypsy Joker MC won a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Keizer and its police chief after being told to remove his club colors at a community-policing meeting in Keizer city hall. Chief Marc Adams issued a written apology affirming his right to wear club insignia at public events, and the city paid $16,500 in damages, attorney fees and costs. Kondash was represented by attorney Spencer “Spike” Neal.
Read the A.B.A.T.E. of Oregon newsletter
Originally published by A.B.A.T.E. of Oregon (the Statesman Journal original is paywalled)
Founding of the Gypsy Joker MC, April 1, 1956
April 1, 1956
The Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club was founded on April 1, 1956, in San Bernardino, California — some sources say San Francisco — making it one of the oldest 1%er motorcycle clubs in the United States. The club later established chapters across the country, with Oregon eventually becoming its longtime home base.
Source: Wikipedia
Gypsy Jokers Move to Oregon, 1967
August 8, 1994
A 1994 Associated Press report noted that the Hells Angels had avoided Oregon since 1967, when police said the state was “ceded” to the Gypsy Jokers to end a Bay Area drug war. The Gypsy Joker MC has been Oregon-based ever since.
Originally published by the Associated Press, via the Seattle Times archive
Portland Clubhouse Raid, July 28, 2004
July 28, 2004
On July 28, 2004, police raided the Gypsy Joker clubhouse on MLK Jr. Blvd in Portland. The club and two other parties sued over the raid, and in August 2007 the City of Portland agreed to pay $50,000 to settle the lawsuit. The Portland Mercury also covered the settlement in 2008.
Read the Argus Observer report
Originally published by the Argus Observer; also covered by the Portland Mercury
Nampa/Meridian Mass Stop, August 2009
August 2009
Forty-six bikers riding home from the Sturgis rally were cited and one person was arrested on a drug charge after a mass stop off I-84 near Nampa and Meridian, Idaho. The Idaho Statesman reported the incident, which was later included in a Bikernet news roundup on August 20, 2009.
Originally published by the Idaho Statesman (via the Bikernet news roundup, August 20, 2009)
Robert Huggins Murder (June 30-July 1, 2015) → RICO Indictments (2018-19) → Dec 2021 Convictions → Life Sentences April 13, 2022
June 30, 2015 – April 13, 2022
Former club member Robert Huggins was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in the summer of 2015. Federal RICO indictments followed in 2018–19 against club members and leaders, including national president Kenneth Hause. On November 30, 2021, a federal jury convicted two members of kidnapping and murdering Huggins, and in April 2022 both were sentenced to life in federal prison.
Originally published by the U.S. Department of Justice, District of Oregon