Agent Honored for Undercover Probe of Motorcycle Gang

Undercover agent William L. Queen came out of hiding Wednesday to accept the Federal Bar Assn.’s annual Medal of Valor award for showing “exceptional skill and dedication” in Southern California.

Queen, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, had been hiding since May, when his secret role within the Mongols motorcycle gang ended with the arrest of some of the group’s top members.

He spent more than two years gaining the trust of the gang’s leaders and gathering information about the group’s alleged trafficking in methamphetamine and illegal guns.

Using the alias Billy St. John, Queen wore a long beard and ponytail, rode a Harley-Davidson, snorted meth and risked his life while living among a group of men so suspicious that they hired a private investigator to make sure he wasn’t a cop, according to his citation.

After Queen documented dozens of illegal acts and helped identify several Mongols suspected of committing an unsolved murder, hundreds of ATF agents moved in throughout the Los Angeles region and parts of three other states.

Authorities made 41 arrests and seized 101 firearms, more than four pounds of cocaine, six pounds of methamphetamine and 21 stolen motorcycles.

“Special Agent Queen truly distinguished himself at great personal risk, and great personal cost,” said U.S. Atty. Alejandro Mayorkas, the master of ceremonies for the awards luncheon held at the Century Plaza Hotel. More than 500 federal agents attended the event.

Queen said later that he was proud of his accomplishment, but that the assignment took him away from his wife and children.

“It was a very worthwhile project, and one that needed to be done,” Queen said. “But it was an operation I wouldn’t want to do again. The personal sacrifices I had to make were just too great.”

Nine other federal agents working in Southern California received Distinguished Achievement Awards from the bar association’s Los Angeles chapter.

One of those was ATF Special Agent John Ciccone, who supervised the Mongols investigation and was responsible for tailing Queen to provide backup if needed.

Also honored were Brian Lee of the Drug Enforcement Administration for helping to break up a heroin trafficking ring and FBI Special Agent Pamela Myers and IRS criminal investigator Brad Silcox for their roles in a long-running health care fraud investigation.

Deputy Marshal Anthony Burke was honored for capturing several high-profile fugitives, and Postal Inspector Sean Walters was given an award for helping to solve a multimillion-dollar stamp theft case.

Customs Agent Harry Pettibone was honored for breaking up a large-scale money laundering operation, while Special Agent Loren Rofe of the Immigration and Naturalization Service was given an award for wounding a gang member armed with an assault rifle.

Secret Service Agent John Waugh was honored for his investigation into an identity theft operation.