DETROIT
Dozens of members and associates of a motorcycle gang, including two former police officers and a lawyer, were charged yesterday with attempted murder, cocaine and steroid distribution, and related crimes.
A 35-count indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in Detroit was part of a long-running state and federal investigation of The Highwaymen.
Authorities said 30 defendants were in custody yesterday, and others were being sought.
Of the 74 people charged, 16 men were accused of being leaders of the gang and of directing others to carry out crimes. Some defendants were accused of conspiring to kill members of another motorcycle club, and others were charged with transporting stolen motorcycles into Michigan.
Two former police officers from Garden City and Hamtramck, an attorney and group president Joseph "Little Joe" Whiting were among those named in the indictment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Marion said Whiting was expected to arraigned today.
William Swor, an attorney for ex-Garden City police sergeant David "Stifler" Tomlan, said his client liked to ride motorcycles and had "done nothing wrong." Richard Convertino, attorney for former Hamtramck police officer Randell Hutchinson, said his client was not a member or an associate of the Highwaymen.
The investigation, which spanned many years, was "the largest prosecution in the history of Michigan" and one of the largest of its kind in the country, U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg said yesterday.
The Highwaymen is a national organization based in Detroit, Berg said.
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