September 4-10, 2003

city beat

Mano a Mano, Biker Style

Tensions between a pair of motorcycle gangs start to resemble a Greek tragedy.

by Brendan McGarvey

Law enforcement sources and underworld insiders are predicting that the next round of violence in the ongoing Pagans/Hells Angels war will take a personal turn. Some call it "the Gorilla vs. Mangy."

The Gorilla, of course, is Steve Mondevergine. A tattooed behemoth of a man and a high-ranking Pagan, he started off decades ago as a Philadelphia cop. Whether he was dirty depends on who you ask. Most recall he was driven off the force under clouds of corruption; a few associates say he was a clean cop who, refusing to drop a dime on rogue officers, became a target.

A onetime member of the carpenters union who once worked at the troubled Convention Center, the Gorilla became an ally of mob boss Joey Merlino, survived an assassination attempt by a renegade drug gang and went to jail for taking a few shots at the man law enforcement believes tried to kill him.

But while he did his time, Pagan buddies hanging out in bars began negotiating with the bigger, badder Hells Angels. Many jumped ship.

Today, Gorilla's cooling his heels on parole in South Jersey but recently told investigators he was personally going to take back the Pagan colors -- club patches on a member's denim jacket -- from one turncoat. Police sources now believe Gorilla was talking about Anthony "Mangy" Menginie, former president of the Pagan's Philly chapter.

Like any action movie, comic book or ancient myth, this developing blood feud is between former friends: one the mentor (Mangy) and the other, his protégé (the Gorilla).

Mangy now lives in a rundown, African-American neighborhood on the same block where the Pagan's Philly chapter clubhouse was in the 1970s and '80s. He's known to many around that 4900 block of Thompson which also has a drug gang, two young policemen on daily Safe Streets patrols and a bar and corner store, both run by Italian Americans.

"There are about six white people left in this neighborhood," one resident tells Underworld. "Don't nobody mess with them because they's Italian. And nobody messes with Mangy. Not even the drug dealers on the corner."

One source claims Mangy prefers his all-black neighborhood because it's easier to spot enemy bikers -- who are white. "Nobody could ever get close enough to Mangy to waste him. A lot of the neighbors fear and respect Mangy. They'll tell him if some white guys are sitting in cars near the house or watching his garage across the street," the source says. "There's just no way anybody who doesn't belong in that 'hood is going to be able to ambush Mangy. Too many neighbors got Mangy's back."

Cops familiar with Mangy's routine say he rarely goes out during the day, only venturing forth when he's certain the street is secure. "When it looks quiet, he'll stick his head out like a turtle peeking out of his shell. He'll open the front door, come out, look around, go back inside. Then he'll wait a few minutes and then come back out again," an investigator says.

Still, a visit to Mangy's rowhouse two weeks ago, around his 53rd birthday, resulted in a rare sighting. After 20 minutes of knocking and waiting on the front porch of his well-maintained property, a medium-sized man with a long, gray ponytail emerged.

Managing to look down the block while speaking to his visitor, he kept his back to his open front door and refused to shake hands. Mangy said he had no interest in talking to Underworld before closing, and locking, the front door.

The cops say Mangy is now with Hells Angels, but back when Gorilla was on TV and in the newspapers with Merlino, Mangy was the behind-the-scenes power broker.

He first garnered attention when the Upper Darby police were summoned to his home after his brother Russell shot and wounded Mangy before turning the gun on himself in March 1979.

The cops also found "a large amount of suspected drugs … and drug-cutting paraphernalia; a large supply of rifles and handguns; one hand grenade; about $18,000 in cash; devices used for restamping serial numbers, and motorcycle parts valued at approximately $100,000," according to the Pennsylvania Crime Commission. The following year, Mangy was convicted in Delaware County for receiving stolen property. And four years after that, he was among 22 members indicted on federal charges of "trafficking in hundreds of pounds of killer weed -- parsley laced with PCP," according to the 1990 Pennsylvania Crime Report. Mangy was convicted and served time in the federal pen.

Today, sources claim Gorilla is furious with Mangy for helping the Hells Angels. "Gorilla thinks of Mangy as a traitor," one says. "And Mangy is jealous that everybody thought Gorilla was running the Pagans when Mangy was really the guy behind the guy."

So while federal and local organized-crime investigators track Mangy and Gorilla's every step -- waiting for the showdown -- not everyone in law enforcement seems concerned. Or impressed.

"Our day-to-day concern is murder, rape, and robberies and 99 percent of the crime in West Philly is black-on-black," says one high-ranking West Philadelphia crime fighter. "Right now Mangy, the Hells Angels, outlaw bikers, they're a very low priority until somebody starts killing them or they start gunning down people in West Philly. I don't see that happening anytime soon."