Customer Reviews

No Angel: My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I remember thinking, years ago, when I first heard about this case, "Man, that'd make a heck of a good book!" And it did.

I'm not going to rehash the plot line, several of the other reviews have covered that nicely. What I will say is that the book holds your attention through every page, only slowing down as you realize that the case is coming to an end. I read the whole thing during one Saturday spent waiting for my daughter to finish her dance lessons - it is that interesting a book.

What always amazes me in these true stories (I'm in the middle of reading William Queen's Under and Alone) is how these hyper-paranoid outlaws are repeatedly infiltrated by guys who, essentially, just show up and hang around. If I were looking to setup an OMC (outlaw motorcycle club) I'd have a hard-rule: you must commit a serious felony in our presence - one arranged by the club. They'd still get infiltrated, it'd just be a little harder.

And another point it's not always clear to me is what exactly the 81's are doing that amounts to serious big time crime. I understand that they're violent, use drugs, work hard at being social outcasts, etc., but in this story, most of the crimes depicted amount to selling one or two guns at a time, some drugs and random acts of violence. After having read of the massive and profitable drug operations mounted by the Hells Angels' Canadian chapters I'd expected some of that here.

This is not the complete story of this interesting case: It's Jay Dobyns' story and the other case agents, his family, and ATF supervisors are less real that Jay Bird and his Red & White targets. There are some serious tales to be told by people in this book who make appearances and fade away, props used as set decoration where Jay is definitely the star.

Jay Dobyns is a fascinating guy. In the media blitz surrounding the release of this book, I've listened to hours of interviews on podcasts and late night talk radio and he's interesting and very articulate. Given that the book is about a third profanity (okay, I'm exaggerating) I hadn't expected that. He's also incredibly patient. I was listening to one pod-cast interview where the interviewer was slow, rambling, interrupted and generally irritated the heck out of me. Dobyns answered with patience and serious consideration to even the weirdest utterances by the host. Personally, I wanted to check the guy's pupils.

In the book, Jay is brutally honest particularly about himself and his failures to his family and friends. As I read it there were parts where I wondered if he understood that his wife might also read this book! He must have at some point, because his interaction with his undercover "girlfriend", Jenna "JJ" Maguire, is glossed over to the point of almost non-existence.

It's in those interviews that you get to hear about the aftermath of Operation Black Biscuit and I urge Dobyns to write the other half of the story: the prosecution that fell apart and, more ominously, the ongoing threats to him and his family. In August 2008 his house burned to the ground and his wife and children barely escaped with their lives.

The story of the ATF infiltration into the most famous of the self-described Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs deserves a wider and more documentary accounting, something along the lines of Lou Cannon's Official Negligence, everything you ever wanted to know about the Rodney King incident and it's aftermath. I'm left wondering what happened to JJ? As a woman agent in the middle of the male-dominated Hells Angels, her side of the story would be something worth reading.

So, this is a great, though incomplete, telling of Operation Black Biscuit. I hope some enterprising journalist find the time and support to put together what the late Paul Harvey called, "the rest of the story."

Captivating from the first page, NO ANGEL thrusts the reader into the inner world of the outlaw motorcycle gang, the Hells Angels. This is the story of an obsessed man, who with the all-or-nothing mentality in his makeup becomes the first undercover law enforcement agent to penetrate this notorious group.

The story is conveyed with brutal honesty. Jay Dobyns, using the alias "Bird" relies not only on his memories of the two year ATF case known as "Black Biscuit," but also on surveillance tapes and transcripts. They help provide detailed dialog between the operatives and their suspects. He puts you in the dark rooms, smoke-filled clubhouses, beer-soaked bars and inky tattoo parlors as you witness his transformation from a sandy-haired football star and all-American dad to a scary looking dude with a braided goatee. He becomes Bird.

He also becomes a patched Hells Angel, sacrificing everything dear to him in the process: his family, his friends, and nearly his soul. In a moment, however, just before the case shuts down, he experiences a revelation. It's not merely about the good and evil among the Hells Angels or in himself, it was the basic understanding this "brotherhood" was "nothing more than a support group for misunderstood loners held together by hate and money." Immersed in this HATE for so long, he ultimately casts it aside for everything he LOVES, and expresses this personal epiphany with tremendous humility. In spite of a disappointing outcome for Black Biscuit and his exposure as an undercover agent, this makes Jay a hero, and makes NO ANGEL a story worth reading.

There are many characters on both sides of the law and a slew of unfamiliar terminology and acronyms, but photos, glossaries maps and lists are provided to guide the reader. Very well done.

Michele Cozzens is the author of Irish Twins

This book certainly was a fast-past, no holds barred account. But in the end, the main conflict in this book was the author's inner struggle.. It really is all about him.. He goes on for almost a whole page about how he made a grilled cheese sandwich for his kid. While just giving you sidelines about the Angels. I do commend him that he blames himself for his fanaticism for the case- plunging into the Angels' thug-life and almost losing his mind.. (Unlike someone like Sarah Palin who writes a book just to cast all her failures on others) But in the end, this shows the government's wasting of money and time. In a post 9-11 world, why should the ATF really care about a bunch of guys in the desert moving low amounts of drugs and alot of firearms in a carry-permit state?? If the Hells Angels were REALLY a problem, wouldn't the communities where they had their clubhouses have put pressure on the state and the police to clean up? Thank goodness he got out in one piece, but he should have been reeled in long before things got way too deep..

This "expose" of the "inner workings of the HAMC" reads more like an apologia for Agent Dobyns' bad behavior during his undercover role as an outlaw biker. "That drunk girl who I carried into my motel room and spent the night with? I was only PROTECTING her from the evil Hells Angels!" "I didn't cheat on my wife with those two teenagers either." "And I certainly never used illegal substances while I was working OC -- I only PRETENDED to inhale all that weed, and those tapes you have of me tweaked out of my gourd? Well, I attribute that to Hydroxycut and Starbucks pumpkin lattes!" Pathetic.

A lot of the crimes he discusses were not committed by Hells Angels -- many were not even bikers. Do not see how that is relevant. And let us examine some of the horrible crimes he protected the public from. Well, it seems he initiated his very own "buyback" program -- bring in a junk gun worth twenty bucks, and he'll take it off the streets (he stated they were being shipped out of the country) and give you ten times what it's worth in cash. Heck, lotsa folks took him up on it. He was throwing around handfuls of taxpayer dollars not only on buying junk guns but by presenting himself as a "high roller." Then, he claims to have murdered a rival MC member in hopes of being allowed to prospect for HA. He shows them photos of a body in a ditch and hands over a bloody vest with that MC's patch on it. When everyone goes, "Damn, ain't that sumpthin, y'know we never told you to go and do this" he uses that to charge them with "conspiracy to commit homicide" -- which the jury threw out when they heard the facts.

Throughout the book he crows about what a "hero" he is, and repeatedly insults the bikers and their culture. He even goes on to say he doesn't even like motorcycles. But then he goes off on some schizophrenic tangent where he starts talking about how much he respects certain members and how he wishes he could also earn a patch.

I agree with the other reviewer that Jay Dobyns is no Billy Queen -- an ATF UC in a similar situation who actually went deep cover and joined the Mongols rather than wearing fake colors and going home on the weekends. Queen was a lot more honest about his feelings and his experiences as well. Dobyns? I don't think anyone trusts him anymore. But it seems that MANY Federal UC operations are like this . . . which is why UC work is prohibited in most civilized countries. Our tax dollars at work.

This is a good book written from the first person perspective of undercover ATF Agent Jay Dobyns. The operation "Black Biscuit" was a lengthy and vastly expensive attempt to infiltrate the Hells Angels in Arizona. The operation was a success from the operative's perspective, but in reality it was a huge waste of tax dollars, which became evident when the case fell apart during prosecution. The most interesting aspect of the book was the internal struggle within Dobyn's life as he tries to balance his undercover role with that of a career law enforcement officer and family man. Dobyns also struggles with the fact that he identifies with and truly likes many of the Hells Angels he is targeting and deceiving everyday. Dobyns does not try to paint himself as a hero and admits to many mistakes, which gives the book credibility.

This book has its moments, but for the most part was not very exciting. I suppose the problem for me is I compared it to "Under and Alone" which is a far more exciting and interesting book about infiltrating a motorcycle club.

I'll start off by saying that it is, indeed, well written. The authors' style made it an easy and engrossing read.

HOWEVER. It simply chronicles the exploits of a handful of law enforcement officers who had nothing better to do than use an overly elaborate undercover operation to make a few individual busts. The lead agent posed as a murderer to bust a handful of drug users and illegal weapon sales. The fact that a murder was committed by some of the people they were investigating was coincidental to the story. Operation Black Biscuit did not discover or solve that case. After reading the book I couldn't help but feel that they had not accomplished anything that they couldn't have done more easily with surveillance and a few informants. I'm glad the guns and drugs are off the street; but it sure looks like we used $100 worth of ointment for a fifty-cent rash.

At least the former ATF agent was humble and admitted the operation's lack of success. The book comes across as a way for Jay Dobyns to apologize to his family, friends and peers. And a public venue for him to insist that he did not have an affair with his partner. I'm sure it was cathartic for him, but it left me disappointed.

This is a very funny book, which was not really what I was expecting. I was expecting more fights, head banging, Sturgis-type rallies, all the stuff you think of when you think of a bikers. The book is actually more about an upper-middle class college guy getting thrown into the "white trash" American subculture - and liking it. If you have an advanced degree with some letters after your name but still like to hang out at the local honky-tonk you will definitely appreciate this rare book.

interesting read, I think that the picture the author painted of the angels was was not a full picture but dictated by his preconceived notions of what HE thought angels were. He aproached every one with a very tough guy out law attitude and was met with similar attitudes. All that time spent with the club and barely any worthwile busts, Not all club members are hardass dicks from my experience. But if you project that tough guy hardass image, it will be met by the same

The book paints a very different picture than the documentary about the same investigation. The documentary interviewed the bikers and naturally their views and memories were different than Dobyns. The documnetary states that the huge investigation netted little in the way of convictins and prison time, something the book seems to gloss over.

Its obvious Dobyns has a very high confidence level, which is required in undercover work. Its also obvious he liked the biker lifestyle more than his real life. I think the writing leaves a lot to be desired, many parts read like a cheap detective novel in particular when the author(s) are describing what someone ate and the manner in which they did so.

On the positive side, its an interesting subject. An entertainnig an quick read. I would have like more details about the Laughlin bloodbath since Dobyns and other people in the book were there. I thought Under and Alone was a far better book though.