up roots, after forty years in the Bay Area, on a whim. Talks of his retirement are premature. His move to Arizona will allow Hells Angels Ventura chapter president George "Gus" Christie to take over the political reins of the gang, but Barger will help legitimize the gang in the business world from the dry desert state. The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is Sonny Barger's life. He will retire only when he dies. He has nothing else to live for". Barger's role within the Arizona Hells Angels was reportedly an advisory position, as he did not hold officer status and he rarely attended rallies or public events. He founded a motorcycle repair company in Arizona named the Big Red Machine, a reference to a popular nickname for the Hells Angels. Barger was later a member of the Yavapai County chapter. In 1998, peace talks were opened to end the long-standing biker war with the Outlaws, which was largely because the conflict was bringing down too much police pressure on both clubs. Mel Chancey, the president of the Hells Angels Chicago chapter who served as their lead negotiator, met with Barger in the spring of 1998 to discuss the negotiating terms. The talks began on July 18, 1998, in the Copacabana strip club in the Illinois town of Alsip with Edward "Shock" Anastas, the president of the Outlaws Milwaukee chapter, serving as their lead negotiator. Under the terms that Chancey and Anastas struck, the status quo was preserved as the Hells Angels recognized Chicago as within the territory of the Outlaws in exchange for being allowed to keep their chapters in the Chicago suburbs. The Angels capitulated in their attempt to establish a chapter within the Chicago city limits, founding a clubhouse in the suburb of Harvey instead. The agreement also applied to Canada with the Outlaws agreeing to provide no assistance to the Rock Machine in return for peace with the Hells Angels in the United States. Barger attended the last negotiating session with the Outlaws between January 23 and 25, 1999 in Indianapolis, where in a joint press conference with Anastas it was warned that any Outlaw or Hells Angel who violated the peace agreement "would be dealt with". In 2000, Barger became a bestselling author with his autobiography, Hell's Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. In his autobiography, he divided