phones. Member of the Pagan's Motorcycle Club Anthony "Rocky" LaRocca was the nephew to former Pittsburgh mafia boss John LaRocca and acted as a liaison between the Pagans MC and the LaRocca Crime Family. In 1973, LaRocca and another member of the Pagans were charged with assaulting an ATF agent, conspiracy, firearms and possession of a silencer. In 1990, LaRocca and Francis "Rick" Ferri were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of John Heatherington. While incarcerated, LaRocca continued to control his cocaine distribution network through his family contacts in organized crime and members of the motorcycle club until he was indicted again and given and additional 20 years. On April 8, 2022, Pagans associate Jason Evans was sentenced to 57 months for his role in a large-scale operation trafficking drugs in western Pennsylvania and Ohio, federal prosecutors announced. Prosecutors said Evans was a close associate of a "fully patched" Pagans Motorcycle Club member of the Pittsburgh chapter and served as an "enforcer." On June 7, 2021, Patrick Rizzo of Pittsburgh, vice president local chapter, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Robert J. Colville to illegal firearms possession. New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia On July 17, 1994, at least eight members of the Pagans showed up at the annual charity picnic fund-raiser organized by Tri-County MC in Hackettstown. The Pagans were there to intimidate local motorcycle clubs into aligning with the Pagans so they would have a larger power base to prevent the Hells Angels from getting established in New Jersey. A fight started and escalated from fists to knives and guns. When it was over, Pagans Glenn Ritchie and Diego Vega had been shot dead; Pagan Ron Locke and Tri-County member William Johnson had gunshot wounds, and Tri-County member Hank Riger had his throat cut. Pagans member Robert "Hellboy" Deronde was convicted of the April 24, 2018 beating of Hells Angels member Jeffrey Shank with a baseball bat at a gas station in Newark, and was sentenced to four years in prison in July 2019. Pagans national president Keith "Conan" Richter was arrested February 26, 2021 after a police stop in East Windsor where a loaded pistol was found in a vehicle in which he was a passenger. On February 23, 2002, 73 Pagans were arrested on Long Island, New York after appearing at an indoor motorcycle and tattoo expo called the Hellraiser Ball. The Pagans