Key Bandidos member pleads guilty to racketeering

The former president of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club is standing his ground against federal organized crime charges that could land him in prison for life, even as a key member pleaded guilty Friday to racketeering in a possible bid for leniency in his case.

 

Jeff Pike, the former president and still powerful member of the motorcycle club, was charged earlier this year with three other Bandidos in federal court in San Antonio with racketeering to commit murder, drug trafficking and other crimes.

 

Justin Cole Forster's guilty plea Friday in San Antonio is set to be followed next week with a plea by another key member, Frederick "Fast Fred" Cortez, according to court documents.
That would leave Pike, who lives in Conroe, and vice president John Portillo, of San Antonio, still facing the federal charges, which carry a penalty of up to life in prison.