Pagan's motorcycle gang figure arrested in N.J., charged in rival's '08 attempted murder

He was once the baddest guy in the biker world - a convicted gunman who spent several tumultuous years atop Philadelphia's notorious Pagans Motorcycle Club.

But when police came to arrest Steven "Gorilla" Mondevergine on a new set of attempted murder charges, the motorcycle thug was holed up at his mother's house in New Jersey.

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said that Mondevergine was taken into custody yesterday in Washington Township, N.J., without incident.

Mondevergine was arrested and charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault in the January 2008, shooting of former Pagans president Timothy "Casual" Flood at the Pagans headquarters, on Torresdale Avenue near Disston Street, in Northeast Philadelphia, the D.A.'s office said.

Sources at the time of the shooting said that Mondevergine had a dispute with Flood, the new president of the club - in part because he wanted his job back.

Flood originally told police that he was wounded in a drive-by shooting in the parking lot of a local pub, but an investigator at the time said that "there was no crime scene, no blood, no shell casings, no nothing, nor were there police radio calls reporting gunshots in the area."

Mondevergine had fallen out of favor with the so-called mother club after holding unauthorized meetings with rival outlaw bikers, arguing constantly about Philadelphia Pagans activities, and not turning in his "colors" - a denim vest denoting his rank as a chapter president - after he was kicked out of the club, one of at least four times he was ousted since early 2006.

During his tenure as president, Mondevergine served time for assault and racketeering.

He was charged with attempting to gun down a rival on Oregon Avenue in November 2000 and was sentenced to 27 months in prison.

He also survived an assassination attempt after being shot nine times and nearly dying in 1999. Members of the 10th and Oregon gang were suspected in that shooting, but no one was ever charged.

After he was wounded, Mondevergine was reportedly upset that the Pagans didn't retaliate.

Flood was one of 54 members and associates of the Pagans indicted by federal authorities in January for his involvement in a gambling scheme.