Riding with Evil audiobook

I just love this type of undercover agent book, and this is one of my favorites out of the ones I’ve read. Ken Croak has a way with telling the story of his wild time undercover with the Pagans during a time they were all at risk of being attacked by Hell’s Angels. He had quite a few close calls and incredible luck. The first to even infiltrate the Pagans ever. He shares the toll it took on his family while he was risking his life to gather intel and make cases. A very wild ride but a great read of his experiences. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

An absolutely incredible book! It is my favorite read of the year so far. I could not put it down!Croke was a 20 year veteran agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). He undertook a two year undercover investigation of the Pagan Motorcycle Gang. Through dedication, hard work, and a good dose of luck, he found himself "patched" (made an official member), appointed Sergeant-Of-Arms, and in charge of the books for his local chapter. He was the first law enforcement officer to ever infiltrate the Pagans. Croke vividly describes the violent, paranoid, crazy world that the Pagans live in. He tells all about the process, how his persona was crafted, and "backstopped". How the Pagans leadership is constantly checking on it's members, and what happens when they are disappointed (spoiler: it's not pretty). He tells about the drug dealing, the illegal gun sales, the "Christmas presents" (bombs), the paranoia and fear of their rivals (the Hell's Angels), the partying and mandatory gatherings. How the author survived two years is an amazing feat. I found myself getting anxious during times in the book, as I did not know how he would get out of some of the situations.Never bragging, he comes across as a real American treasure. The writing is great. Coherent, easy to follow, impossible to put down. Just a great, great book!

This book was a gripping listen and I admire the sacrifices made by Ken and his family. At the same time while listening to him recount everything, I kept having this nagging feeling that we aren’t getting the complete truth on Ken’s behavior when we was in the motorcycle gang.

Ken's story is a keep you on your seat page turner. Loved learning about this amazing case about the Pagan Motorcycle Gang and all the hard work that went into it. Great read and highly recommend this book!

Fast paced, exciting read. The author did kind of make himself out to be a perfect, law abiding agent who never bent or broke a single rule. I get why he did it, but I feel like it hurt the authenticity of the book a little. Still a great read. Couldn’t put it down. 4.4 ⭐️

Excellent read, it’s amazing what this man accomplished and how lucky he was that he never was discovered.

Republished from ATFA Newsletter Riding with Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Club. By Ken Croke and Dave WedgeReviewed by David Mattingly Undercover operations that place a federal special agent in an outlaw motorcycle gang (OMG) and which result in full patch membership in an OMG are some of the most dangerous and stressful assignments within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Retired Assistant Director Ken Croke and Dave Wedge, a noted crime author for the New York Times, have written an excellent account of Croke’s time as he moved through the stages of becoming a member and officer in the Pagans Motorcycle Club. They have written of the same dirty and often dangerous day-to-day activities of deep undercover agents like Bill Queen, Under and Alone, and Jay Dobyns, No Angel, among others. Croke, at the time a supervisory special agent, had experience in numerous undercover cases but as he points out, “ATF supervisors rarely, if ever, went undercover.” However, after an informant approached an agent in Boston with information on the Devil’s Disciples and the Pagans Motorcycle Clubs, Croke agreed to a short-term assignment to see if the case was worth bringing in an undercover agent for a long-term assignment. It wouldn’t be long before he saw the opportunity to not only open a case but that he was being accepted as a “hang arounder,” the first step in the process of becoming a prospect and then achieving full patch membership. Croke obtained his status as a prospect not only once, but after an incident where one of his supporters was dismissed from the club, he lost his status and had to start over. Instead of walking away, Croke continued his work to slowly rebuilt his trust with the members and leaders of the chapter. He was finally restored as a prospect but to his dismay had to restart the minimum time requirement for his consideration for full patch membership. He would have to spend another six months answering twenty-four hours a day to the hazing and every request of the members. Croke was trusted by the leaders to the point that, after becoming a member, he was given assignments as club treasurer and sergeant of arms. Both important positions opened the financial records and inner workings to ATF and the US Attorney’s Office to build a RICO case against the Pagans Motorcycle Club. As a father who was very active in the lives of his daughters, Croke goes into great detail about how his assignment affected his family. He was married to Ang, a fellow ATF special agent who had also worked undercover cases and knew the dangers that her husband was facing daily. She had to become a single parent as Croke’s time was more and more controlled by the club leaders. Additionally, Croke realized that his conversations with his wife were being overheard by their daughters. They started talking about the case, a possible security disaster. An undercover case comes with its own stressors and dangers. However, the undercover agent often finds themselves at odds with supervisors who are risk-averse or the prosecutors that lack the background needed to prosecute undercover cases. There is a fine line between what a law enforcement officer can do while in their undercover roles, such as participating in “bar fights, assaults, and drug usage.” Croke briefed the case to a new assistant US attorney (AUSA) that typically prosecuted white-collar crimes. The AUSA exclaimed, “You saw crimes and you didn’t do anything to stop it?” The AUSA wanted Croke to be criminally charged with the crimes even though Croke explained that if he didn’t participate “it would be a one-day case.” Luckily, the AUSA was transferred and removed from the case before he could bring charges against Croke. However, Croke was under investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) after anonymous letters were received that alleged illegal activities by Croke. After an eighteen-month investigation, Croke was cleared of the charges. He also writes about how some supervisors who wanted to shut down the case on a few occasions put his life in danger by their actions. The case concluded with the arrests and convictions of many Pagan members throughout the northeast, including some of the most senior members of the organization. Croke goes into detail about the process of returning to regular status, including physical and mental examinations, and the difficulties of returning to a normal family life where he had been absent for two years. I would highly recommend Riding With Evil to anyone interested in undercover criminal operations, criminal gang activities, and especially outlaw motorcycle gangs. Published on members-only ATFA websiteDavid Mattingly served in the ATF Louisville Field Division, Intelligence Group as an intelligence research specialist. He retired from the Navy as a Master Chief Intelligence Specialist and served as a senior intelligence officer with the Department of Defense and Department of Justice.

Ken Croke was an ATF agent who went deep undercover in the Pagan motorcycle gang. His memoir, Riding with Evil, is a brutally honest look at his life during that time.Croke managed to hold onto the part of himself that was an agent, husband, and father, all while immersed in an entirely different lifestyle, with hardcore criminals, surrounded by drugs, alcohol, and weapons. I could see how easy it would be for a man to get caught up in this brotherhood and lose himself.Croke takes us through the process of building cases against various gang members, putting himself in danger both from members if his identity was discovered and their rivals as he played his part. He also admits to enjoying the camaraderie at times, which is undoubtedly the draw for many people.In the end, he gave up two years of his life before multiple arrests were made. Most of the bikers didn’t serve a whole lot of time, making it seem like an unfair tradeoff for Croke’s commitment, but the intel he gathered on the inner workings of the gang was probably the most valuable aspect.Definitely an interesting read for anyone wondering what it’s like to work undercover and/or to be a member of a biker gang.*I received a free copy from the publisher, via a Goodreads giveaway.*

I won this on Goodreads, hardcopy delivered 2/23. This fast paced memoir reads like a thriller. It starts fast and relentlessly tracks through author Ken Croke's undercover efforts to infiltrate the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang. There are four main themes in the book, 1- what the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs do, how they operate. 2- How undercover works -maintaining "operating cover" while dealing with violent, frequently drunk and/or drugged-up bikers on a daily basis, gathering criminal evidence (admissible in court) and perform as a gang member. 3-Juggling personal life - infrequently seeing his wife and three daughters and the stressors that generates. 4-Dealing with Local, State and Federal Law Enforcement Bureaucracies (ATF management changes put the undercover agent's safety at risk as Careerist ticket punchers (my term) replaced experienced operators. Politically minded attorneys added spice to the effort. Read this book if you want to discover what undercover law enforcement members perform to keep the public safe.

Ken Croak tells of his experience of going undercover and riding with the Pagans a notorious biker gang. The book goes into detail about how he got into undercover work and how he took on this assignment. Also how it affected his family by missing events in his children's lives and time with his wife. He also had to relearn to be a husband and a parent once the job was over. The time with the gang had moments that were intense and I am sure most days felt like that for him especially when they would go on rides for days at a time wondering if his cover would be blown. At times an intense book but the story is one that I enjoyed reading. I received this book from Netgalley.com

Ever since reading Jay Dobyns' No Angel, I've been jonesing for another book of its caliber. You know the old saying: "Be careful what you ask for ... ". So when Riding With Evil showed up I couldn't help myself. Needless to say, and did not disappoint. Scary, mind-numbingly disturbing, and so much suspense that every page turn feels like your defusing mines on a minefield ... during an earthquake. The mental and physical gauntlet that Croke put himself through, to protect the public from psychopathic tossers, is mind blowing on nuclear proportions and makes you a bit more appreciative what honourable law enforcement officers put on the line for the safety of other citizens.

WOW! What a fast-paced memoir! I've read a few memoirs from Federal agents who infiltrated motorcycle clubs, but I hadn't realized that the Pagans were never infiltrated until Ken Croke!! His story was fascinating to read, and I was honestly shocked by some of the events that he described in Riding with Evil.His courage, determination, and strength are apparent, and his undercover work provided law enforcement with critical information. He literally put his life on the line daily to try and make our communities safer.My only comment: there were some details or situations that were somewhat repetitive, but not a huge deal.Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the gifted e-book copy!

A thrilling, brutal account of a law enforcement official who went deep undercover to bring down one of the most brutal biker gangs in the US. How Croke managed to keep his cover without completely losing his family or support of his superiors is a remarkable tale of perseverance, skill and luck. It can be hard to read at times, but it is one of those that if didn’t happen in real life, it is likely that a reader would think it was too fanciful for Hollywood. Worth the read regardless of formal, and probably one that will make quite the movie/streaming series.

Thank you for the free, hardcover copy of Riding with Evil. Wow, without a doubt one of the most, if not the most, exciting book I have ever read. To know that the events here are true and that Ken Croke made it out is simply astonishing. The book is expertly written without ever slowing down. The tension amazingly builds throughout the novel, as if the plot were fictional. David Wedge framed Ken's story so amazingly (what gushing adjective have I not used yet...?) that I felt like I was inside the book. 10 stars if I could give it!

Amazing. Thank You!This is an incredible story where the author risked everything to get criminals off the street. I appreciated how he acknowledged the hardship his undercover work caused his wife and daughters and was happy to hear that they got through it and stayed together. It’s also sad but not surprising about the meddlers and back seat drivers who think they know more than the person in the trenches. That you would be investigated instead of congratulated by your boss is crazy. Wow. This is a meaningful life.

An excellent book by Ken Croke about his penetration of the Pagan motorcycle gang. He gives a gripping account of his time with the club. What's great is that he spares no bones in demonstrating how much contempt he had for the Pagans and how evil he found them. He does not romanticize them in any way. He also gives you a great idea as to how hard this was on his personal life. As far as we can tell he came through on the other end. Well worth your time!

Wow….. what a ride!!! This book really had me holding my breath as I was turning the pages. The authors really take you deep into the undercover life of this agent and what he had to endure to come out on the other side. I couldn’t put it down and it’s been awhile since I’ve felt that about a book! If you love true crime or are just looking for a good read in general, definitely pick this one up!!