Palm Harbor Shooting Committed By Member Of Notorious Gang: Sheriff

PALM HARBOR, FL — Pinellas County sheriff's detectives have arrested an admitted member of the notorious motorcycle gang, the Mongols, in connection with the gangland-style shooting of a "snitch" in Palm Harbor in April.

On Friday, Paul Mogilevsky, 48, of the 9800 block of 66th Street North in Pinellas Park, was indicted on charges of first-degree murder by a grand jury in the death of 46-year-old Dominick Paternoster in his home at 104 Dunbridge Drive.

Deputies responded to a 911 call on April 27 and found Paternoster dead inside his home after being shot multiple times.

“Paternoster was not just killed; he was executed,” Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said during a news conference Monday. “He was shot several times including a gunshot to the head. More than one gun was used to shoot Paternoster."

The sheriff said Paternoster was a member of a local motorcycle gang, known as the Raiders, a lower-level offshoot of the Mongols gang. He said both gangs share a clubhouse in Tampa.

"They're not hiding," he said. "They're pretty brazen about it. They like to call themselves motorcycle clubs. But that's nonsense because they are not clubs. They’re thugs — thugs who commit crimes and kill people who they think cross them."

Gualtieri said the Mongols are known for selling guns and drugs and engaging in human trafficking and prostitution.

“They're a criminal racketeering organization, and they are organized crime, really, in its truest sense," he said. "A symbol of this gang is their notorious jacket with what the club calls colors. Members have to go through a significant initiation in order to be able to wear these colors."

Although based in California, he said the Mongols have a large presence in Tampa Bay.

"They're very, very different from everyday people who simply enjoy riding motorcycles on weekends and belong to true social motorcycle clubs. These aren't the people you see out on a Sunday motorcycle ride,” Gualtieri said. “These criminal biker organizations are called 1 percenters because they are part of the 1 percent of people who ride motorcycles and self-identify as a motorcycle club when they are really this gang of thugs who terrorize and commit crime.”

He said other 1 percenters operating in Tampa Bay include the Originals, the Infidels, the Outlaws, the Cobras and the Black Pistons.

"Most people are unaware as to the extent these motorcycle gangs engage in criminal activity in Tampa Bay. They usually don't target or harm everyday average people," he said. "They're about selling drugs and forcing women into prostitution. Most of their violence is against rival gangs or internal gang issues, and that's what happened in this case."

According to detectives, Mongol members believed Paternoster was a “snitch," who was providing information to local law enforcement.

With assistance from the sheriff's forensic science division and dive team after detectives were tipped off that evidence was thrown in Tampa Bay, Gualtieri said detectives came up with substantial physical evidence, including a biker vest with the word "Mongols" across the upper back.

The sheriff's office is continuing the investigate the shooting. Gualtieri said Mogilevsky has admitted to having a least one accomplice on the night of the shooting, and he believes there may be more involved because these gangs are well-structured, consisting of men in their 40s and 50s, who take orders from a hierarchy.

“We know more than one person shot and killed Dominick Paternoster. And while Mogilevsky is the only one in custody at this time, he won't be the last person arrested in this case,” Gualtieri said. “Somebody ordered this (hit). There has to be justice done and some accountability. We're committed to it."

According to the Department of Justice, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have called the Mongols the most violent and dangerous outlaw motorcycle gang in the nation.

In the 1980s the Mongols seized control of Southern California from the Hells Angels, and today, the Mongols are allied with the Bandidos, the Outlaws, the Sons of Silence and the Pagans against the Hells Angels.

The justice department said the gang is known for smuggling and distributing cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine around the country and frequently commits violent crimes including assault, intimidation and murder in defense of their territory and to uphold the reputation of the club.

Gualtieri would not comment on whether Paternoster was actually an informant for law enforcement.

Mogilevsky is being held at the Pinellas County Jail without bond.