Finks Newcastle chapter president Mitchell Alexander Cole escapes jail
A bikie boss at the centre of a bloody war between the Finks and the Nomads has escaped jail after pleading guilty to supplying drugs and directing the activities of a criminal group.
A bikie boss at the centre of a bloody war between the Finks and the Nomads has escaped jail after pleading guilty to supplying drugs and directing the activities of a criminal group.
Mitchell Alexander Cole was the Newcastle president of the Finks outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) chapter when the red Holden Commodore he was in, was pulled over for a random breath test on Wyong Rd at Tuggerah.
It was 6.30pm on January 20, 2018 and Cole immediately got out of the passenger seat.
He was asked if he had anything on him which he shouldn’t and the bikie boss immediately said “yeah” and pulled out a large resealable plastic bag from the left pocket of his pants.
Inside the bag were smaller resealable bags containing white powder.
A search of the car uncovered more bags and a sum of $1175 cash in the centre console.
He was taken to Wyong Police Station and charged with two counts of supplying prohibited drugs and dealing with the proceeds of crime.
The powder was sent for examination and was later found to comprise of 2.5g of MDMA and 6.64g of cocaine.
It might not have been the biggest bust — but set against a backdrop of violent tit-for-tat drive-by shootings, bashings and firebombings between the Finks and the Nomads across Newcastle and the Hunter Valley — it was strategically important.
Police feared the war between the two gangs, which had been festering for more than a year, was about to explode and it was only a matter of time before some innocent bystander was killed by a stray bullet or molotov cocktail.
Six months later detectives also charged Cole with knowingly direct the activities of a criminal group.
Cole, of East Maitland, pleaded guilty to the offences and was sentenced at Gosford District Court on Friday.
He was put on an intensive corrections order (ICO) for two an a half years including 300 hours of community service.
As part of the ICO he was also banned from associating with his bikie mates, wearing OMCG `colours’, visiting a bikie clubhouse, only allowed to have one mobile phone and was prohibited from using any encrypted communication platform such as WhatsApp, Wickr or Snapchat.
But as he signed his bond at the registry he told the court clerk he knew all about the conditions because “I’ve been on them for, like, a year”.
Not long after he was picked up at Tuggerah, police successfully sought an application in the NSW Supreme Court for a serious crime prevention order on 10 members of the rival gangs, including Cole
The order was the first of its kind in the state and meant five members of the Nomads and five of the Finks had to live under strict conditions.
Tendered at his sentencing on Friday was an agreed set of police facts, which revealed for the first time the extent of the vicious, bloody feud between the rival gangs.
“During the period specified a violent conflict between the Finks OMCG and the Nomads OMCG took place in Newcastle and Hunter Region,” the facts read.
“The catalyst of which was a `patching over’ of members from the Nomads to the Finks.
“During the resulting conflict serious criminal activity was taking place including shootings and other violent interactions.”
The facts revealed the feud began in October 2016 when a Nomad patched over to the Finks, with others following suit.
In November 2016 a Finks member wearing his colours was waiting on his motorcycle at traffic lights when a car ploughed into the back of him.
He was sent flying some 20m and dislocated his hip.
He indicated to police it was Nomads and the car had been following him for some distance.
The violence ramped up in December with members clashing in a violent affray before the Swat Cafe at Maryland, owned by Nomads national president and vice president, was shot up.
The gangs clashed at the Coles Express service station at Wallsend where one Nomad was struck on the head with a baseball bat.
Before long it became known to police the gangs were actively seeking each other out to wage surprise attacks.
In March 2017 a Finks member was knocked from his bike at Mayfield when Nomads armed with bats got out and went to attack him further.
He only escaped by jumping into another vehicle and leaving his bike behind.
Again in March a Nomad who patched over to the Finks was attacked at Anytime Fitness at Kotara and bludgeoned with weights.
The Nomads’ Islington clubhouse was shot up and its Muswellbrook clubhouse firebombed with three molotov cocktails.
The war raged on throughout 2017 and into last year before the Supreme Court’s unprecedented order took a little heat out of the blood lust.
At the height of the war in August 2018 the Finks called a meeting at its Thornton clubhouse where the chapter’s vice president informed them one of their members had given a statement to police.
He was viciously assaulted with a piece of timber before several other members took turns stomping him.
The member was then zip-tied to a wheelchair and they began tattooing the word `DOG’ on his forehead.
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