SUSPECTED MOTORCYCLE GANG LEADER ARRESTED IN DRUG INVESTIGATION

The suspected leader of a Racine motorcycle gang has been arrested as part
of an investigation into drug trafficking by his and other gangs,
authorities announced Thursday.

Frank Cihler, 45, was arrested during a traffic stop Wednesday afternoon
near 21st and Ohio streets in Racine. Authorities seized about a
half-kilogram of cocaine with an estimated street value of $20,000, said
Racine County Sheriff William L. McReynolds.

Cihler is believed to be the president of the High Riders motorcycle gang,
suspected of having connections to the Milwaukee Outlaws motorcycle gang,
Racine County District Attorney Robert Flancher said.

Two other men, ages 40 and 53, also were arrested during the stop but were
later released, Flancher said.

The arrest of Cihler, Flancher said, is an offshoot of the investigation in
which 16 Outlaws were arrested in August on racketeering and murder charges.
The arrests were made during raids on Outlaws clubhouses in Wisconsin,
Illinois and Indiana in what prosecutors said was the biggest prosecution of
Outlaw bikers in the Midwest.

The Racine investigation involves members of the Racine County Sheriff's
Department, the Racine County Metro Drug Unit and the Federal Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Flancher said.

"This is another example of excellent federal and local law enforcement
cooperation," Flancher said. "This is not the end of it. The focus of the
investigation is broad, and it will continue in other areas."

Cihler is believed to be the president of the High Riders and a major source
of cocaine in Racine, Flancher said. A search of the High Rider clubhouse
and Cihler's apartment in the 1300 block of Washington Ave. revealed other
evidence of narcotics trafficking, Blanchard said.

"We believe he may have been obtaining cocaine from the Outlaws, and that
there are relationships or affiliations," Blanchard said.