Brutal Murders Spurred Biker Boss to Work with Feds

The heinous 2002 execution-style slayings of a Livonia, Mich., jeweler and his family provided federal agents a key informant in major crackdowns on two Detroit-area motorcycle gangs.

March 31, 2010

The heinous 2002 execution-style slayings of a Livonia, Mich., jeweler and his family provided federal agents a key informant in major crackdowns on two Detroit-area motorcycle gangs.

William "Billy Wadd" Smith, a former boss of the Devils Diciples bike club, was so horrified by the killings of the jeweler, his three children and their grandmother that he testified in state court against his own nephew, John Wolfenbarger, who was one of the shooters.

But Smith also owned a west side bar called the Copa Lounge that was a popular biker hangout.

What's never been revealed before is that after the Livonia killings, Smith allowed federal agents to secretly wire for sound and video the back room of the Copa, where prosecutors say members of the Outlaws, Highwaymen, and other alleged bike gangs openly discussed past and future crimes.

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