HOUSTON – The Bandidos colors and image are clear -- you know them when you see them.
And Houston defense lawyer Kent Schaffer has seen them a lot.
"There have been at least 100 of them that have come through the doors in this office," Schaffer said.
Schaffer has represented Bandidos for 30 years on drug charges, assault, racketeering and one murder -- but he doesn't think that points to organized crime.
"Typically it's always been cases where one or two Bandidos get arrested for some individual activity, not for anything that's related to the club itself, or any type of group activity," Schaffer said.
The FBI has a different take -- defining the Bandidos as an "Outlaw Motorcycle Gang" -- a criminal enterprise that the feds say poses a serious, and growing, threat -- especially in drug trafficking and cross-border smuggling.
"They've had undercover officers infiltrate the Bandidos, they've had undercover informants infiltrate the Bandidos and they came away making no cases," Schaffer said.
Schaffer also believes the club has mellowed over the years.
"There is a Houston firefighter who's a Bandido," Schaffer said. "There are people who are in the medical field, but they're people who by and large have regular full-time jobs."
We contacted the Houston Fire Department and officials said they are unaware of any firefighters who are members of the Bandidos.
Schaffer even keeps a photo of a one-time client in his office—a Bandido he says was a good man who was killed by a drunk driver.
Schaffer doesn't have any clients yet out of the 170 bikers held in Waco -- but he's talked to Bandidos there and appears to be priming for a defense.
"They're trying to buy time in order to try to figure out who did what that they can charge. I think a lot of those guys are going to be cut loose and their cases will be dismissed."
