Radio in Print
May 4th, 2005
By Archived Story
This column is the result of an awesome new relationship between KUOM and the Wake. In each issue, we print an excerpt from an upcoming Radio K News Day broadcast. In turn, Radio K airs “The Wake Up” the following Friday morning at 8:45. “The Wake Up” is a five-minute, This-American-Life-style news feature from the Wake.
Under & Alone
William Queen, a veteran of the Vietnam War, spent twenty years as an agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He went undercover for two years as Billy St. John to infiltrate the Mongols, a violent motorcycle gang. He now lives in an undisclosed location as part of the Witness Protection Program. His new book, “Under and Alone,” is published by Random House Press. Mr. Queen recently spoke with Radio K’s Nathan Hall about witnessing a gang rape, Jesse Ventura’s songwriting process, and getting weird looks on parent-teacher night:
“You can’t live with a group of people for years and not come to have an emotional tie. My mother had passed away during the investigation, and I told the Mongols, ‘I’ve gotta go home. I’m going to her funeral.’ And I told ATF, ‘I gotta go home.’
“When I came back, ATF was all excited about this big Mongol new year’s party. There was going to be a lot of convicted felons there with guns and dope — a good time to get evidence on these guys. First person I hooked up with was a guy by the name of Evil. I walked up to him and expected the normal Mongol handshake. And he reached out and grabbed me around the neck and gave me a big bear hug and said, ‘I love you brother. I’m sorry about your mom.’ Nobody at ATF had said that to me. It’s not that they didn’t care—it just got by them.”
If you’d like to hear the rest of this interview, listen to Radio K Tuesday, May 10th at 6:00 p.m. You can tune in at 770 AM, 106.5 FM or stream it digitally via .
