Harry “Taco” Bowman OUTLAWS MOTORCYCLE CLUB Original Wanted Poster
Offered here is an original FBI Wanted poster for Harry Joseph Bowman, a prominent member of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Dated March 27, 1998, this official FBI identification document provides an extensive profile of Bowman, including photographs, aliases, physical characteristics, scars and tattoos, fingerprints, and criminal history.
The poster lists Bowman as wanted in connection with serious federal charges including RICO conspiracy, murder, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, destruction of property by explosives, kidnapping, drug trafficking, robbery, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to the poster, a federal warrant was issued for Bowman on August 20, 1997, in the Middle District of Florida. The document also notes previous convictions involving assault with a dangerous weapon and carrying a concealed weapon, and describes Bowman as armed and extremely dangerous.
A remarkable piece of original FBI law-enforcement history, this poster offers an authentic snapshot of a major federal manhunt involving organized crime and the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. An excellent addition to collections focusing on the FBI, organized crime, outlaw motorcycle clubs, or historic wanted posters.
COA included
Harry Joseph “Taco” Bowman was a prominent American outlaw biker and longtime international president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Bowman rose through the organization’s leadership ranks before becoming international president in 1984, a position he held for more than a decade. During his tenure, the Outlaws expanded its influence across the United States and internationally while becoming involved in violent conflicts with rival motorcycle organizations.
Federal prosecutors ultimately linked Bowman to a wide-ranging criminal enterprise involving racketeering, murder conspiracy, drug trafficking, firearms offenses, violence, and bombings targeting rival motorcycle clubs. Among the crimes presented at trial was the 1991 murder of Warlocks Motorcycle Club president Raymond “Bear” Chaffin, which prosecutors argued had been ordered by Bowman.
In 1997, Bowman was indicted on federal charges and subsequently placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, becoming the 453rd fugitive to receive that designation. After more than a year as a fugitive, he was arrested in Michigan in June 1999.
In 2001, a federal jury in Tampa, Florida, convicted Bowman on multiple charges, including racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced to two life terms in federal prison, along with additional consecutive sentences, effectively ensuring he would remain incarcerated for the rest of his life. The Eleventh Circuit later affirmed his convictions.
Bowman remained imprisoned until his death in 2019 at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. Today, he remains one of the most notorious figures in the history of American outlaw motorcycle gangs and a significant figure in the history of organized crime in the United States.
