Bryan Perun, 35, of Lincoln Place, is charged in connection with the death of Albert Kolano, 33, of Elliott

Bryan Perun, 35, of Lincoln Place, is charged in connection with the death of Albert Kolano, 33, of Elliott, following an altercation with the Pagans at the Longview Lounge around 1:30 a.m.Mr. Perun was a city officer from 2000 to 2003, when he was fired for violating regulations in regard to a pepper-spray incident at a North Side bar. But his supervisor at the time said he had no problems with the man everyone at the East Liberty station called "Dirt.""He was one of the better officers at the station," said Phil Dacey, a lieutenant who has since retired. "He had the tattoos and he was into bikes, but I had no inkling that he was involved with the Pagans."
It's not clear when he joined the biker gang.But Allegheny County police said Mr. Perun was wearing a leather Pagans jacket Thursday when he pulled a knife, issued a threat and fired two shots at witnesses before the fatal shooting.He and three other men -- Kevin J. Doolin Jr., 43, of Sheraden; John R. Miller, 56, of Brookline; and Nathaniel J. Robinson, 34, of Allentown -- are charged with conspiracy to commit homicide.Mr. Doolin is identified in a police affidavit as the shooter, although he had not been charged with homicide as of yesterday afternoon.
This is what happened, according to an affidavit:The victim's brother, Anthony Kolano, said his wife, Tracie, received a call from Bridget Hurley that 15 to 20 Pagans were threatening her, Albert Kolano and another man, Andrew Miller, inside the bar.Anthony Kolano arrived at the bar and motioned for the three to leave. When they did, some of the Pagans followed them outside.Mr. Perun pulled a large folding knife from a coat pocket and used it to puncture the right rear tire of Anthony Kolano's vehicle, saying "You ain't going nowhere."Mr. Perun then drew a revolver and fired a shot into the ground and second into the door of the vehicle.As Anthony Kolano drove from the parking lot, he said he passed a parked sport utility vehicle. He said he saw Mr. Doolin extend his arm out the driver's side window and fire two shots at Albert Kolano's moving vehicle. Albert swerved, struck the berm and crashed into some woods.Mr. Miller, a passenger in the SUV with Mr. Doolin and Mr. Robinson, climbed out and threw an object into the woods.Anthony Kolano used his vehicle to block the SUV from leaving the parking lot.Police said all four suspects were "wearing clothing displaying membership in the Pagans" and all four "conspired with each other in the shooting death of the victim."The Longview Lounge, which sits atop a muddy hillside along Greensburg Pike, was closed yesterday. A sign at the back door advised visitors that it would remain so "until further notice."No one answered the door yesterday at Mr. Perun's house. His pickup sat outside, a Fraternal Order of Police emblem on its rear bumper.Until August 2003, Mr. Perun worked as a patrolman in the East End."He was a good young officer," said Mr. Dacey. "He got a lot of complaints because he did his job. He was aggressive. If you took off running, Bryan would chase you down."Mr. Perun was involved in one high-profile case. In 2001, he and several other officers killed James B. Lewis, 36, after he led them on a chase in Garfield and fired at them. The shooting was ruled justified after a coroner's inquest.Two years later, Mr. Perun was fired for neglect of duty, lack of truthfulness and other violations after an incident at Hi-Tops, a North Side bar that has since closed.

The details are sketchy, but while working an off-duty security detail, he used pepper spray to subdue someone. The city's Office of Municipal Investigations received a complaint about his conduct and determined that Mr. Perun didn't file reports about using the spray, as regulations required.

He contested the firing through the arbitration process but was ultimately discharged, according to city records.Had Mr. Perun been a Pagan while on the force, he would have faced termination, city officials said. Regulations prohibit officers from associating with criminal organizations.According to the FBI, the state police and the former Pennsylvania Crime Commission, the Pagans qualify -- and they've long had a substantial presence in Westmoreland County.Four biker gangs have dominated in the United States for decades: . The Pagans, who got their start in Maryland, have always been Pennsylvania's most powerful gang.Two big federal prosecutions in the 1980s hurt them here, however, when the FBI used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to dismantle the group.They declined after that but remained involved in drug dealing, particularly methamphetamines, police said.