The darker side of motorcycles will be featured in the upcoming National Law Enforcement Museum as an undercover investigation into a biker gang gets its own display.

The Museum, which opens in late 2013, will tell the fascinating stories of federal law enforcement including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The agency is lending the Museum the motorcycle used for over three decades by Undercover ATF agents while investigating the worst of the worst criminals across this country. From 1997 to 1999 ATF Agent Blake Boteler used the motorcycle to infiltrate the Sons of Silence outlaw motorcycle organization which ultimately led to the arrest of over 85 members and associates on weapons charges and drug trafficking charges in Colorado.

"Undercover operations such as those that took down the Sons of Silence outlaw motorcycle gang are seminal moments in American law enforcement history, illustrating the professionalism, courage and determination of our country's federal law enforcement officers," said Craig W. Floyd, chairman and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, the DC-based non-profit that is leading the creation of the Museum. "Now, through these objects, we will be able to tell these stories in ways that are compelling and educational. We are very grateful to the IRS and the ATF for sharing these objects with us, so that we in turn can share them with the American public through the National Law Enforcement Museum," he added.

Special Agent Boteler was one of two undercover ATF agents who infiltrated the Sons of Silence outlaw motorcycle club, which trafficked illegal weapons and drugs in the Midwestern United States in the 1990s. On October 9, 1999, following a two-year investigation, over 85 Sons of Silence members and their associates were arrested on illegal weapons and drug trafficking charges. This investigation was significant for the number of violent criminals removed from the community, the unprecedented risks that the two ATF agents took by infiltrating this national organization and for the amount of firearms and narcotics that were either purchased or seized to include 126 firearms, 27 machineguns, 3 sawed-off shotguns, 5 silencers 4 hand grenades, 4 improvised explosive devices, over 25 pounds of methamphetamine, 13 motorcycles and 2 clubhouses.

"This motorcycle represents just one of the tools used in a two-year undercover investigation that took some of the country's worst criminals off the streets," explains ATF Deputy Director Kenneth E. Melson. "It's an honor for all the men and women of ATF to have it displayed in the National Law Enforcement Museum so its story can be shared with everyone who visits the museum."

Authorized by Congress in the year 2000, the National Law Enforcement Museum is an architecturally inspiring, 55,000 square foot, mostly underground museum that will be located adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC's Judiciary Square. The Museum will tell the story of American law enforcement through high-tech, interactive exhibits, collections, research and education. Groundbreaking for the Museum will take place on October 14, 2010, with a projected opening in late 2013.

Laurie A. Baty, the Museum's senior professional, said the ATF objects will be used in exhibits explaining the history of law enforcement in the United States and exploring the specialized work of many law enforcement professionals.

"Every federal law enforcement agency has an important story to tell, and we are working hard to acquire the objects that will inform, enlighten, engage and inspire our visitors," Ms. Baty said.