William Queen

William "Billy" Queen Jr. is a retired undercover agent with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the author of the bestselling books Under and Alone and Armed and Dangerous.

Career Queen was raised in North Carolina, the son of an ATF agent. He went to North Carolina A&T State University to receive his degree in psychology. He served as a Special Forces soldier in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. After his discharge from the Army, he worked as a police officer in North Carolina for six years. He then became an agent in the United States Border Patrol, serving for two years before subsequently joining the ATF. He also served on an ATF Special Response Team, a federal equivalent of a SWAT team.

In early 1998, as part of an operation to infiltrate motorcycle gangs, Queen joined the San Fernando Valley chapter of the Mongols Motorcycle Club as "Billy St. John", and was a member for 28 months. he was successful within the ranks of bikers, even holding the position of secretary/treasurer, and then chapter vice-president. After the trials of the gang members, Queen retired from the ATF, and wrote Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang. In 2003, while it was still only a draft, film rights to the book were sold to Icon, the Hollywood production company owned by Mel Gibson. Despite early reports that Gibson himself was interested in starring in the film, it was never made because of his arrest for drunk driving and subsequent legal issues. The book became a bestseller upon its release in 2005.