Undercover federal agent buried what he thought was corpse to pass muster with Pagans biker gang

An undercover federal agent faced a ghoulish test to gain the trust of a violent motorcycle gang - burying a dismembered corpse in upstate New York, the Daily News has learned.

The embedded agent helped dig a shallow grave for a tarpaulin-shrouded bundle in the woods of Sullivan County.

But on Sept. 15, the day 19 members of the Pagans biker gang were rounded up on racketeering charges as a result of the agent's work, investigators got a big surprise.

Feds and state troopers found a foul-smelling tarpaulin containing two boots, towels and rotting garbage - but no body - a law enforcement source told The News.

"We believe the agent was given a test to see if he would do it and whether he would tell anybody about it later," a source told The News.

The undercover operative, one of two U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents who penetrated the Pagans, became so trusted within the gang that he rose to the second-highest position in the Long Island chapter, according to court papers.

Kenneth (Hogman) Van Diver, a reputed Pagans vice president, had told the agent that he and gang member Tracey Lahey had fatally shot a man in 2009 over a drug deal and buried the victim near Lahey's rented home in upstate Swan Lake, according to court papers and the source.

The agent was told the land had been sold for development and they needed to exhume the body and bury it somewhere else, agent Eric Kotchian stated in an affidavit filed in Long Island Federal Court.

A decision was made for the undercover to go along with the plan on Feb. 19, 2010, to further the investigation, gather more evidence and identify the victim, said Kotchian, who is not the undercover.

Lahey poured rock salt on top of a snowy patch to thaw the ground and make it easier to dig. Lahey claimed to have already removed the body which appeared to the undercover smaller than an adult body.

"Lahey replied that he had since cut off the victim's hands, feet and head to avoid identification," the affidavit states. "Lahey then jokingly referred to himself as a 'surgeon.'"

The undercover told other agents that the tarp smelled like decaying flesh and he thought he felt an arm and leg.

Officials did not put the area under surveillance over the next seven months but do not believe it was grave-robbed.

The bikers have been indicted on a number of charges including a plot to kill rival Hells Angels with homemade bombs