Retired Undercover Cop Decides to Write a Book

Sudbury, Ontario, Canada (December 17, 2020) - A retired Ontario Provincial cop from Sudbury has released a book of his career. He titled it '1% Hatred' and it details Dan Rocheleau's experiences, starting as a rookie cop in Chapleau, to serving in Sudbury and being involved in major undercover drug investigations in Ontario and Quebec.

"There is a lot of humor in it and there is a lot of the undercover work that I did in two provinces," said Rocheleau. "And dealing with everything from serial killers to outlaw bikers to traditional organized crime." He states that he wrote the book when COVID forced people to stay home. He said that he hopes it helps readers see the different aspects of policing.

"When you are working in organized crime like that, it changes hourly almost it feels," he said. "It's not like working in uniform where you have a schedule and pattern to go through. When you work in organized crime it's completely different." 

 

The tiny book details the his experiences negotiating drug deals with so called outlaw bikers, chasing drug smugglers by boat on the St. Lawrence River and of course, being shot at. "It's bizarre cause now it sort of flashes back up where for 30 years I never thought of it," Rocheleau said. "I just walked away from very bad scenes and just forgot about them."

The officer said he now suffers from PTSD and wants to share a message. "There is help out there, you don't have to be Superman, you can ask for help," said Rocheleau. He also hopes to give back to the community. A small percentage of the proceeds from the book will be donated to NEO Kids and The Hospital for Sick Children.

SOURCE: CTV

Hells Angel Member Faces Gambling Charge

Burnaby, B.C., Canada (November 26, 2020) - A full-patch member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club and three other men have been charged with illegal gambling after an investigation by B.C.’s anti-gang agency. The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit searched Big Shots Café, at 3980 East Hastings St. in Burnaby, on July 4, area residents said.

This week, a charge of being “found in a common gaming or betting house” was laid against café owner Francisco Batista Pires, as well as Jay Arnold Franco, Richard William Kosterman and Andrew David MacFarlane. Pires is a longtime Hells Angel member, currently with the Nomads chapter. 

The provincial court database confirmed that Pires appeared in Vancouver provincial court Wednesday on the charge. The other three accused are scheduled to appear on Friday. CFSEU’s media officer, Sgt. Brenda Winpenny, said Wednesday that she couldn’t yet comment on the case.

The date of the alleged offence is June 18, 2020. Sources say the charge relates to illegal gambling that, allegedly, was going on in the back of the business.

Corporate records indicate that Pires incorporated Big Shots on June 10, 2004 with another man. The second director was replaced by Hells Angel member Rob Alvarez on January 1, 2005, the records state. Alvarez ceased being a director on June 8, 2008, though the City of Burnaby 2020 business licence lists both Pires and Alvarez as café operators.

An earlier drug trafficking conviction of Pires was cited in a recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling against the director of civil forfeiture’s attempt to get three Hells Angels clubhouses forfeited as instruments of criminal activity.

Justice Barry Davies accepted that Pires and others had used the East End clubhouse for trafficking on three occasions, but said that alone “does not establish that the East End Clubhouse was used in the past as an instrument of unlawful activity.”  The B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office is appealing Davies ruling, which allowed the them to retain control of the East End and Kelowna clubhouses and returned the Nanaimo clubhouse to the local chapter.

Pires, now 57, and Hells Angel member Ronaldo Lising were convicted in 2001 of conspiracy to traffic cocaine and sentenced to 4½ years in jail. They appealed and lost, first in the B.C. Court of Appeal and in November 2005 in the Supreme Court of Canada.

At their 2001 sentencing, Justice Kenneth Smith found the two men were joint operators of a wholesale cocaine business that supplied two well-known Vancouver strip bars. He said the two bikers were “criminals in the true sense” because they walked down a criminal path “deliberately and for selfish reasons.”

SOURCE: Vancouver Sun

Cops Concerned About Increase in MC Activity

Nova Scotia, Canada (November 20, 2020) - Police in Cape Breton say at least two motorcycle clubs are recruiting on the island and their memberships are increasing. Police say they have reason to suspect a new clubhouse is also being established in the Coxheath area. 

 

Motorcycle clubs first started cropping up on the island in 2015 and Constable John Campbell of the Cape Breton Regional Police Service said growing activity is tied to a flourishing drug trade.

Four known Motorcycle Clubs

"Right now we have four motorcycle gangs: the Outlaws, the Black Pistons, the Highlanders and the Salty Souls," Campbell said. "There's a huge market here for cocaine right now and they'll take any opportunity they can to make money for their club, for their organization, and it's strength in numbers."

Campbell said clubhouse members often portray themselves as good neighbors and motorcycle enthusiasts. "They do fundraising for different events or for special causes," he said. "They want that to stick out in people's minds so that when the police do enforce them, then the community is wondering, 'Why are the police bothering these decent people?'"

Police educating the community

Cpl. Andy Cook, an organized crime expert based in Prince Edward Island, led an education session Thursday for members of the downtown Sydney business community. Additional meetings were held with representatives of Membertou First Nation, the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education and community development organization Bay-It-Forward in Glace Bay.

Cook said crime groups are intrinsically linked to violence. He warned against buying, or even wearing, clothing that supports criminality. "They put money into their coffers that they can use for other things," he said. "And it spreads their message into the community."

In recent months, Cape Breton Regional Police executed at least three search warrants and seized more than $130,000 in drugs, cash and weapons tied to motorcycle clubs.  Robert Walsh, the acting police chief, said his department is proposing a signage campaign that would ban people from wearing outlaw club logos in business establishments. 

Police will also be approaching the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in hopes of creating a bylaw to ban such emblems on municipal properties. “By being proactive and partnering with our community, we can better prevent these organizations from establishing themselves here,” Walsh said.

Business owners concerned about criminal activity were told by Walsh that there is “safety in numbers.” Cops warn members of the public not to confront or engage with someone suspect of motorcycle club activity.

SOURCE: CBC

Outlaws MC Clubhouse Searched

Sydney, Nova Scotia (September 29, 2020) - One man is facing drug charges after a Cape Breton Regional Police investigation into illegal organized crime activities. Police seized $120,000 worth of drugs, including 600 grams of pure cocaine, shatter (cannabis resin), Ritalin, hashish, and $12,000 in cash after searching two homes Friday on Phalen Road.

Officers also seized clothing affiliated with the Black Pistons motorcycle club and arrested two men. Officers then searched a McKeen Street address, identified as the home of the Black Pistons and Outlaws motorcycle clubs, where they arrested two more men on weapons and liquor charges and seized the Black Pistons and Outlaws clothing they were wearing.

Charged are Colton Ben Kiley, 31, of Glace Bay who is scheduled to appear in provincial court Tuesday. He is charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking in cocaine, possession for the purpose of trafficking in Ritalin and possession of property obtained by crime (money).

David Kyri King, 46, of Glace Bay, is scheduled to appear in provincial court November 9 charged with possession of a prohibited weapon and the illegal sale of alcohol under the Liquor Control Act.

Andrew Jim Roberts, 36, of Glace Bay is to appear in provincial court November 16 to enter pleas on numerous counts of breaching court orders.

A fourth person, not associated with the motorcycle clubs, also faces drug charges. The 62-year-old Glace Bay man is to appear in provincial court October 26 charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking in cocaine, possession for the purpose of trafficking in Ritalin and possession of property obtained by crime (money).

SOURCE: Cape Breton Post

Suspected Hells Angels Member Found Dead

Ontario, Canada (September 26, 2020) - The Ontario Provincial Police say the “sudden death” of a man in Beckwith Township is now being investigated as a homicide.

“A post mortem examination, conducted in Ottawa on September 25, 2020, determined the death was the result of homicide,” police said Friday evening.

Police responded to a home on Scotch Corners Road before 10:30 a.m. Thursday and found Gregory Slewidge, 39, dead on the scene.

According to police sources, Slewidge is a full-patch Hells Angel member. He is also the son of Lyndon Slewidge, a retired OPP officer who was the official national anthem singer for the Ottawa Senators for more than two decades. There was no answer at the Slewidge family home in nearby Ashton on Friday morning.

Lanark County OPP officers, under the direction of the OPP’s criminal investigation branch continue to probe the death.

SOURCE: CBC News

Convictions Reversed in Hells Angels Case

Montreal, Canada (September 6, 2020) BTN - Four people who were convicted four years ago on charges alleging they helped three Hells Angels members launder their money have succeeded in having their convictions reversed on appeal.

In a decision released on Thursday, the Quebec Court of Appeal ordered that the trial of Richard Felx, 62, Michel Ste-Marie, 75, and his children Dax, 45, and Marie Ste-Marie, 47, should not have proceeded.

All four were first charged in 2009 in Operation Diligence, an investigation led by the Sûreté du Québec, into how members of the Hells Angels based in Quebec had infiltrated specific segments of the province’s construction industry. As part of the same investigation, Felx, a former notary, and the others, were found to have helped Normand (Casper) Ouimet, 51, Martin Robert, 45, and Alain Durand, all full patch members of the motorcycle club, hide their money.

In a trial held at the Laval courthouse in 2016, Quebec Court Judge Gilles Garneau found all four guilty of money laundering, conspiracy and gangsterism. Felx’s role was to create trusts and an offshore company in Mauritius, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, where he was able to send his clients’ money.

Ste-Marie and his children had a company that specialized in credit recovery and helped the three Hells Angels move their money around and into offshore bank accounts based in Mauritius. They charged a 10-per-cent commission on their transactions.

After they were convicted, Felx and the others were sentenced to prison terms of between 42 and 66 months.

But before the trial started, Garneau was asked to rule on a defence motion arguing it took the prosecution too long to prosecute the case. The four accused were first charged, along with Ouimet and Robert, in 2009 and the trial began seven years later. The motion was even argued before the Supreme Court of Canada issued a decision in 2016, commonly referred to as the Jordan ruling, setting very strict limits on how long a person charged with a crime should expect to wait before they have a trial.

Garneau ruled that, while he agreed it took the prosecution too long to bring the case to trial, placing a stay of proceedings on the charges would not have been an appropriate remedy in their case. Garneau wrote that “society has a certain and primordial interest in seeing the accused undergo their trial.”

On Thursday, three Quebec Court of Appeal judges issued their unanimous decision. They ruled that the only remedy available was to have a stay of proceedings placed on the charges filed against all four. They quashed the guilty verdicts and ordered a stay of proceedings on the charges.

“The first (error in Garneau’s decision) is an assumption that an appropriate remedy allows a measure of discretion in the assessment of various factors and that this discretion allows a judge to decline a stay of proceedings if he or she should conclude that it is not an appropriate and just remedy. An unbroken line of jurisprudence since (a precedent-setting case) has held that the only available remedy for a finding of unreasonable delay is a stay of proceeding,” Superior Court Justice Patrick Healey wrote on behalf of all three of the appellate court judges.

SOURCE: Montreal Gazette 

Hells Angels Member Partially Liable for Accident

Toronto, Ontario (June 4, 2020) BTN - An unknown Hells Angels has been found partly responsible for a 2014 crash on the Lougheed Highway that left another motorcyclist injured.

But a B.C. Supreme Court judge rejected a claim by Donald Christopher Gorst that a police officer who was following a group of Hells Angels on May 31, 2014 was also negligent for the accident that led to his injuries. Justice Dennis Hori found that Gorst and the mystery Angel were equally responsible for the crash on the Lougheed Highway near Deroche, east of Mission, that left him with a smashed leg.

Gorst was heading east with a passenger on his Harley-Davidson behind several other vehicles when he saw the group of Hells Angels, followed by a police car approaching in the opposite lane. He claimed both the biker and the cruiser crossed the centre line, forcing him to veer sharply to avoid a collision.

As a result, Gorst also claimed, he did not see that the van in front of him was braking to pull over in response to the police car approaching. He “laid his bike down and it slid into the rear of the Dodge Caravan.” He sued the B.C. public safety minister, saying the minister was “vicariously liable for the actions of the police officer,” as well as the unidentified biker and ICBC.

According to Hori’s ruling, released Tuesday, the Hells Angels were on a “poker run” organized by the Haney chapter.

RCMP Const. Dunbar (whose full name was not included in the ruling) was following the group, and described the poker run as “being like a pub crawl on a pre-planned route in which the bikers frequent different bars and taverns.”

She followed between 30 and 40 of the bikers as they left The Sasquatch Inn, near Harrison Mills, west along Highway 7. After Dunbar saw the entire pack of bikers “swarm a vehicle in the westbound lane by surrounding it on three sides,” she decided there was a public safety risk and she would do a roadside stop, the ruling said.

“She activated her emergency equipment, including her lights and siren, in order to get the bikers to pull over,” Hori noted, adding that the officer denied “that she was straddling the centre line of the highway.”

“When she observed the plaintiff’s bike go down, Constable Dunbar discontinued her surveillance of the biker pack, performed a U-turn, and returned to the scene of the accident in order to render assistance.”

Gorst testified that a Hells Angels associate named Ady Golic, who was with the pack, stopped to see if he was okay.

Golic, the lead singer of a band named Skard, died in November 2016 of injuries sustained in a targeted shooting three months earlier. Rocker and Hells Angels associate Adis (Ady) Golic died Nov. 22, 2016, from injuries sustained in a targeted shooting three months earlier. YouTube/Skard Music

Hori accepted Dunbar’s evidence that she was not “in pursuit” of the bikers, but had caught up to them when she activated her lights and siren to pull them over. And he ruled there was “no negligence on the part of Constable Dunbar.”

Hori said that while “the accident would not have occurred without the negligence of the unidentified biker,” Gorst failed to slow down and pull over when he saw the emergency vehicle in the distance. “In these circumstances, I find that both the unidentified biker and the plaintiff are equally at fault for the accident.”

The judge rejected Gorst’s claim that ICBC was responsible for the unidentified biker’s liability because he said the injured man did not do enough to find out who the biker was.

Gorst argued that he contacted Golic and passed along Golic’s contact information to the Independent Investigations Office, which was also probing the crash. He assumed the IIO or the police would identify the biker, he said.

“The plaintiff claims that he did not take any further steps to identify the biker because he feared retribution from the Hells Angels if he did so,” Hori said. “I do not find this excuse compelling. There is no evidence that making inquiries of the Hells Angels about one of their members being involved in a motor vehicle accident would be the type of inquiry that would lead to retribution.”

SOURCE: Vancouver Sun

Arrests at Outlaws Clubhouse

Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland (February 26, 2020) BTN — An RCMP operation called "Project Barbarian" has led to multiple arrests and charges in Grand Falls-Windsor — including arrests at a motorcycle clubhouse.

Police plan to release more details today about the operation, which they said targets "drug trafficking with a connection to organized crime."

According to an RCMP spokesperson, multiple people were arrested and charged, including some who were arrested at the Outlaws Motorcycle Club clubhouse in Grand Falls-Windsor on Saturday.

The RCMP have called the Outlaws Motorcycle Club a "one-percenter" organization, and allege it has links to crime. In 2018, police said the Outlaws were looking to expand their presence in Newfoundland.

The Outlaws clubhouse in Grand Falls-Windsor displays a flag with a diamond logo containing the words "Outlaws 1%er."

According to the RCMP's website, "The common term '1% Club' distinguishes outlaw motorcycle riders from the majority of motorcycle enthusiasts who are law-abiding citizens. It's worn as a symbol by outlaw bikers and often seen as a pin, patch or tattoo."

The Outlaws clubhouse is located in a complex across from a gas station, and next to Central Health's community health building.

Three of the men arrested Saturday are facing charges of trafficking cocaine.

Jimmy Lee Newman, 36, Anthony Chow, 33, and Michael Hayes, 23, appeared in provincial court in Grand Falls-Windsor on Monday, and are all scheduled to return to court in April.

They have yet to enter a plea on the charges.

Chow has a criminal record that includes breaking and entering. The last conviction on record was for an offence in 2007.

Hells Angels not wanted at resort

Pointe-Calumet, Quebec (February 7, 2020) BTN - The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club have chosen Beachclub as a place to show their colours and there’s little the club’s ownership can do about it, Quebec’s liquor board heard on Thursday.

“They choose where they wear their vests (and patches),” Sûreté du Québec investigator Alain Belleau testified during hearings before the board.

“And they won’t tolerate anyone standing up to them,” Belleau added. “So there’s a risk there: It becomes difficult for security to intervene because they don’t want to confront them.”

The popular Montreal-area outdoor club is before Quebec’s Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux this week after the local police department flagged several safety concerns.

Among them was that police documented members of organized crime — including the Hells Angels — at the Pointe-Calumet club a dozen times between 2016 and 2018.

The club has a policy barring members from wearing their vests and patches on the premises, but the policy is rarely, if ever, enforced. Belleau testified Thursday that owner Dominique Primeau has told authorities he feels he has no choice but to “tolerate” them.

But Belleau also noted the problem isn’t unique to Beachclub.

Though many bars and clubs in Quebec have similar policies in place, he said it’s almost impossible to enforce: any owner who stands up to the biker gang is opening themselves up to retaliation, he said, including firebombings or physical intimidation.


He said owners looking to enforce the rule could, in theory, call the police for help. But he has never heard of that happening. “We know owners are sometimes stuck in these situations,” Belleau said. “We know how difficult it can be for them.”

Belleau said police have witnessed Hells Angels members from Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia at the club. They’ve been seen wearing their patches inside the club and outside in the parking lot.

Though police have repeatedly been called there for instances of violence, Belleau said to his knowledge none of those cases were linked to the Hells Angels.

When one of the administrative judges hearing the case asked him whether an average Quebecer would recognize that someone was wearing a Hells Angels patch inside the club, Belleau answered without hesitation.

“In Quebec, with their history, with the biker war, the media coverage, the SharQc trial, everyone knows the Hells Angels logo,” he said.

SOURCE: Montreal Gazette 

Hells Angels President loses court challenge

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (January 28, 2020) BTN — The longtime president of the East End Hells Angels has lost a court challenge over an investment gone bad. John Peter Bryce, 57, had argued that a mortgage broker deceived him about the value of a Chilliwack property before he agreed to loan cash to the owners for a second and third mortgage.

Bryce claimed that broker Allan Sadler was professionally negligent by giving him copies of various appraisals in 2010 and 2012 that all overestimated the value of the 25-acre tree farm.

The property was eventually foreclosed upon, with Bryce losing $202,000 on his investment, he said.

But B.C. Supreme Court Justice Gordon Weatherill rejected Bryce’s claim that his losses were the fault of Sadler or his company, Rala Investments Ltd. Weatherill said Bryce should have done his own due-diligence before agreeing to lend $750,000, with interest rates ranging from 14-to-18 per cent a year, for the two mortgages he secured.

“I accept Sadler’s evidence that he pointed out to the plaintiff at the outset of their relationship, or close to it, that the plaintiff was free to obtain his own appraisal of the properties he was obtaining mortgage security over,” Weatherill said in a ruling released this week. “I find that the plaintiff likely ignored that advice because of the cost, and because the transactions he engaged in with Sadler had all gone smoothly.”

Weatherill laid out the history between Sadler and Bryce, which began after the former businessman and longshoreman retired in 2008 and was looking for investments. Sadler told Weatherill that a broker “finds borrowers in need of mortgage loans and presents mortgage opportunities to lenders.” Sometimes he acted for the borrower, sometimes for the lender.

“Most of his deals involved higher-risk, second- and third-mortgage transactions.”

Sadler also told Weatherill that “it was his standard practice to advise and recommend to all lenders that he acts for to obtain their own appraisal of the property that is to be used as security for the loan.”

Bryce and Sadler completed several other deals before the ill-fated Chilliwack investment arose in 2010.

“All of the investments made by the plaintiff were successful, with the full investment repaid to him together with interest. The maximum investment made by the plaintiff during this period was $350,000,” Weatherill noted.

Sadler raised the prospect of Bryce financing the $500,000 second mortgage on the Chilliwack acreage in May 2010. He gave Bryce a copy of a 2008 appraisal done for the owners’ broker, which valued the property at $2.1 million. The appraisal contained disclaimer clauses, Weatherill said, which Bryce admitted in court that he didn’t read.

Bryce and his sister visited the property, then agreed to loan $500,000, secured by a second mortgage with an interest rate of 14 per cent per year. A year later after seeing another appraisal valuing the property at more than $2.5 million, Bryce and his sister agreed to renew the second mortgage for another one-year term increasing the interest rate from 14-to-18 per cent, with the interest paid in advance.

In April 2012, the homeowners were looking for more cash.

Sadler testified that he told Bryce, “These people are coming back to the well too often” and the investment was “getting risky,” but Bryce denied in court that he had been warned about the borrowers’ money troubles. Bryce and his sister made the loan, secured by a third mortgage, at an even higher interest rate.

Weatherill said “the plaintiff was blinded by the success of those previous investments, as well as by the prospect of an 18 per cent return in 14 months, paid in advance.” He dismissed Bryce’s claim that the investments were only made because of the appraisals provided by Sadler.

“Sadler’s conduct was not the cause of the plaintiff’s loss,” Weatherill said.



Bryce is one of the defendants in the long-running B.C. Civil Forfeiture lawsuit over three of the bikers’ clubhouses in East Vancouver, Kelowna and Nanaimo. Closing arguments in that case, which began in November 2007, finally concluded last year and a ruling is expected in the coming months.

SOURCE: Vancouver Sun

Freewheelers MC caught up in drug bust

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada (January 16, 2020) BTN — Eleven people with connections to motorcycle clubs have been charged after police in Saskatchewan wrapped up a drug investigation in the Prince Albert area. Police said three full-patch members of the Freewheelers were among those arrested.

The Freewheelers have operated in Prince Albert since May 2019, police said, and have connections with other chapters in Lloydminster and Prince Albert, and the Hells Angels in Saskatoon. The investigation was launched seven months ago and involved members of the Prince Albert Police Service and Prince Albert RCMP, along with other agencies. Nearly 100 officers were involved in the investigation.

Thirteen homes in and around Prince Albert and Saskatoon were searched as part of Project Norse, police said. Officers seized 596 grams of cocaine, a cocaine press, 9,279 grams of cannabis bud, 33 cannabis plants, and 2,142 grams of individually-packaged cannabis by-products, according to officials.

Police estimate enough cocaine was seized during the investigation for 1,200 personal uses. The cannabis bud could make an estimated 36,000 joints, police said.

Nearly $87,000 in cash, three rifles, a shotgun and six vehicles worth an estimated $116,000 were also seized, police said.

According to police, the total value of the seized items exceeds $400,000.

During the investigation, police said they found marijuana was being grown under a valid Health Canada medical license and was then being diverted to the black market, which was being sold by the pound in Prince Albert. Investigators said one man is accused of running a commercial process where he was making marijuana vapes and other professional-looking cannabis products.

Another man is alleged to have sold products online.

"Outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) are criminal organizations, whose illegal activities cause harm and victimization to people in communities across the country,” officials said in a statement.

“Over the last five years, OMGs have significantly increased their criminal presence across Canada, and have developed extensive ties to other organized crime groups and street gangs.”

3 full-patch FreeWheelers motorcycle gang members charged in Prince Albert drug bust
WATCH: A province wide police investigation culminates in a massive drug bust in Prince Albert — via Ryan Kessler. READ MORE: https://globalnews.ca/news/6416233/freewheelers-motorcycle-gang-prince-albert-drug-bust-cocaine-cannabis/
Posted by Global Saskatoon on Wednesday, January 15, 2020

A total of 73 charges were laid by police.

Brody Markowski, 25, and Alexander “Michael” Fietz, 28, are each facing 12 charges including trafficking cocaine, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime.

Danny Glover, 29, and Tyler Korte, 30, are each facing nine charges including distributing cannabis in excess of 30 grams, unlawfully distributing illicit cannabis, and unlawfully selling cannabis.

Miranda Parenteau, 23, Warren Kreger, 38, Kaitlyn Schinold, 21, and Destiny Gunville, 19, are each facing five charges including trafficking cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Curtis Brown, 50, is facing nine charges including distributing cannabis in excess of 30 grams, unlawfully distributing illicit cannabis, and having more than four plants in a dwelling.

Rhonda Brown, 57, is charged with unlawfully cultivating and harvesting more than four plants in a dwelling house, distributing cannabis in excess of 30 grams, and conspiring to possess cannabis for the purpose of distribution.

Josh Herron, 19, is charged with trafficking cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

SOURCE: CBC

Be sure and "LIKE" us on Facebook at: Facebook.com/BikerTrashNetwork

House burns in Hells Angels linked gambling probe

London, Ontario, Canada (December 21, 2019) BTN — A police investigation into the Hells Angels prompted in part by suspicious fires now has another to such probe – at the home of a London woman arrested in the bust of an alleged gambling ring run by the Hells Angels.

About 12 hours after the OPP announced the arrest of Habiba Kajan, 43, on Thursday, her house at 203 Commissioners Rd. E. caught fire.

She wasn’t there, remaining in custody awaiting a bail hearing in Brampton Friday.

Suspicious is the official and about the only word London police are saying so far about their investigation into the blaze, which destroyed the $1-million home located between Wortley Road and Carnegie Lane in London.

Related | Hells Angels members involved in gambling ring

They’re investigating a possible connection between the fire and the arrests, but said it’s too early to reach any conclusions, But one source close to the Hells Angels suspects the fire wasn’t random, that someone is sending a message to police that they’re not going to keep all the assets they seized.

“It’s not over. There will be more ‘lightning,’ ” the source said.

That source doesn’t buy speculation the fire might have been set to destroy evidence. It doesn’t make sense to burn the house to destroy evidence after the police search, the source said.

An aerial photo shows the home at 302 Commissioners Rd. E. the day after a Thursday night fire. The home had been raided by police on Dec. 12 as part of an organized crime sweep in Ontario. 

(Mike Hensen/The London Free Press) 

A neighbour said she called 911 after noticing flames shooting from the home shortly before 11 p.m. “It was raging and it was moving very fast,” said the neighbour, who did not want to be identified.

Firefighters and police responded at about 10:50 p.m. There were no injuries and no one was home at the time of the fire , police said. Emergency crews told the neighbouring woman and her family they had to leave for their own safety, she said, adding the flames coming from the roof were more than three metres high.

“It could have spread,” she said.

The home was searched by provincial police on Dec. 12 as part of a two-year investigation called Operation Hobart, which led to the arrests of 28 Ontario residents on 228 charges and the dismantling of an alleged multimillion-dollar, online gambling operation.

OPP say they launched the project in January 2018 in response to a spike in violence across Ontario and Quebec, including attempted murders, assaults, extortion and suspected arsons.

That led to an investigation into an alleged Mississauga gaming house and online sites, resulting in a news conference at the OPP’s headquarters in Orillia at 11 a.m. Thursday to detail the results of the probe.

The OPP contend Londoner Robert Barletta, 49, was one of three Hells Angels members who ran the gambling operation using five websites. The former president of the London chapter of the Hells Angels is facing 12 charges, largely firearms- and gambling-related and another for income tax evasion.

Nicknamed the “Teflon biker” because he’s kept a clean record, Barletta also had a bail hearing in Brampton Friday.

Kajan is charged with 10 firearms and gambling offences. Sources have linked her to Barletta.

It’s not known if either was released on bail.

The OPP allege the gambling operation had made $131 million in illegal revenue over five years and was connected to a prominent, alleged Mafia crime family.

Seized or restrained in searches across Ontario last week were 18 vehicles, gold and silver coins, luxury watches and jewelry, and 21 firearms, police said.

Nine properties valued at slightly more than $8.1 million were also seized, police said, without listing the addresses.

The head of the Ontario biker enforcement unit, Staff Sgt. Anthony Renton, directed questions to London police on Friday.

SOURCE: Toronto Sun

Be sure and "LIKE" us on Facebook at: Facebook.com/BikerTrashNetwork

Hells Angels members involved in gambling ring

Barrie, Ontario, Canada (December 20, 2019) BTN — Police call it the biggest investigation of organized crime in more than a decade.

The Ontario Provincial Police's takedown of an alleged organized crime family and motorcycle club members, dubbed Project Hobart, was a nearly two-year operation resulting in 28 arrests and 228 charges laid by OPP and 18 other police forces across the province.

"Probably one of the biggest investigations, if not the biggest investigation, we have run through the organized crime enforcement bureau," said Sgt. Anthony Renton with the OPP Biker Enforcement Unit.

The OPP led the bust of the alleged operation involving illegal gambling and gaming, including five online websites.

Police said the gambling network collected revenues totalling more than $131 million over five years.

Investigators teamed up with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to follow the trail of money, resulting in several charges including money laundering, fraud and tax evasion.

"All income is taxable, including income or revenue generated from illegal activities such as illicit gaming, gambling or loansharking," said CRA's Stephane Bonin. "Our searches included personal residences, business premises, including accountants and business associates."

Police from Southwestern Ontario to York Region and the GTA conducted the operations across the province, with help from police in Quebec to lay charges against alleged known members of organized crime networks from London, Ont., to north of Toronto.

"It's more than just a bunch of people betting on the Packers-Seahawks game," explained Det. Insp. Gerry Scherer.

London Police Detective Supt. Chris Newton said the organized crime network has been responsible for violence and threats of violence pertaining to the collection of money and gambling debts. "There have been shootings, robberies, extortion, with the threat of physical harm. So it's not just the betting itself."

"The CRA's willingness to participate in such cases as this one shows we are not afraid to go after members of known organized crime groups."

More than $130-million in revenue from crime with illegal gambling and online gaming as part of Project Hobart charging members of organized crime families and biker gangs @CTVBarrieNews pic.twitter.com/sr2mHKCWqU

— Mike Arsalides (@MArsalidesCTV) December 19, 2019

Police also alleged the ring, with ties to at least one organized crime family, was linked to a homicide west of Toronto earlier this year.

Michael Deabaitua-Schulde was gunned down in the parking lot of a Mississauga gym in March.

Local police had previously said Deabaitua-Schulde was a member of the Niagara chapter of the Hells Angels, and the provincial force said Thursday he was directly tied to the alleged gambling ring. Four people have been charged with first-degree murder in his death.

Police vow to continue their crackdown on illegal gambling across the province.

SOURCE: The Star

Hells Angels clubhouse destroyed by fire

Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada (November 22, 2019) BTN — A fire Tuesday night destroyed the Hells Angels Clubhouse on Simpson Street. Thunder Bay Fire Rescue says the initial call came in at 10:24 pm. Platoon Chief Edward Hill said more calls were coming in while crews were on their way to the fire, with crews calling a second alarm while heading to the scene.

Hill said arriving firefighters found heavy flame and smoke coming from the back of the Hells Angels Clubhouse and the fire was spread into the roof of Rizzo's Cabinets, but they were able to keep it from spreading further.

"We actually managed to make a good stop and the old, I believe it's European Bakery, we managed to keep the fire from spreading into that structure or the Underground Gym that was south of that structure," said Hill.

The fire was already deep seated when firefighters arrived to the scene, and crews used a defensive tactic to fight the fire. Aerial ladder trucks were set up at the front of the buildings to protect exposures, while crews started an attack from the rear of the buildings.

"The way it collapsed there's still flames underneath all the collapsed roof structure and it will be a while before we get that out."


Hill said no one was in the building at the time and there were no injuries to firefighters. Hill told CBC, the European Bakery building had some damage from fire fighting suppression activities and the Underground Gym has some water damage.

Firefighters were still on the scene Wednesday morning putting out hotspots and Simpson Street was expected to remain closed for some time for clean up.

Hill said the cause of the fire is unknown and will be under investigation.

SOURCE: CBC

Hells Angels clubhouse raided for selling booze

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (September 19, 2019) BTN — Winnipeg police raided two Manitoba Hells Angels clubhouses and charged three people with selling liquor without a licence under the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act.

The search warrants were executed in December 2018 after police said they received information from three people that the Hells Angels were selling liquor without a licence inside two clubhouses in rural Manitoba houses. One is in the rural municipality of Rosser, the other on Redonda Street in the rural municipality of Springfield.

Winnipeg police executed search warrants at two Hells Angels clubhouses in Manitoba in December 2018, including this property on Road 65 N. in the rural municipality of Rosser.

Police affidavits say the informants told investigators there is a set price for booze at the clubhouse bars and the Angels believed that law enforcement couldn't investigate them if they put up signs that said "Donations."

The details were sealed by a provincial court judge in December but the documents were recently unsealed, although some information was redacted to protect the identities of confidential informants.

"Each clubhouse advertises that any alcoholic drink or non-alcoholic drink is not for sale but individuals can 'donate' the $3 or $5 to the Hells Angels," the police affidavit says.

Police were told the Hells Angels have a book behind the bar with a running tab for people who owe money for drinks, and the motorcycle club put the money in a bank account along with proceeds of their clothing sales — an account with more than $60,000 in it, the affidavit says.

To verify some of the source information they received, police said they relied on a number of things, including statements they got from officers in the organized crime unit who had observed the bar while arresting a suspect in the Redonda Street home in 2017.

Police said they also saw photos of a fully stocked clubhouse bar and fridge on the Facebook page of a prospective member of the Hells Angels and in the background of photos of a woman wearing support gear on the Manitoba Nomads website, which sells Hells Angels support clothing to the public.

Winnipeg police search warrant documents say the Hells Angels were selling liquor inside two Manitoba clubhouses without a licence to do so, and the setup included a donation jar to keep law enforcement away. (Provincial Court of Manitoba)

"If they want money for a drink, they're gonna get money for a drink, whether it's put in a jar or handed to someone in a parking lot," said Peter Edwards, Toronto Star crime reporter and organized crime author.

"I think there's all sorts of criminal activity in Hells Angels, but I think that the liquor licence type stuff is, I don't know.… I just don't see it as something that's going to make the streets safe."

Last December following the raids, Winnipeg police charged three men for selling liquor without a licence: Dale Donovan, who now goes by the name Kelland and is the president of the Manitoba Nomads, which is a chapter of the Hells Angels; Lorne Corlett, a full patch member of the gang; and prospect Cameron Barron.

The crime is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000, up to a year in jail, and forfeiture of any items seized by law enforcement.

In the 43-page search warrant documents, police said they received photographs from other Canadian police agencies that had conducted similar raids that showed "donation bins" posted in other Hells Angels clubhouse bars.

"All chapters of the Hells Angels across Canada follow the same rules and structure. The Hells Angels have world rules, Canada rules and then chapter rules," the police affidavit said.

In search warrant documents, Winnipeg police say in September 2018 a Hells Angels prospect posted these photos on his Facebook page. Officers said the photos were taken in a Hells Angels clubhouse and show a fully stocked bar, which supports allegations they were selling liquor without a licence. (Provincial Court of Manitoba)

Police said raids were done in Kelowna, B.C., Sudbury, Ont., St. Catharines, Ont., Ottawa and Toronto. CBC News also found video on YouTube showing police in Australia have done the same.

"It's an incredibly sophisticated organization with significant financial backing, so it makes it very difficult for police to take action against them," said Kelly Sundberg, an associate professor in the department of economics, justice and policy studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

"The police are limited by geography and by budgets. The Hells Angels are not."

Sundberg said regulatory approaches are one of the only tools police have to combat criminal organizations like the Hells Angels.

Winnipeg police search warrant documents say police in Ottawa raided a Hells Angels clubhouse in December 2017 and photos showed it had a similar setup to other Hells Angels clubhouses in other parts of the country. (Provincial Court of Manitoba)

"With the hopes that by taking that regulatory action against the organization that they'll discover a criminal act that will open the door for a criminal investigation that allows them to proceed on larger charges," Sundberg said.

Edwards, who has written 10 books on organized crime, understands why police would crack down on the Hells Angels in any way that they can, but he believes investigations like this will do nothing more than garner sympathy for them.

"They're not gonna keep piles of cocaine laying on the table in their clubhouse," Edwards said.

"What they're trying to do is crack down on criminal activity, drug trafficking, and this sort of thing is kind of, it's sort of a nuisance thing but its not going to put anyone out of business."

The Hells Angels have a long record of violence in Canada, including the murder of two justice officials in Quebec in 1997. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Quebec branch of the Hells Angels was warring with a rival outlaw motorcycle gang, the Rock Machine. That resulted in an estimated 150 murders over the course of a decade, and extensive drug trafficking and related crimes in Manitoba, the RCMP and Manitoba Justice say.

In 2014, Manitoba became the first government in North America to formally list the Hells Angels as a criminal organization. Similar designations have been made in Ontario and British Columbia.

But Sundberg said over the years, the Hells Angels have worked hard to change their public image by holding fundraisers for charity and organizing community events.

"I would not be surprised if the Hells Angels secure some of the best marketing and communications people money can buy. They've done an excellent job … in steering that lens of criminality away from them and even put it into the minds of the public that they are in fact a legitimate organization."

He said the narrative the Hells Angels present today is that the negative press has been manufactured by law enforcement and that they've been unfairly targeted.

"The Hells Angels are incredibly sophisticated. They have some of the best lawyers and accountants. The resources available to them, they're global in scope," Sundberg said.

SOURCE: CBC

Hells Angels MC member pleads guilty

Ontario, Canada (July 4, 2019) BTN — Mark David Heickert, 50, of Orillia pleaded guilty last week in Dartmouth provincial court to three charges: conspiracy to traffic cocaine, conspiracy to possess proceeds of crime and breaching his release conditions by having contact with members of the Hells Angels MC or affiliated clubs.

Heickert and an Eastern Shore man – Paul Francis Monahan of Ostrea Lake - were arrested in November 2017 following a nine-month police investigation that included undercover officers.

RCMP executed search warrants at homes in Ostrea Lake and Orillia and at the Hells Angels clubhouse in Musquodoboit Harbour.

Officers allegedly seized two kilograms of cocaine, a sawed-off shotgun, a large quantity of cash, motorcycle club paraphernalia, cellphones and electronics from the homes and a small quantity of hashish and marijuana, pills, gang paraphernalia, cellphones, electronics and cash from the clubhouse.

Ontario Hells Angels member Mark David Heickert is wheeled out of Dartmouth provincial court in November 2017 after his arraignment on drug conspiracy charges.

Police said Monahan is a “hang-around” member of the New Brunswick Nomads Hells Angels chapter and Heickert is a full-patch member of the Hells Angels chapter in Oshawa, Ont.

Monahan, 53, pleaded guilty this April to trafficking marijuana, conspiracy to traffic cocaine and conspiracy to possess proceeds of crime.

According to court documents, Monahan committed the trafficking offence between February and July 2017. The conspiracy offences occurred between March and November of that year.

Heickert breached his release conditions this March while he was in Dartmouth for a court appearance.

The men will return to court in August for a sentencing hearing.

Crown attorney Mike Taylor said lawyers might have a joint recommendation for Monahan, but Heickert’s sentencing will be contested.

Heickert is free on $10,000 cash bail, while Monahan posted $7,000 with the court to secure his release.

SOURCE: The Chronicle Herald

Former Hells Angels MC president goes to court

Manitoba, Canada (April 30, 2019) BTN — The former president of the Manitoba Hells Angels is taking the Correctional Service of Canada to court for allegedly infringing on his "right to life, liberty and security of person" when it reclassified his security threat level and moved him from a minimum-security unit to medium.

Dale Jason Sweeney, 48, is currently serving the remainder of a 10-year prison sentence at Stony Mountain Institution for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring. He was arrested in March 2012 as part of a Winnipeg police investigation dubbed Project Flatlined and later pleaded guilty to instructing someone to commit an offence for a criminal organization and possession of property obtained by crime.

Manitoba Justice seized hundreds of thousands of dollars in property and cash from Sweeney's Autumnview Drive home, including a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Police raided Sweeney's Autumnview Drive home in 2012 and seized a number of items, including a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Sweeney was sentenced to 10-years in prison for instructing someone to commit an offence for a criminal organization and possession of property obtained by crime.

In a March 2019 affidavit filed in the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, Sweeney said in the summer of 2015, while serving his sentence at Stony Mountain, the correctional service assessed him to be a minimum security risk and he was moved to a minimum-security unit of the prison.

Sweeney said he participated in offender programming and has had "no serious disciplinary offences of any kind." Despite that, in August 2018 his security threat level was increased and he was sent back to a medium security unit.

Police raided Sweeney's Autumnview Drive home in 2012 and seized a number of items, including a Harley Davidson motorcycle. 

Sweeney was denied parole in 2017.

His lawyer says he is up for parole again in June. "This is the second time that this has occurred with Mr. Sweeney," said Sweeney's lawyer, StephanThliveris.

In 2017, a few months before Sweeney was to appear before the Parole Board of Canada, his security level was increased from minimum to medium and as a result, his parole was denied, said Thliveris. Sweeney will be up for parole again in a few months, and Thliveris alleges his client's security level was increased in an effort to thwart his application.

Allegations 'completely fabricated': lawyer 

"Every time his parole comes up, all of a sudden there's these security intelligence officer reports that allege all these shenanigans, for lack of a better phrase, and they increase the security classification," said Thliveris.

Thliveris said there is no substance to the allegations, which he said include accusations of drug trafficking. He said if the correctional service had any evidence against Sweeney, his client would have been charged under the Criminal Code, or at the very least would have faced institutional charges.

"It's our position that these are completely fabricated charges, which is done in a deliberate attempt to get as much time out of him, to make him serve as much time as possible, and really just trump any sort of chance he has before the parole board," said Thliveris.

In 2017, Sweeney filed what's called a writ of habeas corpus application to fight his security level reclassification. His lawyer said when the matter appeared before a judge, the Attorney General of Canada conceded its case and signed a consent order.

Within 72 hours, his client was back in a minimum-security unit where he remained until he was moved to a medium-security unit last August, said Thliveris.

"I've been doing work with inmates for the better part of a decade now, I've never quite seen anything as egregious as this. They're really doing everything they can to hamper his ability to have a proper parole hearing and be able to present his position properly," said Thliveris.

'People get killed all the time' In January, Sweeney filed another writ of habeas corpus application.

The writ of habeas corpus is very serious, said Thlivaris. The deprivation of liberty is the moste severe punishment in Canadian society, which doesn't have the death penalty, so placing someone in an unnecessarily high security classification is "a major no no," he said.

There is a vast difference between life in a minimum-security unit versus medium security, he said. In minimum, inmates have an abundance of freedom and are able to move around the unit with ease. There is no wall or fence forcing offenders to stay to a certain area. They are even allowed to cook their own meals.

In medium security, life is a lot more dangerous and the environment is more restrictive, said Thliveris.

"You'll go to lockdown and people get killed all the time in medium security. This is often not reported in the papers, because they don't want people knowing about it," said Thliveris.

Sweeney still a Hells Angel 

This is not the first time Sweeney has served time in prison. He was convicted of discharging a firearm with intent after a brazen 2001 daylight shootout with a rival gang member on Portage Avenue. He's also been convicted of assault, break and enter and commit mischief, attempt to obstruct justice and attempting fraud under $5,000.

According to parole board documents, despite spending the past few years in prison, Sweeney is still a member of the Hells Angels. In 2017, he told the parole board that he plans to leave the motorcycle club when his is "able to quit face to face", and that he needs to do it "with a handshake" when he is released from prison.

Sweeney's writ of habeas corpus application is scheduled to appear in court on May 13, about a month before his next parole board hearing.

If Sweeney's parole application is successful, he will be out of prison at the end of June, said Thliveris. Otherwise, he said his client is up for statutory release in December after serving two-thirds of his sentence. 

SOURCE: CBC

Cop arrested in drug bust granted parole

Repentigny, Quebec (April 18, 2019) BTN – A police officer who was arrested along with dozens of people rounded up following a major drug trafficking investigation into the Hells Angels has been granted parole on the 18-month sentence he received in January.

Carl Ranger, a member of the Repentigny police when he was arrested in Project Objection last year, quit the police force shortly after he was charged. He admitted that in 2017 he approached an undercover agent who was involved in Project Objection and asked him for a $6,000 loan, and then broke the law to get it.

The undercover agent said he would agree to the loan if Ranger did a few favours for him. The first was to research a license plate in a police database for the undercover agent, who was posing as a criminal. After carrying out that task, Ranger agreed to transport 10,000 meth pills to a drug dealer and returned with $10,000 for the undercover agent.

When Ranger pleaded guilty in October, no evidence presented in court suggested that what he agreed to had anything to do with the Hells Angels. Several full-patch members of the motorcycle club have been arrested since April last year, when the first series of arrests were carried out. Some have since pleaded guilty to running drug trafficking networks in different parts of the province.

According to a written copy of the decision made by the Commission québécoise des libérations conditionnelles on Monday, Ranger said his career as a police officer spiralled after he discovered the body of a woman who had been murdered in 2008. He said he slipped into a depression following the gruesome discovery and he received minimal support from the police force. He said he drank more and fell into financial trouble after he took a leave of absence to deal with his depression.

Ranger was eligible for parole after having served one-sixth of his sentence.

This story will be updated.
SOURCE: Montreal Gazette

Hells Angels MC lay a brother to rest

Prince Edward Island, Canada (April 14, 2019) BTN – Island RCMP and Charlottetown police are on high alert this weekend with Hells Angels members from across the country in P.E.I.

There was a heavy presence of Hells Angels members, as well as several other motorcycle clubs, at a “celebration of life” for fisherman Ian Roulston Kennedy in Three Rivers Saturday.

Kennedy was a full-patch member of the Hells Angels.

Cpl. Andy Cook, the RCMP’s provincial motorcycle club coordinator, said law enforcement stayed close to the funeral for public safety reasons. “The funeral was for a member of the Hells Angels and we’re there for public safety and also for intelligence gathering to do with a large number of Hells Angels who were here in the province,” he said.

Cook said RCMP estimates there were 75 Hells Angels on the Island in total, from every province in Canada. He said due to the history of some Hells Angels members, a law enforcement presence is necessary anytime the club meets in P.E.I.

“As much as I’m sure the Hells Angels didn’t want to see us around, we’re here to protect the public and when they come into a community, because of their reputation, because of their history, they make that place unsafe and we’re not going to let that happen here,” he said. “So they can expect to see us each and every time they come here.”

Cook said there was an incident at a bar in downtown Charlottetown Friday night. “Information was provided to me that someone did get punched by a Hells Angels member last night so certainly we’re worried about the violence,” he said, adding that club members typically do not stay in P.E.I. for long periods of time. “We don’t expect them to be here beyond the weekend.”

RCMP were unable to say whether Kennedy became a full-patch member of the club prior to his death, or posthumously. However, his love for motorcycles and the club was clear during the funeral, which was livestreamed on the Ferguson Logan Montague Funeral Home website.

During a eulogy, Mark Gauthier of Vicious Cycle Motorcycle Club, said Kennedy “completed the program of the biggest motorcycle club in the world, earning his spot amongst them all the while never complaining or expecting any special treatment because of his health.” “He wanted to earn his spot just the same as the guy beside him and that’s exactly what he did."

Gauthier described Kennedy as an adventurous man who fished through chemotherapy and whose memory will live on in the hearts of those he knew. “When we ride, Ian rides,” he said. “When we’re on the water, Ian is on the water.”

SOURCE: The Guardian 

Quebec police arrest dozens in drug raids

Toronto, ON (April 11, 2019) BTN — Police forces in Quebec arrested 33 people Wednesday in relation to an alleged drug network extending from Montreal to Outaouais, Centre-du-Québec, the Montérégie and more. A total of 37 searches were carried out, and police say nearly two kilograms of cocaine and 27,100 methamphetamine pills were seized as part of Operation Orca.

Officers say they also seized 23 vehicles, $120,000, four firearms, six jackets in the colours of the Hells Angels and an escutcheon. Two of those arrested were Claude Gauthier and Pascal Facchino, identified by authorities as part of the Angels’ Trois-Rivières chapter, alleged to be leaders in the sale of narcotics in the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu region.

Quebec provincial police‘s joint organized crime unit, known as ENCRO, is mandated to specifically target those in charge of organized crime rings. The squad consists of more than 160 police officers from the Sûreté du Québec as well as police departments from Montreal, Quebec City, Laval and Lévis.

SOURCE: CBC