Former Hells Angels MC Clubhouse Sold

New York, NY (June 8, 2019) BTN — According to the public documents, 77 E. Third St., the six-story building between First Avenue and Second Avenue is sold.

As first reported here in February, there was a Memorandum of Contract (the form preceding a contract of sale) dated this past Dec. 21 between Church of the Angels, Inc. (aka — The Church of Angels) and 77 East 3rd LLC.

Related | Hells Angels ride off from their clubhouse
Related | Hells Angels might sell their 3rd Street clubhouse

The document was signed by Bartley J. Dowling, president of the NYC Hells Angels chapter, and the purchaser, Nathan Blatter of Whitestone Realty Group.

According to the Post in late March, the units in the building were expected to hit the market as rentals. To date, there aren't any permits on file with the Department of Buildings for any renovations at the address.

The Hells Angels had a presence in 77 E. Third St. since 1969. They eventually bought the building, which included their clubhouse and member residences (Realtor.com lists 14 units), from Birdie Ruderman in the Bronx for a reported $1,900.

In 1983, chapter president Sandy Alexander took over ownership of the building. The deed from that time states that Alexander, his wife Collette and their family could live on the premises rent free. In addition, in the event that the building was sold, she would stand to receive half of the proceeds.

This agreement was later the basis for a legal tussle in 2013 between the clubhouse and Alexander's family. (Sandy Alexander, who spent six years in prison for selling cocaine, died in 2007.) That deed was eventually reversed in April 2018, per public documents.

No word on where the Angels may have moved. A member named Tony said in March that: "We're being harassed by the yuppies down here who are sitting on our bikes and pissing on the sidewalk. We want to go somewhere we can live comfortably."

The last of the members moved out of No. 77 at the end of March.

Hells Angels MC clubhouse to remain closed

Haarlem, Amsterdam (April 24, 2019) BTN — The mayor of Haarlem has closed the clubhouse of the Haarlem Hells Angels motorcycle club and has determined that it must remain closed for at least two years. The Council of State states that on Wednesday.

The Council of State is the highest administrative body for administrative law in the Netherlands.

This means that the mayor will not have to process another request for the reopening of the clubhouse located behind Central Station until next year. The Council of State is of the opinion that the mayor has sufficiently demonstrated that ninety motorcycle club members have committed crimes in the clubhouse in the past. The members were sentenced for this with penalties ranging from one to nine years.

Related | Hells Angels want clubhouse back

If the motorcycle club submits a request for reopening in early 2020, it must unambiguously demonstrate that no offenses will be committed in the clubhouse. The ruling is a damper for the Hells Angels. Earlier they successfully opposed the closure of the clubhouse for an indefinite period. The mayor then decided in early 2018 that the building would be locked for at least two years.

The motorcycle club previously wanted to request a reopening. According to the members, there is no longer any chance of criminal activities in the clubhouse. In addition, they believe that the mayor, by not taking a reopening request into consideration, affects the right to association.

The Council of State sees it differently and supports the line of the mayor.

SOURCE: Nu.nl

Pagan's MC clubhouse raided

Everett, MA, USA (April 22, 2019) BTN — A nighttime raid on the Pagan's Motorcycle Club in Everett ended with three men arrested — and two arraigned Monday on weapons charges, according to authorities.

A tactical squad of state troopers burst into a suspected Pagan's Motorcycle Clubhouse on Orient Avenue in Everett around 10:15 p.m. Friday, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office.

As the staties — including the State Police Special Tactical Operations Team — entered, they identified about a dozen Pagan's Motorcycle Club members wearing their club affiliation patches and other insignia, as well as several other people hanging out there, the DA said.

Cops say a search of the building turned up an illegal cash bar — and four illegally possessed semi-automatic handguns with loaded magazines, as well as another magazine containing ammunition.

The state police arrested James Snow, 28, of Tewksbury, who was arraigned Monday on two counts of illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of a large-capacity feeding device and two counts each of illegal possession of ammunition and improper storage of a firearm. Judge Jane D. Prince set bail at $1,000 — and then ordered bail revoked on an open firearms case out of Lowell District Court, so Snow remains behind bars, according to Ryan’s office.

Jeff Wentworth, 47, of Gilmanton Iron Works, New Hampshire, also was arrested and was arraigned Monday on charges of illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of ammunition and improper storage of a firearm. Prince ordered the defendant released on $500 bail.

Wentworth and Snow are due back in court on May 21.

The cops also arrested Marcus Basiliere, 26, of Derry, N.H., on an open larceny warrant from the Granite state for larceny. Basiliere was arraigned in Malden District Court as a fugitive from justice. The judge ordered him held without bail pending extradition to his home state. His next court date is May 1.

The Pagan's Motorcycle Club — also known as PMC or simply the Pagan's — is an East Coast motorcycle club that’s been around since 1959, according to various media reports, which have cited cops as saying that the club can be violent. The investigation remains ongoing.

SOURCE:

Hells Angels ride off from their clubhouse

New York, NY (March 22, 2019) BTN — The Hells Angels have been vacating their East Village clubhouse and residence in recent days, an exodus spurred by the apparent transfer of their six-story building to a buyer. The new owner, Nathan Blatter, president of the Whitestone Realty Company in Brooklyn, said he was not available for immediate comment.

A pickup truck parked across the street from the Hells Angels clubhouse this past weekend 

So where are the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club heading on their motorcycles after 50 years at 77 E. Third St.?

Related | Hells Angels might sell their 3rd Street clubhouse
Related | Man punched in front of Hells Angels clubhouse

“We don’t know,” said a lean, member of the famed motorcycle club. As he moved packing material out through the clubhouse door over the weekend, he shielded his face from this reporter’s camera. Two motorcycles belonging to the Hells Angels were parked outside. Across the street was a pickup truck with and the words “Hell Bound” on its tailgate.

Last Thursday, The Villager rang the bell on the clubhouse door repeatedly after learning the Angels were leaving. Finally, a muscular biker of middle age came outside, his face nearly covered by a sock cap and huge sunglasses.

“No pictures,” he said, declining a request to pose for a photograph. “But you can take photos of the clubhouse if you want.” Was he going to miss it? “Of course, I’m going to miss it,” the black-clad biker replied as he walked west toward Second Ave.

The building has some distinctive touches. The ground floor’s red-brick facade bears the Angels “death’s head” insignias. There’s also plaque commemorating deceased club president “Big Vinnie” Girolamo, along with his motto, “When in doubt, knock ’em out.” The rotund biker died in 1979 before he could stand trial for allegedly throwing his girlfriend Mary Ann Campbell off the roof of the clubhouse to her death, reportedly because he believed she was an F.B.I. informant.

The federal government tried for years to shut down the clubhouse under a 1984 law that allows seizure of properties used for drug trafficking. In 1985, it was one of 12 “H.A.” hangouts raided by F.B.I. agents across the country. The G-men arrested 15 New York City members and confiscated drugs like cocaine.

The incident and the resulting convictions became part of an unsuccessful 1994 civil lawsuit by the government to take over the East Village clubhouse. All that, of course, was a long time ago. Several newcomers to the East Village seem to revere the Angels as heroes.

Three teenage female students who live in a dormitory run by the New York City Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts, at 81 E. Third St., said they would miss the bikers’ presence on the block. “I won’t be able to tell my friends anymore that I live next door to the Hells Angels,” one said, plaintively.

Nina Holton, 18, a Barnard student who was photographing Angels motorcycles on Saturday, said her mother lives on E. Third St. “She’s upset and sad that they are leaving,” Holton said. “She feels they added character to the neighborhood and now they’ll be replaced by some developer who’ll build condos.”

Holton believes the Angels helped keep the neighborhood safe and provided a sense of community. “I’d pass the clubhouse late at night, and a couple of them would be outside and they’d nod,” she recalled. “They were like eyes on the street.”

Others on the block are clearly terrified of them.

“They’re known for being menacing and they cultivate that image,” said a longtime block resident who asked only to be identified as a community activist. She claimed the Angels had “assaulted” a friend of hers and her boyfriend’s.

“I try to stay as a far away from them as possible,” she said. “It’s a myth that they make neighborhoods safe.” The woman noted that the Angels have become known recently for “ridiculous disputes over parking spaces and their stupid cones” used to reserve public spaces as their own.

“One of them shot someone in the stomach over a parking cone,” she said. She was referring to now-deceased Angel prospect Anthony Iovenitti, who was accused of shooting David Martinez, 25, in the early-morning hours of December 2016. A rumble erupted erupted after Martinez had gotten out of his Mercedez- Benz to move an orange cone blocking his car’s way. Assault and weapons possession charges were dismissed against Iovenitti after he died at 52 of an aneurysm during a motorcycle trip in 2017.

Captain John L. O’Connell, commanding officer of the Ninth Precinct, said there were “no interactions” with the club since his arrival last year “except for one short fight.”

In that instance, a 22-year-old deliveryman was sucker-punched in the face for parking in front of the clubhouse in late December 2018, according to the Daily News. O’Connell noted that his cops have taken away the Angels’ cones “because they’re not allowed to reserve spots on a public street.”

Criminal defense lawyer Ron Kuby has represented members of the club for years. He dismissed claims by some in law enforcement that the Hells Angels are into rackets and operate like organized crime.

“Think of it as a church,” he said of the group. “Members of clergy who violate the law don’t make the church a criminal enterprise.”

The New York City Hells Angels are actually incorporated in New York State as the Church of the Angels, a nonprofit religious organization. That name was used when club members purchased the property in 1977, for a reported $1,900. The moniker was used again last year in a preliminary memorandum of contract to sell the property to 77 East Third LLC, a limited-liability company linked to the aforementioned Nathan Blatter, EV Grieve reported last month. A 2013 court dispute over a deceased Angel president, Sandy Alexander, who had held title to the deed, was settled last year, apparently leading to a sale.

Kuby said he doesn’t know the buyer or the club’s current president “and I have no authorization to speak to the press with regard to the business sale.” He also couldn’t provide a “nose count” on the number of members in the club. He only said that most of them are just “looking to be left alone and to ride motorcycles with their colleagues.”

Photos: Mary Reinholz

SOURCE: The Villager 

Hells Angels might sell their 3rd Street clubhouse

New York, NY (February 22, 2019) BTN — The word coming from Third Street is that the Hells Angels are selling their clubhouse (No. 77) between First Avenue and Second Avenue with a springtime move planned. According to public records, there's a Memorandum of Contract (the form preceding a contract of sale) dated this past Dec. 21 between Church of the Angels, Inc. (aka — The Church of Angels) and 77 East 3rd LLC .

The document is signed by Bartley J. Dowling, president of the NYC Hells Angels chapter, and the purchaser, Nathan Blatter of Whitestone Realty Group. Attorney Ron Kuby, who has represented the Angels in legal matters through the years, said that he was unaware of any sale. "I have heard nothing about it," he said on the phone yesterday. He also said that he doesn't handle real-estate law. At this time, it's not known where the NYC clubhouse may be relocating or what the reasons are for doing so.

The Hells Angels have had a presence in 77 E. Third St. since 1969. They eventually bought the six-floor building, which includes their clubhouse and member residences, Realtor.com lists 14 units from Birdie Ruderman in the Bronx for a reported $1,900. The deed on file with the city from November 1977 shows the then-dilapidated building changed hands for $10.

Memorandum of Contract

In 1983, chapter president Sandy Alexander took over ownership of the building. The deed from that time states that Alexander, his wife Collette and their family could live on the premises rent free. In addition, in the event that the building was sold, she would stand to receive half of the proceeds. This agreement was later the basis for a legal tussle in 2013 between the clubhouse and Alexander's family. (Sandy Alexander, who spent six years in prison for dealing cocaine, died in 2007.)

According to the Post in 2013: 

They are suing his second wife, Alison Glass Alexander, of Jamaica, Queens and his daughter from another marriage, Kimberly Alexander, of Needles, Calif. to prevent them from making a grab for the property. A source told the Post that the members have no immediate plans to sell 77 E. 3rd St. — which is on the periphery of New York University’s $6 billion expansion plan and in a once-crime ridden neighborhood where one-bedrooms now rent for $3,500 a month — but they wanted to clear up the "cloudy deed." 

Deed in 1977 shows it changed hands for just $10.00

That deed was eventually reversed in April 2018, per public documents.

The U.S. government unsuccessfully tried to seize the building starting with a drug bust in 1985. The feds charged that the clubhouse was used to make drug deals. However, a jury ruled against the forfeiture in February 1994, per The New York Times. At another time we may note more of their legal run-ins here through the years. Most recently, in late December, the Post reported that a deliveryman was allegedly sucker punched by a member when he parked his car in front of motorcycles outside the clubhouse.


And here's a portion of the 1983 documentary "Hells Angels Forever" that highlights the Third Street clubhouse at the two-minute mark.

SOURCE: New York Post
SOURCE: Ev Grieve

Hells Angels MC members face 300 years in prison

Mallorca, Spain (February 21, 2019) BTN —  Five years after the Mallorca chapter of the Hells Angels was shut down, 46 alleged members are set to be tried and are facing a combined 300 years in prison. The suspects were arrested in connection with 16 crimes which include drug trafficking, prostitution, threats, bribery, possession of weapons, money laundering and extortion in S’Arenal and Palma.

And among the defendants are two local police officers and a Guardia Civil sergeant from Palma, who face between five and seven years each for criminal involvement and bribery. The National Police dismantled the ‘powerful criminal gang’ at the end of July 2013 in the so-called ‘Operation Casablanca’, in collaboration with the Guardia Civil. Investigations have been ongoing and the magistrate of the Central Court of Instruction, 6, of the National Court, has now announced all 46 will be brought to trial at the Criminal Chamber.

At the recent hearing, an order was made for the ‘precautionary seizure of assets, both real estate and vehicles’, together with documents and money. The magistrate also set civil liability bonds of more than €4 million for several of the money laundering suspects. The alleged European leader of the organisation, German Frank Hanebuth, could face 13 years in prison for criminal organisation, threats, money laundering and illegal possession of weapons.

Video of the Raid on July 24, 2013

His two suspected ‘lieutenants’, the Youssafi brothers, Khalil, considered the vice president of the chapter of the motorcycle club in Mallorca, who could get 38 and a half years in prison for a string of crimes. Abdelghani, believed to have acted as treasurer, faces 33 and a half years. The club reportedly settled on the island because of its location, the existence of alternative businesses, and the possibility of money laundering and drug trafficking.

SOURCE: Euro Weekly

Bandidos MC publicly deny drug bust involvement

Melbourne, Australia  (February 11, 2019) BTN —  Two men faced court over a major $1.3 billion drug bust linked to a Mexican cartel as the Bandidos bikie club made an extraordinary statement condemning meth trafficking.

Federal police revealed on Friday that they had intercepted 1.7 tonnes of methamphetamine bound for Australia – the largest meth seizure ever recorded on US soil and the biggest intercepted drug haul bound for Australia. Police said the record haul demonstrated a clear link between local outlaw bikie clubs and extremely sophisticated Mexican drug cartels.

Bandidos MC Clubhouse in Melbourne

But the Bandidos motorcycle club released an unusual statement on Monday, hotly denying having any link to the major haul. The drugs were "artfully concealed" inside a shipment of loudspeakers on a ship in Los Angeles, US authorities said.

Van Dung Le, 31, and Chi Cuong Vu, 25, faced Melbourne Magistrates Court after being extradited from Sydney last week.

Mr Vu, who appeared in court wearing a grey T-shirt with the word "obey" on the front, is charged with attempting to import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin between October 28 last year and January 23. Mr Le, from the Sydney suburb of Hinchinbrook, is accused of importing methamphetamine to the Victorian town of Donnybrook as recently as last week.

Australian Federal Police display some of the drugs that were seized

He is charged with importing drugs since October last year.

Mr Vu, from Sydney's Bonnyrigg Heights, and Mr Le were remanded in custody.

The court heard Mr Le was withdrawing from cocaine.

Their appearances came after American nationals Nasser Abo Abdo, 52, and Leonor Fajardo, 46, who were both living in the Victorian town of Woodstock, faced court last Friday alongside 31-year-old Tuan Ngoc Tran, of Keilor Downs.

The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald revealed Mr Abo Abdo, 52, had been a prominent figure in the audio equipment industry in California and ran a series of companies selling stereos, speakers, subwoofers and digital amplifiers.

The Alphasonik-branded audio equipment case used to smuggle the methamphetamines

Photos distributed by police showed the intercepted drugs were hidden inside boxes carrying the names Audiobahn and Alphasonik, two of the speaker companies operated by Mr Abo Abdo.

US court records show that Mr Abo Abdo filed for bankruptcy in California in 2008, claiming liabilities of US$4.6 million. His debts were discharged in 2010.

All five men have been remanded in custody and are due to return to court on June 17.

The Bandidos motorcycle club has rebuffed any suggestion it is linked to the drug haul, saying the distribution and possession of ice goes against the club's spirit and culture.

Bandidos MC Statement

"We, like most Australians, shared a sigh of relief that these drugs never reached our shores," the Bandidos said in a statement on Monday.

"The Bandido Motorcycle Club vehemently distance ourselves from this insidious scourge on humanity, in every way, shape and form.

"We categorically refute any suggestion of involvement whatsoever, in this or any other matter concerning ice." 

-Bandidos Motorcycle Club

AFP assistant commissioner Bruce Hill said on Friday a Mexican cartel, which he declined to name, was allegedly behind the drugs.

"The cartel is among one of the most powerful and violent drug trafficking syndicates in the world," he said.

SOURCE:  Bay 93.9

Forfeiture fight ends for the Outlaws MC

Ontario, Canada (February 8, 2019) BTN — It’s been two decades since the investigation began, 16 years since the charges were laid and a decade since the Crown began moving in court to keep the proceeds of crime seized by police.

But only now, 20 years later, a judge’s order has finally settled the loose ends left from a controversial police crackdown that all but dismantled the Outlaws biker club in Ontario.

Police officers lead away two people arrested in a 2002 multi-force raid on an Outlaws clubhouse

After all that time and effort, however, all that’s left are a few crumbs — far less than what it cost taxpayers and defendants to complete the litigation.

“We wouldn’t want to rush these things,” defence lawyer Gordon Cudmore, who represented the late Floyd Deleary in the Outlaws prosecution, said sarcastically of how long it took to finish the civil case.

Of the 47 bikers charged in the sweeping 2002 investigation, only Londoner Clifford Tryon, arrested in the raids but whose charges were later dropped, was still hanging in to get back seized property.

Tryon was a director and officer of a numbered corporation that owned the London and Windsor Outlaw clubhouses. He soldiered on after his fellow bikers bailed and fought for the remains of the club, arguing the Crown couldn’t lay claim to the items and that his Charter rights were breached.

At issue for Superior Court Justice Heather McArthur was what was left from six fortified clubhouses, including one on London’s Egerton Street, plus such items as petty cash, biker colours and a Nazi flag.

The courts ordered the clubhouses demolished in 2009, after they’d sat empty and fell into disrepair.

Once the sites were sold and the taxes and utilities paid up, all that was left was a mere $238.97 — only enough, as defence lawyer Scott Cowan said, to cover one fancy dinner.

That was forfeited to the Crown, along with $21.58 in change and $115 in bills found in the Egerton Street clubhouse and any other spare change lying around the other properties.

Outlaw vests, patches, jewelry and any clothing depicting the skull and crossbones logo weren’t returned. But a swastika flag signed by all the Outlaws, and other “white power” items and items for private or decorative use, were given back.

Tryon agreed the gun holsters, shotgun shells, other ammo, bear spray, throwing knives and bullet-proof vests shouldn’t be given back, but won his argument that a decorative knife and two swords should be.

Cowan said he figures the government shed no tears over how long the case took. Ontario’s Civil Remedies Act is “designed to make crime not pay,” he said.

“If it takes a long time to sort these things out, I don’t think the government is terribly aggrieved because that main message still gets through.” said Cowan, who represented one of the last two bikers in the criminal case, Luis Ferreira, where the charges were dropped.

The police had searched 50 sites and seized an avalanche of property. Most of the defendants gave up fighting for their property years ago, its value not worth the legal cost of the fight.

Ferreira gave up seven years ago trying to get back his truck and motorcycle, Cowan said. The truck, left sitting in a yard as the case dragged on, had basically “disintegrated.”

Cowan noted the standard of proof in the civil cases is different than in criminal cases, meaning different weight can be applied to the evidence.

The Crown pointed to the 13 convictions on criminal organization charges as proof the Outlaws were a criminal organization. Cowan noted the 13 convictions were all guilty pleas, many made after the accused were offered time-served deals that would spring them from custody.

The main witness in the case, a police agent who infiltrated the club, claimed there was criminal activity involving drugs, weapons and stolen goods. That witness’s evidence was challenged at a preliminary hearing where the criminal organization charges were ordered dropped.

Ontario’s attorney general revived the charges through what’s known as a preferred indictment.

As the case trudged on, Cowan and Toronto lawyer Jack Pinkofsky represented Ferriera and former national Outlaws president Mario Parente, the last two accused against whom charges were dropped in 2009 after the police agent said he wouldn’t take part in the trial.

The Outlaws breakup was seen as a major test of what were then new criminal organization laws.

None of the Outlaws had a trial, but a high-security courtroom was built in London for the case. The courtroom has since been used multiple times, including for the Bandidos massacre trial after eight bikers were executed in rural Elgin County over an internal club power struggle.

SOURCE:  London FreePress

Hells Angels want clubhouse back

Haarlem, Amsterdam (February 7, 2019) BTN — The Hells Angels Haarlem Foundation fights Tuesday morning at the Council of State the closure of their home base at the Baljuwslaan.

Hells Angels MC Clubhouse in Haarlem

The Haarlem motorcycle club has stepped to the Council of State to have the closure of the building undone.

Mayor Jos Wienen decided in 2017 that the clubhouse of the Hells Angels had to be closed. According to Wienen, the reason to close the building was - firearms and drugs were found in a raid – and are very convincing. 

The club does not agree with the Mayor, who refuses reopening of the building

But according to the lawyer for the Hells Angels, the 'bad apples' have been removed from the club and the clubhouse could be opened again. A decision must be made within 6 weeks. The foundation claims that it has not been proven that the public order is disrupted by the reopening of the club house.

SOURCE:  HaarlemsWeekblad

Loners MC clubhouse have some concerned

Cornwall, Ontario (January 26, 2019) BTN – There may be at least one motorcycle club that has quietly set up a clubhouse in Cornwall, in the heart of Le Village.

According to the building’s owner Wolfe Vracar, the Loners Motorcycle Club moved into its current location in the basement of a building on Montreal Road just over a year ago, in December of 2017.

A few motorcycles parked outside the door believed to be leased by the Loners MC in Cornwall, Ont. 

Originally founded in Ontario decades ago, the Loners is a one-percenter club and advertises the fact by including a “1%” symbol alongside its main patch. Other clubs that claim to be one percenters include the Hells Angles, Satan’s Choice, the Lobos among many others.

“The term one percenter derives from the belief that the remaining 99 per cent (of motorcycle riders) are law-abiding citizens,” explained Cornwall Community Police Service Staff Sgt. Rob Archambault, of the criminal investigation division.

A local news source began investigating the possibility of a Loners MC clubhouse in Cornwall after being told by another tenant in the building who has since moved out. That tenant said the Loners’ presence downstairs was the reason for the departure. 

The new source also spoke to some of the residential tenants of the building, who said they didn’t know much about the motorcycle club in the basement other than the fact they could be very noisy.

Vracar acknowledged he had rented the basement to the Loners MC.

When asked why he was comfortable having a one-percenter club as a tenant, Vracar said he tries not to prejudge people, and noted they have been good tenants for the past year. He refuted the concerns of his former tenant, saying he believed that tenant left for business reasons.

“I could put them out any time that I want, but they have been very respectful and there haven’t been any issues of any kind. I don’t paint anybody black until they do it themselves,” said Vracar.

On Wednesday, someone answered the door to the basement unit said to be leased by the Loners. He confirmed he was a club member, but said he did not know where the person who signed the lease was or when that person would return to the clubhouse.

He was also asked to pass along an interview request. Word of Vracar’s tenants came up as CCPS was increasing its enforcement efforts and officer training to deal with motorcycle clubs as part of a new initiative that has been dubbed “Project One Percent.”

In late November, the CCPS received a nearly $100,000 from the provincial government’s Civil Remedies Grant Program to help fund Project One Percent in Cornwall. The official description of the initiative’s goal was to “help to decrease outlaw motorcycle gang activity.”

“We are using this money for a variety of different things within the service and within the community,” said Archambault. “We are going to provide training to our officers in recognizing different criminal elements, we will also be reaching out to our community and business partners in the community to provide them with the ability to observe, notice and report criminal activity. ”

When asked outright if the CCPS was aware of any one per cent motorcycle club in Cornwall, including the Loners’ possible presence on Montreal Road, Archambault would not comment on any specifics, but said CCPS is aware of the presence of biker gangs in the city.

“We are aware of many possible locations where motorcycle gangs might be frequenting, but we are not at liberty to say what the locations are that we suspect,” he said, explaining that to share any detailed information or confirm knowledge of a specific club could jeopardize any investigations that might currently be underway.

Archambault said motorcycle clubs can be involved in the same illicit activities that other organized crime groups are. This includes smuggling everything from drugs to humans, which is a prominent issue in Cornwall.

“In Cornwall, we suspect the main source of their criminal activity is likely drug trafficking,” he said.

The CCPS’ street crime unit has the issue well in-hand, said Archambault, and there’s no reason for the public to be worried. But the police are encouraging anyone who does see something suspicious or concerning to call and tell them about it.

SOURCE: Standard Freeholder

Hells Angels MC re-established in Canada

Halifax, Nova Scotia (December 21, 2018) BTN — The Hells Angels have re-established an evolving presence in Atlantic Canada, although experts say they have not expanded their roster of full-patch members since first reappearing in the region more than two years ago.

Police and organized crime experts say it's not clear why the country's most powerful motorcycle club has not found any local prospects worthy of full membership, but confirm the Angels are retrenching after their former Halifax chapter was smashed by police in 2001.

Stephen Schneider, a criminology professor at Saint Mary's University who has written extensively on organized crime, believes the establishment of a new puppet club in the last year -- the Red Devils -- is a significant sign of intent.

"The Red Devils is pretty much their sort of AAA affiliate club internationally," said Schneider. "So this is a signal that the Hells Angels have not given up and that they are really serious about their presence in Atlantic Canada."

The Red Devils have set up chapters in Moncton, N.B., and in Halifax.

The members of the Halifax Red Devils chapter, which was set up in July, were recruited from two other motorcycle clubs, the Gatekeepers and the Darksiders, according to RCMP Staff Sgt. Guylaine Cottreau of the Criminal Intelligence Service Nova Scotia.

"They were known to the Hells Angels and they came from the already existing support clubs," said Cottreau. "We have no Hells Angels prospects ... but they still have a good footprint in the province with their support clubs."

Cottreau said there had been a Nova Scotia prospects chapter, but it fell below six members this fall, and they've since become prospects for the Hells Angels in New Brunswick, where a Hells Angels Nomads club includes some full patch members that were transplanted to that province.

She said in addition to the Red Devils, Nova Scotia has a series of other motorcycle clubs, including Darksiders clubs in Dartmouth and the Annapolis Valley, Sedition clubs in Fall River and Weymouth, and Highlanders clubs in Antigonish, Pictou County, and Cape Breton.

Experts believe the Angels are looking to expand territory and crack the drug trade in a region with several thousand kilometres of coastline, which makes it easier to import drugs.

The only so-called group of one percenters -- the elite outlaw bikers -- in Nova Scotia is the Bacchus Motorcycle Club, which appears to have reached a detente region-wide with the Angels. It was also declared a criminal organization in a July ruling by a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge -- a move that has the potential to put a damper on its activities because it establishes tougher sentencing for crimes carried out to benefit the club.

Meanwhile, a traditional rival group for the Hells Angels, the Outlaws, has also pushed into the region with support clubs known as the Black Pistons in Fredericton and in Sydney, N.S., where they set up shop earlier this year.

The Outlaws and Bacchus also operate in Newfoundland, along with several Hells Angels support clubs.

"Right now it is peaceful, however they (Outlaws MC) are the main rival group to the Hells Angels so there is potential there (for violence)," Cottreau said.

Schneider said he finds it surprising that the Outlaws MC are trying to move into Atlantic Canada after failing to emerge as a significant threat to the Hells Angels in Ontario. "They have chutzpah I'll give them that," Schneider said. "They are still in there battling and trying to establish territory."

In Prince Edward Island there are two Bacchus club chapters and one affiliate chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle club. RCMP Cpl. Andy Cook said the Hells Angels are down to six prospect members from 10 in P.E.I. and none of the bikers are full-patch. He said stepped up police enforcement likely led to some members leaving the club.

"Some of the incidents were probably not very attractive to the Hells Angels who are frequently trying to portray themselves in a positive light in the media," he said.

While it's believed the Port of Halifax is the main prize coveted by the Angels, police say they're not aware of any activity there. Schneider, who recently completed a study for the federal government on organized crime in marine ports, said he hasn't seen any direct evidence either.

"I didn't see any known Hells Angels members working on the docks in Halifax, but that's not saying they aren't, or there aren't associates," he said.

Schneider said the Angels' influence has suffered setbacks through police enforcement actions such as the arrest in July of prominent New Brunswick member Emery Martin on 10 drug-related offences. However he believes it was the success of a crackdown years before against the motorcycle club in Quebec that has had the most impact.

In April 2009, Operation SharQc resulted in 156 arrests and the closure of several of the biker gang's clubhouses, however many of the court cases eventually fell through and Schneider said the Hells Angels have seen a resurgence in Quebec that has implications for the Atlantic region.

"They are in a better position to help Atlantic Canada establish chapters and puppet clubs. Having the Red Devils set up in Moncton is significant because they are a Tier 1 puppet group that has long been associated with the Montreal chapter of the Hells Angels."

Cottreau said police are aware of the emerging threat and observed a Quebec Hells Angels presence in the region over the summer.

She said police will move to enforce the law against the Angels where and when they can.

"We are trying to disrupt and dismantle them but it is a big task. They are a pretty well established organization."

SOURCE: CTV News

Police arrest more from Outlaw MC raid

Brockville, Canada (December 20, 2018) BTN — Brockville Police have arrested a fourth man in connection with two motorcycle club raids in the city earlier this month. Officers arrested the 30-year-old man on Tuesday “in relation to the investigation,” police reported Wednesday.

Police, who had not released the latest accused’s name as of Wednesday afternoon, held him in custody pending a bail hearing on the same charges laid on the three earlier accused, including kidnapping and assault with a weapon.

Confiscated items from the motorcycle club raids in Brockville, Canada

The latest arrest relates to two search warrants carried out on Dec. 6 by the Brockville Police Service, with the help of the Ontario Provincial Police Biker Enforcement Unit, the Belleville Police Service and Kingston Police Service.

 Related | Police arrest three connected to the Outlaws MC

The Joint Forces Team raided two Brockville residences, at 283 Park Street and Apartment 17 at 16 Cartier Court, in relation to the Outlaws Motorcycle Club and an Outlaws support club, the Dead Eyes Motorcycle Club.

During those raids, officers seized a number of items, including Dead Eyes Outlaw Motorcycle Club vests, clothing and related paraphernalia; documents supporting involvement in a criminal organization; a small quantity of cocaine; cellphones; clothing “worn during commission of offences”; and a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix.

Thomas Bell, Norman Cranshaw Rosbottom and his son, Norman Stanley Rosbottom, were charged in connection with crimes that began in March, police noted. The charges include kidnapping, robbery, assault with a weapon, assault, and two separate offences relating to organized crime groups, said police.

City police say they have been aware of the Outlaws MC in the area for nearly two years, but there has been a “drastic increase” in their activity over the past summer. The twin raids Dec. 6 were the city police force’s second motorcycle club operation this fall.

In September, police arrested two people in connection with drug and weapons offences with motorcycle club links following a raid at 21 Sevenoaks Avenue in Brockville. Four other people were initially sought after that raid, one of whom later turned himself in in Kingston. Two of the remaining suspects turned themselves in to Brockville police, while the other also did so in Kingston.

Police Chief Scott Fraser said Wednesday he does not believe any further arrests are pending in connection with the December operation. While such arrests might put a dent in criminal organizations, it would be naive to expect the gang activity to stop, added the chief.

“As long as they keep committing criminal offences, we’ll keep arresting them and locking them up, or at least charging them,” said Fraser.

Police said earlier this month the club activity does not usually put at risk members of the public who are not in some way involved with drugs. “Generally, it’s not a random victimization,” Fraser added Wednesday.

“People who become victims are generally involved with them.” Still, the chief urged members of the public to report any suspicious activity to police.

 SOURCE: The Recorder and Times

Mayor wants Hells Angels MC clubhouse gone

Surrey, B.C. (December 18, 2018) BTN — Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum says he had no idea that the Hells Angels had opened a clubhouse in his city, even after a pledge from police several years ago that the motorcycle club would not be allowed to set up there.

McCallum, who was elected in October, said on Monday that the Hells Angels are “not welcome” in Surrey.

After a service this past Saturday service for murdered Hells Angel Chad Wilson, his fellow bikers gathered at the HA’s Hardside chapter clubhouse, which is on a small acreage near 180th St. and 96th Ave.

Mayor wants the Hells Angels MC Clubhouse closed up

Officers from the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, Surrey RCMP, Vancouver Police Department and other RCMP detachments monitored both the Maple Ridge funeral and the afterparty, both of which Postmedia reported on.

Wilson had moved over to the Hardside chapter when it opened on March 17, 2017. He had previously been a member of the Haney Hells Angels and the “Dago” chapter based in San Diego.

The clubhouse is believed to have opened some time in 2018 — five years after former top Surrey Mountie Bill Fordy pledged to block another Hells Angels chapter from using Surrey as its base.

Related | Hells Angels MC purchases vacant church

Related | Hells Angels lose bid to keep clubhouse

McCallum echoed that sentiment in a statement to Postmedia on Monday. “Hells Angels are not welcome in Surrey. I was unaware that a clubhouse had been set up here recently,” McCallum said. “I will be addressing this matter immediately with the officer in charge of Surrey RCMP.”

That officer, Asst. Commissioner Dwayne McDonald, said Monday that his officers are well aware of the clubhouse. “The police and the City of Surrey were made aware of the Hells Angels intention to set up a clubhouse in 2017 and, at that time, the city and the police collectively reviewed all legal means to keep this clubhouse out of Surrey,” McDonald said in a statement Monday.

“However, the police have no legal authority to deny someone from purchasing or renting a residence.”

He said he agreed with McCallum that the Hells Angels are not welcome in Surrey “and that we will use every lawful means to ensure that their members are not participating in any criminal activity in this city.”

McDonald said both Surrey RCMP and officers with the anti-gang CFSEU “have regular contact with members of the Hardside chapter to ensure they understand our expectations regarding public safety.” There have not been any problems at events hosted by Hardside or other outlaw motorcycle gangs in Surrey, he said.

In January 2013, former head Mountie Fordy said he met with the president of the West Point Hells Angels chapter to tell him not to establish a clubhouse in Surrey. West Point started in 2012 and was expected to base itself in Surrey.

West Point waited years to open its clubhouse, which is located in a rented house on 2.25 acres in Langley, near the Canada-U.S. border. The Hardside chapter also appears to be in a rented house, which is located on two acres of property zoned agricultural. The property, assessed this year at just $47,000 because it is farmland, is owned by a Delta couple that has no apparent association with the Hells Angels.

Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello did not respond to an emailed request for comment Monday.

Currently, the Hells Angels are embroiled in a long-running court case with the B.C. government over the ownership of three clubhouses in Nanaimo, Kelowna and East Vancouver. The director of civil forfeiture wants the properties turned over to the government as instruments of criminal activity. The Angels have alleged the Civil Forfeiture Act is unconstitutional. The trial resumes in February.

CFSEU Sgt. Brenda Winpenny said the Hells Angels use their club as “a place where they can have their meetings, social gatherings, parties, and store assets belonging to the club.”

The bikers also use their clubhouses to create legitimacy and public awareness of their brand.

“Clubhouses are armed by overt surveillance and fortified to ensure security,” she said. “Clubhouses also serve as an intimidation factor in the communities where they exist.”

SOURCE: Vancouver Sun

Hells Angels MC purchases vacant church

Brookhaven, NY (December 18, 2018) BTN — Brookhaven Town officials say the Hells Angels have purchased a former Centereach church and plan to use it as the club’s new headquarters.

The motorcycle club's Suffolk County chapter, which held a children's toy drive at the Lynbrook Street site earlier this month, plans to modify the structure's interior and obtain town permits before moving in, officials said. Town officials said club leaders have been cooperative and plan to be "good neighbors."

Brookhaven officials said some neighboring residents have expressed concern about the club's purchase of the property, but they said the town cannot prevent the group from using the site as long as members abide by local codes.

“I share the concerns of the residents who have called me,” town Councilman Kevin LaValle said. “There's nothing we can say, like, 'You can’t come in here.' . . . They just have to come into compliance before they use the building.”

In a phone interview, Manhattan attorney Ron Kuby, who represents the Hells Angels, said the Suffolk club wants “to have a safe and happy community.”

“Even though they have a fearsome reputation, as neighbors they tend to be an asset to the neighborhood,” Kuby said. “Historically, anywhere there has been a Hells Angels presence, street crime has fallen off dramatically. 

They patronize local businesses, and they are a private organization of motorcycle enthusiasts who largely wish to be left alone to pursue the things that are of interest to them. …Once people peel back the layer of prejudice they have toward them, they find that they’re good to have around.”

A Suffolk County police spokesman said the department was aware of the group's purchase of the property, but he declined to comment further.

Deputy Town Attorney David Moran said he met with two Hells Angels leaders on Friday to discuss building requirements and the group's plans for the property. He said the club is required to obtain building permits for any work done on the site, and a certificate of occupancy before the group moves in.

“It went swimmingly," Moran said of the meeting. "They were gentlemen.  . . . All they want to do is comply and be good neighbors.”

Town officials inspected the building  and ordered the installation of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, Moran said.

LaValle said Hells Angels members have mentioned plans to use the building, which has been vacant for several years, as a church, but a flyer referred to the property as a clubhouse.

“That’s something we’re going to have to talk to them about,” LaValle said. “We’re going to get a better idea of what specifically is going to go on the property.”

The Dec. 8 toy drive, which included a live music performance inside the church, attracted "a few hundred people," raising concerns about parking, Moran said. He added the town received no noise complaints associated with the gathering.

He said the group planned to distribute gifts collected at the event to local fire departments and religious groups.

The club has not submitted a building permit application with the town, Moran said.

“As far as we’re concerned, they have a clean slate and we’re going to treat them the way we treat everyone," he said.

SOURCE: News Day

Retired cop testifies about Hells Angels at trial

Vancouver, B.C. (December 5, 2018) BTN — The retired head of the Ontario Provincial Police Biker Enforcement Unit testified in B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday that Hells Angels paraphernalia and “knick knacks” on display at clubhouses are there to intimidate those who visit.

Len Isnor, who retired last year, prepared a report on the motorcycle club for the B.C. Director of Civil Forfeiture to be used in his efforts to get clubhouses in Nanaimo, East Vancouver and Kelowna forfeited to the provincial government as alleged instruments of criminal activity.

Kelowna Hells Angels president Damiano Dipopolo (center) 

But first, the director must get Justice Barry Davies to determine whether Isnor will be qualified as an expert at the long-running civil forfeiture trial.

A lawyer for the Hells Angels challenged Isnor in cross-examination Tuesday about parts of his report.

“You refer to memorabilia and knick knacks are for intimidation. Just looking at the pictures, which knick knacks are for intimidation in those photos?” lawyer Joe Arvay asked Isnor.

Isnor pointed to a photo and said, “A Hells Angel with the death head on his head on top of a dragon.”

“So someone going into the clubhouse and seeing that is going to be intimidated, is that your point?” Arvay asked.

Isnor replied: “Yes, sir.”

Isnor also said in the report that he believed some children’s books and toys had been placed on an end table inside the Kelowna clubhouse before his court-ordered inspection in order to make it seem family friendly. “This is the first time I have ever seen or heard of an area set up in a clubhouse for children. In my opinion, this was set up because of my inspection of the clubhouse,” Isnor’s report said.

Arvay asked Isnor if it was also possible that the toys were inside the clubhouse because “one or more of the members of the Kelowna clubhouse have children and that they may go to the clubhouse at times.”

Isnor testified that in 23 years of investigating the Hells Angels and other motorcycle clubs, he had never seen children in a clubhouse.

Arvay asked Isnor if he knew that Kelowna Hells Angels president Damiano Dipopolo “has eight children, and he might want to have some toys in the clubhouse when he is there with his children?”

Isnor pointed out that Dipopolo lives in Metro Vancouver.

“This clubhouse is in Kelowna, so I doubt that Mr. Dipopolo is bringing his children to this clubhouse. And the area in which these toys are set up is with the adult type entertainment in there. It just doesn’t mix,” Isnor said. “It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”

Arvay suggested that if the Kelowna clubhouse had a children’s play area, that would “distinguish” it from other Hells Angels clubhouses.

“Would you be prepared to concede that if in fact children were allowed into the Kelowna clubhouse and that’s the reason why there are some children’s books and toys, then that would demonstrate to you that you can’t paint with the same broad brush all the clubhouses in the world, right?” he asked.

Isnor said he would “hate to hear” of children being in a clubhouse “knowing how dangerous they are.”

His report also described bullet-proof windows at the East End clubhouse in Vancouver, and said the Kelowna clubhouse had similar-looking windows. He wrote that he thought the Kelowna bikers had emptied out most of the alcohol from the fridge prior to his inspection.

The report also said that most Hells Angels “are no longer passionate about motorcycles, but rather they hide behind the guise that they are an organization of motorcycle clubs.

“Though it is mandatory for all HA members to have a motorcycle, the passion for the motorcycle is secondary to the reputation and criminality of the organization,” Isnor wrote.

The trial continues.

SOURCE: Vancouver Sun

Finks MC: High ranking member pleads guilty to 1st ever order

Newcastle, NSW (October 19, 2018) BTN — Toast with beetroot and feta, a flat white, two months in jail and the state's first ever conviction for breaching a Serious Crime Prevention Order.

Former high-ranking Finks bikie Troy Vanderlight only ordered the first two when he sat down for a light lunch with the president of the Gladiators Port Stephens chapter at the Heritage Gardens cafe at Ashtonfield in August.

Police photograph Troy Vanderlight's Finks vest during raids earlier this year. 

But when Strike Force Raptor investigators got a tip-off, it turned out that the time in jail and the conviction for contravening the order, imposed by the NSW Supreme Court in April in an unprecedented attempt to put a stop to the Hunter's violent bikie “civil war”, were also on the menu.

Vanderlight was one of five Finks, as well as five Nomads, hit with the strict 12-month orders, which banned them from associating with any member of any bikie gang.

And ironically, Vanderlight was meeting with the Gladiator to discuss how he could attend a funeral without breaching the orders.

“He was breaching the orders to see how he could avoid breaching the orders,” Magistrate John Chicken said on Friday.

Vanderlight, 27, who police allege was the Newcastle president of the Finks outlaw motorcycle gang, and who twice had his house shot up during the tit-for-tat attacks earlier this year, had pleaded not guilty to contravening the serious crime prevention order and two other charges after his arrest outside the Ashtonfield cafe on August 17. He was due to face a hearing in Maitland Local Court on Friday, but pleaded guilty to contravening the order - the first of its kind in NSW - after prosecutor Benjamin Bickford agreed to withdraw the other two charges.

Mr Chicken said there was nothing to suggest the lunch meeting on August 17 was for a “nefarious purpose” and noted the conflict earlier this year had not involved the Gladiators.

Mr Chicken also said a discrepancy in the NSW Supreme Court orders meant he could not be satisfied that Vanderlight was the Newcastle president of the Finks. That fact reduced the objective seriousness of the offence and he ordered Vanderlight serve an 18-month community corrections order, the new equivalent of a good behaviour bond, that Mr Chicken said would test Vanderlight’s claims that he was no longer a member of the Finks.  

Vanderlight remains in jail, refused bail on charges of affray and participating in a criminal group relating to an alleged brawl with a member of the Newcastle Nomads in a car park of Charlestown Square in January this year.

And, despite serving his time for breaching the Serious Crime Prevention Order, Vanderlight might be destined to live under even more stringent conditions, with the matter listed again in the NSW Supreme Court next Thursday to vary the conditions against him. 

SOURCE: Newcastle Herald

Sleeping In

He needs a House Mouse to take care of things

Devils Henchmen MC: Celebrating 40 years of Brotherhood

Washdyke, New Zealand (October 19, 2018) BTN — Some might see them as unorthodox but the Devils Henchmen MC say they're maturing as the Timaru club revs up to celebrate 40 years. They will mark the milestone this long weekend and say there's plenty of life left in the club - despite an ageing membership.

The club has gained notoriety over the years - specifically in the early 90s - when gang tensions intensified in South Canterbury, capturing national attention. On the eve of their birthday, club members maintain there have been misconceptions over the years.

"Everyone is getting older and wiser; no one is getting any younger," club member Bryn Cox said.

The Devils Henchmen are celebrating 40 years over Labour Weekend. Bryn Cox stands at the gates 
of the club's Washdyke headquarters.

Founding members of the Devils Henchmen in 1978, from left, Smiley, Bird, Pogal and Woody

The Devils Henchmen MC during a ride in the 1970's.

Things have changed and he acknowledges periods of violence.

He said the club still can't get past the stigma of past problems.

Devils Henchmen MC member Bryn Cox stands at the gates of their Washdyke headquarters.

"We are not gang members, we are motorcycle club members." 

The celebrations kick off on Friday with a ride around South Canterbury on Saturday, and live entertainment in the evening.

The club is expecting 300 to 400 people from around the country for the weekend, he said.

Some agencies are "still portraying that we are dirty bikie scum and drug dealers", he said.

The club's Washdyke headquarters, photographed by John Bisset in 2004.

Cox has been a member for 19 years and started hanging around the club in 1981 - aged 19.

"It's my family.

"These are my brothers, their wives and children are my family too."

At 40, the club is maturing and more savvy, he says. "We are tax paying members of the Timaru public."

The club still has a healthy membership, he said.

While protesters took to the streets of Timaru to drive the destructive and highly addictive drug methamphetamine out of the district last month, the Devils Henchmen banned the drug "very early", he said. "We seen what it was doing to other clubs."

Founding member John (Woody) Woodhams says the motorcycle club scene has changed a lot in the past 40 years. "It's a lot more streamlined and polished now. We used to sleep on the sides of roads, now it's the motel or camping ground."

Woodhams, 68, said he is one of the lucky ones. "I don't drink, smoke or take drugs."

Woodhams was introduced to motorcycle clubs in 1970 when he met a member of the Antarctic Angels in Invercargill and rode to Timaru where there were about five motorcycle clubs.

"It's all about motorcycles at the end of the day.

"A motorcycle club is an organisation. In large the police would like to see all motorcycle clubs and street gangs gone; it's not going to happen."

Woodhams acknowledges the club's ageing membership. "Some of us are getting so old now we are drawing a pension. "We are getting long in the tooth but we are still quite fit.

"If you can survive all the trouble of when you are young then you develop more tolerance at the end of the day." Tolerance is a virtue, he said. "Instead of smacking someone in the head you tend to give them a warning.

"All we can do is try to present a good image but you are fighting a tide."  

Co-founding member Smiley said club membership is about trust and honesty. "The biggest one is respecting each other. "The whole scene has changed, we haven't changed as people. "We all stand for camaraderie and respect each other."

Sergeant Grant Lord, of Timaru, said police are aware of the anniversary celebrations and had attempted to contact the club. "We have attempted to contact the Devils Henchmen and they have not responded in relation to what their celebrations entail," Lord said.  

"It's not unusual for police to maintain contact with gangs or clubs when they have activities including celebrations and funerals. The Devils Henchmen have always had an event over Labour Weekend and we have always policed them." 

Story and Photographs by: Al Williams and John Bisset

SOURCE: Stuff NZ