Pubdate: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 2001, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: #250, 4990-92 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, T6B 3A1 Canada Fax: (780) 468-0139 Website: http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonSun/ Forum: http://www.canoe.ca/Chat/home.html Authors: Rob Lamberti and Jack Boland, Toronto Sun ROUGH RIDE FOR JUSTICE WAR AND BUSINESS Like an army, the Hells Angels made a pincer move through Ontario to try to surround its rival, the Bandidos. In a bloodless manouevre, the Angels swallowed up four biker gangs in December to contain the former members of the Rock Machine, who had become probationary members of the Bandidos. Police say the military-like moves are all about the Hells Angels securing its underworld market share in the province. At the same time, bike gang leaders really hope the "business move" doesn't become an act of war. Biker warfare - like that in Quebec which has killed 156 people since 1994 - is bad for business. Too much public outcry and police attention interferes with biker interests in drugs, extortion, strippers, prostitutes and other operations. "We don't want to start a war in Ontario like we did in Quebec," said a former Rock Machine member turned Bandido. "We are working for peace. We don't want the sh-- to happen again. It's not fun for anybody." Sgt. Guy Ouellette, the Suret du Quebec's expert on bike gangs, agrees that gang leaders are trying to avoid large-scale bloodshed in Ontario. He noted the Hells Angels spearheading the move into Ontario weren't involved in the Quebec war. "The guys who are making the expansion want the peace. They want to make big bucks," he said. "If the Bandidos can keep their heads out of the water, they will survive." The Hells Angels have a history of killing, he said. "If they want to take over your territory, they won't hesitate to kill you." * Ontario's biker brotherhood underwent an abrupt change last month - with former enemies becoming friends; and friends becoming adversaries. The process had started last summer with the rapid expansion of the Quebec-based Rock Machine into Ontario. Then, the Bandidos and Hells Angels roared into the province. For decades, Ontario's bikers had operated in relative peace. The Hells Angels peddled in Franco-Ontario communities, particularly in the north. The Vagabonds, ParaDice Riders, Outlaws, Red Devils, Last Chance, Lobos, Satan's Choice and Loners were based primarily in southern Ontario. Then, last year, the Rock Machine opened three Ontario chapters within three months, boosting its numbers with defecting Outlaws. Last month, the brotherhood of bikers changed again when the Bandidos swallowed the Rock Machine. The Hells Angels, in turn, assimilated four Ontario gangs. And the Angels' Ontario network will get even larger, police believe, with more than 40 Red Devils in Hamilton, Canada's first outlaw biker gang, expected to don the Death's Head. * Det. Staff-Sgt. Don Bell, of the Provincial Special Squad, said the PSS is taking a wait-and-see stance with the re-making of the province's bikers. However, Bell said, authorities do have major concerns. The Ontario clubs now have access to worldwide organizations with Hells Angels' North American chapters linked to South America, Africa, Australia and Europe. The bikers' new alliances have also upset the balance of power of traditional organized crime. "In the past," one cop said, holding his hands in front of him, "the Italians were up here and the bikers there. "The tables have turned in the last 10 years, either the Angels are above or even," he said, realigning his hands. "The other (groups) are secret. The H.A.s? What are they fearing? They hide in plain sight." QUEBEC Heavily-fortified walls surround a compound and building at the quiet corner of rues Provost and du Prince in Sorel, Que., about 70 km northeast of Montreal. It houses the Hells Angels' mother chapter - the centre of the gang's eastern bloc, which stretches east from the Ontario-Manitoba border to the Atlantic Ocean. It's from this chapter and another in Quebec City that the Hells waged their bloody drug war against the Rock Machine. Since July 14, 1994, bikers and their associates killed 156 people, including six innocent victims. One was Daniel Desrochers, 11, who was hit in the head by metal fragments when a Jeep was blasted with an Angels' bomb in 1995. The war left another 173 wounded, including Journal de Montral reporter Michel Auger. He was shot five times on Sept. 13, 2000. Quebec police are still looking for 13 others presumed dead. "Being a biker here is for real. Being a biker in Ontario is for fun, for joy, for ride, for party," says the Surete's Sgt. Ouellette. The Quebec war ended last Oct. 8 at an Italian restaurant in downtown Montreal's trendy bar district. In only 45 minutes at the restaurant, rival bikers agreed to end six years of warfare. Pictures were taken showing a smiling Hells Angel Nomad boss Maurice "Mom" Boucher trying his best to hug Rock Machine founder Paul "Sasquatch" Porter, who got his nickname because of his height and huge girth. The Rock Machine agreed not to deal for a year with the Texas-based Bandidos, the world's second-largest bike club behind the Angels. The Angels wanted the Rock Machine to consider trading their colours for Hells Angels' patches. About a month later, on Nov. 27, the deal was broken. The Rock Machine voted to become probationary Bandidos. The move split the gang, with 12 Rock Machine members defecting later to the Angels, including "Sasquatch," who was twice the target of Angels' hitmen. On Dec. 1, the Rock Machine became probationary Bandidos. On Dec. 29, the Hells Angels moved. They took in 168 Ontario bikers from various groups. - ----- EASTERN ONTARIO by John Steinbachs, Ottawa Sun The brazen bravado of patch-wearing bikers is a rare sight in the shadow of Ottawa's Peace Tower. But don't be fooled - they're here. For years about 75% of the capital's drug market has been controlled by the notorious Hells Angels. Biker activity has been identified on both sides of the border, along Highway 401 and in the heart of the Ottawa Valley in towns like Kemptville and Smiths Falls. In Ottawa, the Angels have insulated themselves from the heat of narcotic busts by dealing through puppet clubs and street-level dealers, police say. The drugs are often sold through "Friends of the Angels" - groups of people who get products from the Angels or puppet clubs and pass it down to the street. The deals are guaranteed by the Angels' fearsome reputation, which usually ensures they're not ripped off or ratted on. Across the river from Ottawa, in the West Quebec area known as the Outaouais, three gangs are competing: the Bandidos-affiliated Palmers, the Evil Ones and the Jokers. All are suspected of funnelling drugs into the area. - ----- SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO by Randy Richmond, London Free Press Two outlaw biker clubs are preparing for battle over the lucrative Southwestern Ontario drug market. No one knows if there'll be war or just a few skirmishes. But police and criminal sources say the Hells Angels and Outlaws are recruiting new members as weaker clubs falter. Nine area members of the Outlaws had patched over to the Quebec-based Rock Machine this past summer. They appeared to gain a lot of clout after the Rock Machine in turn patched over to the Bandidos. The Bandidos were going to open a Western Ontario chapter in London, Det. Staff-Sgt. Don Bell said, but cancelled those plans. "There's a good chance they (the London-area Outlaws) didn't meet the criteria." Like the Hells Angels, the Bandidos insist on 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week commitment. The London Outlaws have a reputation as being more traditional, party bikers involved in crime rather than an organized unit. The Angels and the Outlaws can co-exist in the same region, just as the previous clubs and the Outlaws did, said Bell. "The lines have been drawn in the sand." The danger comes when someone tries to expand, he said. Even the criminals are worried about one player, such as the Hells Angels, dominating business. "When you work for them, you work only for them," says one ex-criminal who specialized in a service to gangs. "And you can never stop working for them." - --- MAP posted-by: Andrew