Source: Edmonton Journal (Canada) Contact: http://www.southam.com/edmontonjournal/ Pubdate: Sun 19 Jul 1998 Author: Charlie Gillis, Journal Crime Writer 99% Angel; When Alberta bikers joined the Hells Angels, police believe the change came with a lot of criminal baggage. The bikers say: Prove it; CHASING ANGELS They're roughnecks, mechanics and menders of motorcycle frames. And while the labels on their back have changed, Alberta's newly minted Hells Angels insist their hearts and minds remain the same. It's a message the former Grim Reapers and Rebels have repeated often since the day one year ago when they discarded their old vest patches and joined the world's most notorious motorcycle club. Law enforcement agencies across the country instantly branded them members of a criminal organization, but they say they're nothing more than regular folk who enjoy riding motorcycles. "When the Royal Bank and the Bank of Montreal merge and come up with a different name, will they be a new bank?" shrugged Gerry Weldon, a member of the Angels' Edmonton chapter, in a recent interview. "No, they'll be the same people with the same ridiculous interest rates and service charges. "Just because you've changed your name doesn't mean you've changed as a human being." Such responses have been a constant source of irritation to the province's police services. They are equally adamant that 30 Alberta bikers joined a powerful league of criminals when they donned Angel colours last July 23 at a ceremony in Red Deer. That none of the Edmonton-area Angels has served federal prison time in the last 20 years has admittedly undercut their anti-biker message -- the Angels have actually dared police to pin serious convictions on them. That may change soon enough. Police can now point to drug trafficking and tax evasion charges laid since last fall against some former Rebels, members of an Edmonton-based motorcycle gang who became probationary Angels one year ago. In addition, a high-ranking officer of the Hells Angels Edmonton chapter is facing assault, extortion and weapons charges related to the May 23 beating of a man police say reneged on a debt. More such cases could significantly alter the lives of the 11 men belonging to the Edmonton chapter of the Hells Angels, most of whom have skirted the public spotlight to date. As it is, they scarcely stand out when not wearing their colours or riding their bikes. One owns a local trucking firm. Two have motorcycle accessory shops in the city, while another sells oilfield equipment in southern Alberta. Almost all have wives or long-time girlfriends and several have children. Weldon, for one, ran a shop in Red Deer that made "after-market" Harley-Davidson frames, but says he's unloaded his stake in the business. Before that, he obtained a journalism diploma from Grant MacEwan Community College and worked about six weeks on community newspapers in central Alberta. Asked whether there are connections between escort agencies and his new club, Weldon gave a pained look and shook his head. "No," he said. Hydroponic marijuana operations? Methamphetamine labs? "No. I recycle motorcycle frames. I went to school, I got out and now I build motorcycle frames. I can't answer for what everybody in the world does ... but if police know all this about us, why aren't they putting all the Hells Angels in jail?" Others who knew the bikers before the patchover speak of a dark shift in their personalities since they became Angels. "The guys I used to deal with as Rebels have turned cold," said one Edmonton man, whose business runs on a line of credit from the former Rebels, now the Angels. "They've got an attitude, saying this is the way things have to be done. But they have to reinvent themselves or they're dead. Once you're in with these guys, you're in for good. As for their legally incorporated businesses, Edmonton police Chief John Lindsay warns that biker-owned firms in other parts of Canada and the U.S. have been identified as money-laundering operations and shut down. "When they money launder by running a legitimate business which can operate at a loss, then they are undercutting the ability of competitors to compete with them. "If they're a dry cleaner, then they're in very unfair competition with the dry cleaner down the block." But Lindsay acknowledges the challenge for police will be to back their warnings by pinning serious convictions to full-fledged Hells Angels members in Alberta. They'll have a better chance of doing so with organized crime-fighting teams now assembled at both ends of the province and more money expected from the government, he says. "It's all about resources and organization. These investigations are incredibly lengthy, incredibly resource-rich and very specialized." CHASING ANGELS * The provincial government earmarked $500,000 last July to fight outlaw bikers, but Premier Ralph Klein said at the time additional funding would have to come from existing police grants. Critics and police said it was not enough. * Last March, the province struck a three-person committee to lay out an anti-biker action plan. It included representatives from the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police, the justice department and the Criminal Intelligence Service of Alberta. * The committee completed its report June 23 and sent it on to Justice Minister Jon Havelock for approval. It hasn't been released, but insiders say it recommends a major injection of cash and officers. - --- Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)