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 Author: Michel Auger ROUGH RIDE FOR JUSTICE NEW CHAPTER IN HELL! Hells Angels operating an expanding criminal empire across the country MONTREAL -- Rough Ride for Justice is a national report by Sun Media on how the growing strength of bike gangs in this country has forced officials to try to change current anti-gang legislation. The special 12-page pullout in today's Sunday Sun features articles from Sun teams in Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, London, Montreal and Toronto. Rough Ride for Justice shows the strength of the outlaw bikers across Canada and how police and prosecutors are limited in fighting this force. Journal de Montreal crime reporter Michel Auger, shot by a suspected bike gang member in Montreal last year, launches the report with this column. - -------------------------------------------------------------------- On Aug. 9, 1995, a bomb went off on Adam Street in east-end Montreal, killing the first innocent victim of a biker war that began a year earlier. Daniel Desrochers, 11, was killed by blast debris. Until that happened, Quebecers weren't really interested in the war between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine. Quebecers thought it was only gangsters killing each other. Good riddance, they said. But Desrochers' death pushed the Quebec police to launch a concerted effort to fight biker crimes. Still, the Hells Angels were able to set up a practically impenetrable and indestructible network. There have been many criminal investigations targeting them, but very few Hells Angels members have found themselves behind bars. Since 1995, 17 innocent people have been injured or killed by bikers. I am one of those victims. On Sept. 13, as I walked through the Journal de Montreal parking lot, a man armed with a gun chose me as his target. I survived the attempt on my life, even if I had five or six bullets hit me in the back. Even today, I don't know how many bullets I took. Police suspect the Hells Angels were behind the attack. Nobody would have predicted 25 years ago that the gang of young bikers who hung out near Lafontaine Park in downtown Montreal would one day become one of the strongest crime organizations in Canada, with international influence. On Dec. 5, 1977, the Hells Angels set up in Petite-Patrie, a working-class Montreal neighbourhood. But soon their clubhouse on Saint-Vallier Street received almost daily municipal police visits. Police pressure was so great the bikers moved to Sorel, where we can still find the Montreal chapter and the Canadian Angels' mothership. There are now 431 Hells Angels members in Canada. Since last November, they have created 12 new chapters. The Quebec Angels are considered among the most violent organized criminals in the world. To date, Quebec police blame them for about 160 murders and 15 disappearances. Will Hells Angels across the rest of the country follow in the footsteps of their Quebec godfathers? I hope not. - --- MAP posted-by: Andrew