Pubdate: Sun, 04 Mar 2001 Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN) Copyright: 2001 St. Paul Pioneer Press Contact: 345 Cedar St., St. Paul, MN 55101 Website: http://www.pioneerplanet.com/ Forum: http://www.pioneerplanet.com/watercooler/ Author: Washington Post GANGS TEST CANADA'S CIVILITY, POLICE SYSTEM Hells Angels Among Warring Factions The hit took place at 10 in the morning. Two men in black walked up to a man unloading his car, pumped five bullets into his back and fled. Michel Auger, the reporter who knew too much about organized crime and put it all in the newspaper, staggered but did not fall. ``I saw someone without a face and a ball of smoke near his belt,'' Auger said. ``I immediately knew that my work was the cause of the pains in my back.'' He managed to call for help on his cell phone. The bullets, which police say they believe were fired by a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, cut through Auger's body but missed vital organs. He recovered and, in his newspaper, Le Journal de Montreal, continues to chronicle a deadly and escalating gang war in Canada, a country known more for its peacekeeping in foreign lands, its civility at home and its general repulsion of violence. Police don't claim to have gang violence under control. Giuliano Zaccardelli, commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, contends that the very fabric of Canadian society may be at stake. And police can't explain why the upsurge is happening now, other than to say that certain types of violence tend to appear in Canada about 10 years later than in the United States. Police are supporting controversial amendments to the Criminal Code now before Parliament that would make it illegal simply to be a member of a gang. The gang battle pits the Hells Angels against a group called the Rock Machine for control of drug distribution. In the middle, willing to supply whichever gang is triumphant, are traditional organized-crime groups that import drugs into Canada. The violence has killed 157 people in Quebec since 1994, police say. Gangs have allegedly intimidated farmers into growing marijuana, taken over small-town drug markets, beaten up bar owners, killed two prison guards and issued death threats against judges, police officers and prosecutors. By police count, about 105 full-time Angels are in Quebec, plus many part-timers. The gang does not respond to allegations that it's the cause of a crime wave. ``They keep very quiet, they don't issue public statements,'' said lawyer Daniele Roy, who represents 13 Angels on trial in Quebec City on 162 charges that include kidnapping, assault and drug offenses. They deny the charges. Roy says authorities single out the gang unfairly. ``The Hells Angels are the flavor of the moment,'' Roy said. ``You have the Italian Mafia. You have Asian gangs in the West. You have the Warriors, Indians who are controlling the drug market in Manitoba. . . . I do not think the Hells Angels are any worse than any other group.'' Police say the government must get tougher. ``We're too nice in Canada,'' said Andre Bouchard, commander of the Crimes Division in the Montreal Urban Community Police. He said a former Sicilian Mafia leader recently told Canadian Television that Canada was a ``preferred place'' for the business of crime because police forces are small, sentences are light and the prisons are ``like hotels.'' Bouchard is sitting in his office above a shopping mall. Only a glass window separates the homicide squad from the shoppers below. Frequently, a reputed Hells Angels leader named Maurice ``Mom'' Boucher, a well-dressed man who commutes to his office near another police station, lunches with an entourage at the food court below, Bouchard says. Police view that as a taunt. ``He thinks he's higher than God,'' said Bouchard. ``He thinks he can run anything. . . . They took over Quebec. Now, they want Ontario. They will start a war.'' Few of the killings that police blame on the Angels have resulted in convictions. Since 1995, only three top members of the gang have been charged with murder. None was convicted -- in part, police say, because of leather-clad bikers who packed courtrooms and stared down jurors. Canadian law enforcement officials say stronger laws are needed. ``We don't have real anti-gang legislation,'' said Louis Dionne, director of the Quebec government's organized-crime unit. ``Real legislation would criminalize participation in gangs,'' so authorities wouldn't have to prove people had committed specific criminal acts. The Criminal Code amendments also would allow authorities to seize the property of criminal organizations. ``We want the judge to (be able to) say, `You have a big house and all these cash investments, you tell us where you get that money,' '' Dionne said. Quebec police also want to replace jury trials with three-judge panels for organized-crime cases. ``It scares 12 people to sit in a courtroom with these bikers,'' Bouchard said. ``It is easier to protect three judges than 12 jurors.'' Talk like this concerns many Canadians, who are proud of their open legal system. It also concerns lawyer Roy, who argues that in its enthusiasm to go after crime, the government shouldn't eliminate rights that are considered the ``cornerstone'' of Canadian society. ``I'm not trying to pretend it is OK to commit a crime,'' she said. But ``if you want to fight crime, fight crime -- don't change society's principles. If you want to fight crime, give more money to police officers and give better education.'' - ---