Pubdate: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 Source: Hamilton Spectator (CN ON) Copyright: The Hamilton Spectator 2002 Contact: http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/181 Author: Bill Dunphy and Paul Legall Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?188 (Outlaw Bikers) HELLS ANGELS TARGET HAMILTON One of Canada's foremost bike gang experts predicts Hamilton will host the next chapter of the world's most notorious bikers -- the Hells Angels. If the prediction of retired Quebec provincial police sergeant Guy Ouellette comes true, we could see no fewer than four criminal bike gang chapters calling the Steel City home, a concentration never before seen here. The Angels' biggest Ontario rival, the Outlaws, have ties to the Angels' archrivals, the Bandidos. The Outlaws have set up "puppet" clubs in four communities, including Hamilton, and appear to be opening a brand new clubhouse in Niagara Falls. Gang rivalry was highlighted on the weekend when three bikers were killed in Nevada. The gunfire involved the Angels and rival Mongol gang. "Puppet clubs are springing up everywhere," says Staff Sergeant Andy Stewart, spokes-man for the Provincial Special Squad, an anti-biker-gang unit. "To be honest, we have trouble keeping track of them all." It's all part of an explosive growth in biker membership and criminal activity in the Golden Horseshoe that's occurred in the wake of the Angels' December 2000 arrival in Ontario. The arrival was virtually a bloodless coup that saw them "patch over" 170 rival gang members and organize them into 12 new chapters for instant domination of Ontario's bike gang underworld. The Angels, the newly resurgent Outlaws and their seeming friends the Bandidos are fighting for control and access to lucrative drug and criminal markets, especially in the Golden Horseshoe. The area is home to 60 per cent of the province's outlaw bikers, says Stewart. That race to grab and hold turf has already sparked a number of shootings, stabbings and beatings, but so far nothing like the biker war in Quebec, which claimed more than 160 lives, or the dozens of drug-related murders Toronto sees in an average year. Still, echoes of that fear are never far away. Detective Steve Pacey, Hamilton's biker specialist, sums up the gang growth and his reaction to it this way: "I'd say it's (bike gang numbers) fairly substantial in terms of raw numbers, but it's not entirely unexpected. If it was me, as Joe Citizen, I'd be concerned. But does it mean run inside and lock up your doors? No." When it comes to bikers, police must walk a fine line between being prepared and being alarmist, but they still bristle when asked why anyone should care how many bikers we have in town, or how well organized they are. Staff Sergeant Ted Davis, head of the Hamilton police intelligence unit, says local bikers are selling ecstasy, pot and other drugs. "They're stealing vehicles, operating chop shops, running insurance frauds." He also says they're extorting money, a tough crime for police to tackle, because "an extremely high proportion of the victims are too scared to come forward. They take the beating, pay the money." And Davis argues that even if we're not the ones beaten up or victimized by fraud or auto theft, their activities hurt many people. "If a biker sells drugs, are you saying that doesn't affect anyone other than the person who takes the drugs? That person using drugs has a wife and kids, family. It affects their jobs, their life, they lose their jobs, their homes. And down the road a while, all of a sudden we're paying that person's health care. It does affect us all. You have to look at the big picture. And when you look at the big picture, it's very frightening." That picture is undergoing some real changes with the arrival of the puppet clubs. Much of the growth in criminal gang numbers and activities can be traced to these junior bikers, who do everything from providing security services for their sponsoring gangs to doing their dirty work -- murder and muscle. They are the biker equivalent of a farm team, and increasingly it seems to be a key way the big players mark their turf. One of those puppet clubs, The Foundation, marked Hamilton for the Hells Angels just last month. The gang thumbed their noses at police and made a splash in this city by setting up shop in an old biker clubhouse on Lottridge Street, the same squat red building police seized from the Satan's Choice bike gang in a highly publicized raid in 1998. Several members of the now-disbanded Choice chapter signed on with the Hells Angels and there's no doubt they were sending the local police a message. "Let 'em laugh," Detective Pacey says, refusing to offer any further comment on the Foundation's Hamilton activities, saying he doesn't comment on investigations. But from his home in Quebec, retired cop Ouellette suggests the Foundation's move onto Lottridge means more than the gang tweaking the nose of the local constabulary. Noting that the Foundation is sponsored by the Hells Angels, Ouellette suggests it may merely be a preliminary move. "I would not be surprised if the Foundation clubhouse will be a Hells Angels clubhouse. There will be a Hells Angels chapter in Hamilton soon," says Ouellette, pointing out that 11 Hells Angels live in Hamilton and only six are needed to form a chapter. The Foundation also has chapters in Toronto and Oakville, where they grew out of a kind of social club of Halton's criminal element. It's hard to get a definite fix on membership, but adding up police estimates suggests they have about 50 members. In addition to the Foundation and Hells Angels, two other bike gangs now call Hamilton home. The Red Devils -- the oldest outlaw bike gang in Canada -- have operated out of a fortified Beach Strip bungalow for nearly two decades. But they've been growing, opening up a Chatham chapter last year and actively recruiting new members, all the while maintaining a warm relationship with the Big Red Machine, as the Angels like to call themselves. A previously little-known biker gang, The Black Pistons, set up shop in Hamilton's north end just this spring -- the club's fourth Ontario chapter. Police say the Black Pistons' arrival is significant because it marks a real change in strategy for their sponsors, the Outlaws. "The Black Pistons are controlled by the Outlaws," says the OPP's Stewart. "We've never seen them use puppet clubs before. That idea originated with the Hells Angels in Quebec." So far the Black Pistons have kept a low profile. It's unclear whether they've set up clubhouses yet, but the Hamilton chapter was rumoured to be aiming for an April 1 housewarming. Hamilton's chapter is so new, one biker source told The Spectator, they don't even have their bikes yet. Police say that's not uncommon with puppet clubs. "They're formed from street gangs, existing criminal groups," Stewart explains. Few are truly "raw" recruits. "Criminals aren't created just by throwing on the colours," Stewart says. So, to some extent, the increase in gang members represents a reordering of our criminal element. But the increase in the Outlaw ranks is especially worth noting. "The Outlaws have expanded significantly, they've been recruiting. Whether this is something that was already in the works or is a response to the Hells Angels' arrival, I don't know." Police say the Outlaws now have nine chapters and very close to 80 members in Ontario, a lot fewer than the more than 180 Hells Angels spread among 13 Ontario chapters. The gang has chapters in St. Catharines, London and Woodstock. And sources say they are poised to open a new chapter and clubhouse in downtown Niagara Falls, near the corner of Main and Ferry streets. Sources say a member of the St. Catharines Outlaws chapter was supposed to open up the new Niagara Falls chapter, but appeared to have a major falling-out with the chapter's new president, leaving their expansion plans for the Falls in doubt. But a recent visit to the cinder-block building turned up construction activity as well as police monitoring the site, so the clubhouse may go ahead after all. The Bandidos have but four chapters in Canada, half in Ontario where maybe 30 people wear their colours -- including three men arrested in Milton after a traffic stop turned up a loaded semiautomatic gun, stolen property and a Bandidos patch. You can reach Bill Dunphy at or at 905-526-3262, or Paul Legall at and 905-526-3385. Major Outlaw Gangs in the Hamilton Area * HELLS ANGELS: Biggest biker gang in the world with chapters in more than 20 countries. Established first 12 chapters in Ontario in December 2000 by patching over 170 bikers from other gangs. Now has 13 chapters and about 180 members in Ontario and a presence in all provinces. In the past 16 months, the Hells Angels recruited a coterie of new members and established a new chapter in Welland. Early in January, the Hells Angels celebrated their first anniversary in Ontario with a bash in the heart of Toronto's entertainment district. Two Hamilton Angels, Walter Stadnik, 50, and Donald (Pup) Stockford, 39, are facing charges in Quebec in relation to 13 gangland slayings during the war between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine. * OUTLAWS: One of the biggest motorcycle gangs in the world with chapters in North America, Australia and Europe. It has been increasing its numbers in Ontario since the arrival of the Hells Angels 16 months ago and now has about 80 members in nine chapters. The gang had a strong chapter in Hamilton with a clubhouse on Sherman Avenue until the 1980s. The nearest chapter is now in St. Catharines. A biker expert predicts tensions between the Outlaws and Hells Angels could be heating up again in Ontario because a truce between the two gangs recently ended in the United States. The Angels and Outlaws had been bitter enemies in the 1980s and clashed violently on both sides of the border. * BANDIDOS: One of the Big Four in the biker outlaw world, which includes the Hells Angels, Pagans and Outlaws. The Texas-based club was established in the 1960s by Vietnam veterans and has chapters in Scandinavia as well as Canada and the United States. It has a cartoon-like crest consisting of a potbellied Mexican bandit with a large sombrero brandishing a sword and a pistol. The Bandidos were trying to establish a beachhead in Ontario when the Hells Angels stormed into the province 16 months ago. But they clearly came out second best and now have about 30 members. Police say they have been cosying up to the Outlaws in recent months and may be forming a common front against the Hells Angels. * RED DEVILS: The oldest outlaw motorcycle gang in Canada. It was established in the Hamilton area in 1948 and has maintained a presence in the Steel City ever since. A few years ago, it was down to about 10 members who operated out of a fortified clubhouse on Arden Avenue off Beach Boulevard. But police say the club has been on a recruiting drive in recent years and now has about 25 to 30 members. Many of the veterans have left and have been replaced by younger bikers. They recently established a chapter in Chatham. When the Hells Angels roared into Ontario 16 months ago, some biker experts predicted it would only be a matter of time before the Devils would be wearing the Death's Head insignia of the Hells Angels. While they have maintained a friendly relationship with the Angels, there's no indication they're about to switch sides. Last spring, the club held a "show-and-shine" rally to raise money for a local charity. The event had a picnic-like atmosphere as bikers of every stripe from the Hells Angels to Outlaws rode their Harleys down Arden Avenue. * PUPPET CLUBS: Puppet clubs are nothing new in Ontario. Nine years ago, Hamilton native Stadnik made an abortive attempt to establish a club called the Demon Keepers on behalf of the Hells Angels in Toronto. Stadnik, one of Canada's most powerful bikers, was trying to pave the way for the arrival of a full-fledged Angels chapter in Hogtown. But police were able to nix the move by arresting most of the members of the fledgling puppet club. What is new about the current crop of puppet clubs -- which have emerged in the last 10 months -- is that there are so many of them. At one time, there were six puppets in Oshawa alone, including a club called the Potato Heads. Police also say the Outlaws have picked up on the practice, begun by the Hells Angels in Quebec, and established their own puppet gang, the Black Pistons. * BLACK PISTONS: A new puppet club associated with the Outlaws emerged in southern Ontario in recent months. It has set up chapters in South Simcoe, east Toronto (Pickering), Hamilton and London. Its crest consists of crossed pistons. Police say its members were recruited from street gangs and the criminal underworld. The emergence of the club marks the first time in Canada the Outlaws have used puppet clubs to do their bidding on the street. * THE FOUNDATION: A puppet club of the Hells Angels with chapters in Halton, Hamilton and Toronto. The Halton chapter -- formerly known as the Unforgiven -- has 13 members ranging in age from their late teens to early 50s. Police say the group evolved out of a private sportsmen's club based in Oakville and most of the members don't yet own motorcycles. Two of the members -- a father and son -- were recently charged with possession of counterfeit currency and attempting to use it to buy gasoline. The Hamilton chapter of the Foundation has bought the old Satan's Choice clubhouse. It is the home for about 10 members in the chapter. The Toronto Foundation chapter is the most powerful, with about 30 members. Police sources say two of its members, who live in Halton, are being investigated for a suspected scam involving phoney mortgages on an upscale home in Oakville. The sophistication of the scam suggests they might have an inside government source who was able to falsify land registry and other records. * THE JACKALS: The Quebec-based puppet gang established a chapter in St. Thomas early this year. The club made a splash in the media in January when four of its members were involved in a gun battle in front of the London home of Outlaws boss Thomas (Holmes) Hughes, 45, who was charged with four counts of attempted murder. Jackals member Eric Davignon, 29, was shot in the stomach during the gunplay and was taken to hospital. A few days later, several Jackals were seen wearing their colours in Toronto when the Hells Angels celebrated their first anniversary in Ontario. The Jackals provided security in and around the Holiday Inn while about 300 Angels from across the country sat down to a steak dinner in the banquet room. They also kept the media and uninvited guests at bay when the Angels attended other bars and establishments in the entertainment area. - --- MAP posted-by: Ariel