WITH MANY FULL-PATCH MEMBERS IN JAIL AND THEIR WEBSITE CLOSED, THE HELLS
ANGELS ARE DOWN -- BUT ARE THEY OUT?

Their east Toronto clubhouse is padlocked, empty and sitting in a
state of vacant disrepair.

Some of their motorcycles have been seized, many full patch members
are cooling their heels in jail and now their controversial website
has been permanently closed.

But are the Hells Angels out of business? Even they don't deny they
are down.

Time will tell if they are in fact out. Either way it's difficult to
have sympathy for any alleged criminal organization with a history of
violence.

Dozens of the members are up on criminal charges for drugs, guns and
gang membership and unable to make bail. "Not a good time to be
wearing the patch," said one insider. "The heat is on."

And has it ever been effective. Could it be the province and feds,
utilizing tough new anti-gang legislation, have actually run the Hells
Angels out of town without holding a trial or gaining a conviction?
Well, with the Hells Angels fighting all of these moves in court, the
game is not yet over. But the government seems to be winning.

The fact they can use a person's association as a component of their
case has a bunch of full patch members in detention for the past 10
months -- with no freedom in sight.

One of them is Doug Myles, a 51-year-old paralegal by day and father
of three by night who calls himself a bike enthusiast and who has
never had a criminal record.

It doesn't matter. He was v-p of the local Hells Angels chapter and
was caught up in the giant bust. "All I want is a fair trial that
anybody else would get," he said. "I have no skeletons in my closet."

In an interview over the phone from the Toronto West Detention Centre
yesterday, he said he has been offered a plea bargain that would land
him more than a decade in prison.

"We know the game. They are trying to sweat us out," he said. "And I
am not saying we are the Boy Scouts. I know there are some bad boys.
But you could say the same thing about the Catholic Church or the
police force. We are all being painted with the same brush."

He believes when the process comes to an end, he will be exonerated.
But he might be sitting in the can for years before that happens.

Is the public okay with this? Is justice delayed, justice denied or
are the authorities right with this throw-the-book-at-them manner?
Does the end justify the means?

One of the Hells Angels lawyers, Lenny Hochberg, doesn't believe it
does.

"When it comes to the Hells Angels, there are a different set of rules
that apply," he said. "The Crown's goal is to destroy the Hells Angels
in Ontario. The club is trying to prevent that from happening. It's a
tug of war. . . In the end the province may weaken the club, but that
allows other less stable, more violent clubs to grow and prosper."

But the public wanted the biker issue dealt with. It is now being
dealt with -- with a hammer. Few have sympathy for anybody associated
with the Hells Angels -- just like they have zero compassion for
people belonging to a terrorist group.

But still the cornerstone of our system is that every person is
entitled to equal justice. Myles doesn't believe he, and others, are
getting that and hopes somebody in authority will take a look to
ensure their rights are not being denied.

It's not lost on him that there are murder suspects who have received
bail.

"I am charged with conspiracy to traffic drugs and organized crime,"
he wrote in a letter to me. "I (have) no criminal record and have paid
my taxes since I was 16. Am I not entitled to the same level of
respect and consideration as the Crips (would get)? I truly believe we
are political prisoners because the government wants to appear tough."

He believes the case against him and some of the others is largely
based on turned-informant information and he's anxious to challenge
that in an open court. Meanwhile, several ex-Hells Angels members,
believed to have taken a lucrative witness relocation package to
testify, walk free.

But maybe this is the price to stop these organized criminal
enterprises?

Nobody on the prosecution side of this story would comment yesterday
but, at the time of the bust last April, OPP Commissioner Julian
Fantino made it clear he has no sympathy for the Hells Angels. "The
Hells Angels, like all other persons charged with a crime in this
country, will have their day in court," Fantino said. "They have dream
teams of lawyers, the best money can retain, and I am confident that
they will be well-represented."

A lot of the public applauds his approach. "Fantino and the Biker
Enforcement Unit have done a very effective job on this," said police
policy watcher Justin Van Dette. "What was needed in this fight, was
the kind of tactics they brought to this."

Another point scored by the strong approach was the end this month of
the popular RealDealNews website -- once a real thorn in the side of
law enforcement as it exposed every story it could, in a loud and
provocative way, of a police officer getting charged.

"I just decided to shut it down myself because I made a deal with my
wife and kids to do that," said the Hells Angels member known as Web
Master. "To be honest, we got tired of sitting in our house waiting
for the door to be kicked down."

His site drew about 100-million hits a month with its colourful, busty
women and on-the-edge format. But thanks to a relentless, iron-fisted
law enforcement approach, he decided it wasn't worth it. "I have a day
job and a family to feed and I didn't want to go to jail and be held
without bail for two years," said Web Master. "I have to think of them."

It being silenced is another blow to the club. The cops' approach
seems to be working and this should also lead one day to some
spectacular courtroom theatrics.

But does all of this mean the Hells Angels are dead? From inside the
Toronto West jail Doug Myles doesn't think so. "You may get rid of
five but 15 more will join," he said.

But, if and when he ever sees freedom, Myles will not be riding with
them. "I am retired," he said.

If the cops have their way the whole club will be, too.