ANGELS SPREAD THEIR WINGS

A year or so ago, I was in Montreal doing some research into an
organized crime story for another publication.

In the course of speaking with some police officers tasked with
investigating the ramifications of the war between the Hells Angels
and the Rock Machine, I was told the Angels had become so powerful
that they dealt manno a manno with the long-established Italian Mafia
families.

It couldn't be, could it? Had the Angels become that powerful or had
the "men of respect" become so much less a factor?

The concept of the beer-bellied bullies being invited to the
linguini-laden tables of the pinky rings toppled my gyros.

But, in fact, such is now the case. In Vancouver, for example, the
six chapters of the Hells Angels have become the richest in the world
of outlaw motorcycle gangs. They no longer send representatives to
the so-called West Coast Officers Association meetings. They don't
have to. They run things.

But in looking at the structure of the East End, Vancouver, and Nomad
chapters, we see they are inextricably tied to the local
representatives of the Eastern Italian families.

But it is the consolidation of their power and the striking of new
alliances, which make the bikers even more dangerous.

In the six years of the war for control of the drug trade in Quebec,
160 people have lost their lives including an 11-year-old boy. A
further 173 people have been wounded in the shootings, bombings and
beatings.

Now it seems the Hells Angels are at least as powerful as the Italian
Mafia, if not more so. In a Toronto Sun story last weekend, a police
officer from their organized crime unit was quoted on the subject.
"In the past," he said, holding his hands in front of him, "the
Italians were up here, and the bikers there.

"The tables have turned in the last 10 years, either the Angels are
above or even," he said, realigning his hands. "The other groups are
secret. The H.A.s? What are they fearing? They hide in plain sight."

The Angels get their money and power from controlling the grow ops
currently numbering in the thousands across the Lower Mainland. And
no, they won't go away if we decriminalize or legalize marijuana
despite what is being argued by many.

Oh no, the Angels manufacture and distribute methamphetamine. They
run vast cocaine networks. They control strippers, prostitutes,
Internet porn and gambling. They engage in extortion, stock market
rip-offs, counterfeiting satellite smart cards and a host of other
things. In short, anything they can make money at that their
organizational structure and intimidation tactics enhance.

And now they have become more powerful than the "mob."