STREET GANG MEMBERS FOUND GUILTY

In a case believed to be the first of its kind in Canada because it
targeted a street gang, five drug traffickers who controlled a street
in Montreal North were convicted of gangsterism.

Bernard Mathieu, 35, his two top lieutenants and two other men were
convicted of at least four charges each in a trial heard at the
special courthouse on Gouin Blvd., built years ago to handle the
Hells Angels megatrials.

But in delivering his verdict on Wednesday, Quebec Court Judge
Jean-Pierre Bonin said there wasn't enough evidence to convict five
other men who were also charged with gangsterism, or committing a
crime for the benefit of a criminal organization.

The controversial section of the Criminal Code was amended in 2001,
making it much easier for prosecutors to prove an accused committed a
crime with a criminal organization. The five drug dealers found
guilty of gangsterism Wednesday face a maximum sentence of fourteen
years for the gangsterism conviction alone. They were also found
guilty of conspiracy, and two counts of trafficking in cocaine and crack.

Fifteen men faced charges in the case yesterday and all were
convicted of at least drug trafficking either in cocaine, crack or marijuana.

Sentencing arguments in the case begin on Thursday.

Clemente Monterosso, a lawyer who represented some of the men in the
case said they plan to appeal.