BIKERS STILL A THREAT, WARNS JOURNALIST WHO WAS SHOT

An absence of outlaw-biker-related violence in Calgary doesn't mean the
Hells Angels have sworn off crime, says a journalist with three bullets
lodged in his back from an attempt on his life by Quebec Hells Angels five
years ago.

"That's the false impression people will get when there's not many murders
or there's no bombings. People will say there is nothing going on," said
Michel Auger, keynote speaker Thursday at the 2005 Calgary Crime Stoppers
International Conference.

"The Hells Angels everywhere are after money and they are not a charitable
organization. They are involved in criminal activities," he said.

"Most that have been convicted have been convicted of drug trafficking. A
lot of that drug money is put back on the street into loansharking
activities and other criminal conspiracies," said Auger, a biker expert who
writes for Le Journal de Montreal.

On the morning of Sept. 13, 2000 -- a day after he had published damning
stories about Hells Angels activity -- Auger was in the parking lot of le
Journal when a gunman pumped six bullets into him.

"They shot me because they didn't like the stories I was writing every day

. . . I never thought in a free country like Canada that a journalist would
be shot," said Auger.

"I have no anger -- even against the guy who tried to kill me . . . He was
identified, but never charged."

Many of the Quebec bikers who were embroiled in gang wars that claimed the
lives of innocent civilians, including an 11-year-old boy in 1995, are
incarcerated, said Auger.

"All the Hells Angels who were doing the bombing and killing are virtually
all in jail now while the others are still in business and rich and on the
street -- quietly doing their business.

"That's what is best for the mafia and gangs. When they want to get money
(illegally), they don't want to attract attention," he said.

There are 34 Hells Angels chapters in Canada.

Last month, Project Epandora, a joint operation of RCMP and Vancouver
bike-gang experts, resulted in charges against 19 people, including eight
full-patch members.

The charges -- on the heels of raids to clubhouses of Vancouver's east end
chapter and the Kelowna, B.C., chapter -- were related to drug trafficking,
weapons and extortion offences.

The Calgary chapter, formed in 1997, now has 12 full-patch members.

In June 2001, Kenneth Michael Szczerba, the one-time president of the
Calgary chapter was jailed for one year for plotting to blow up the homes
of two people, including Ald. Dale Hodges, because they opposed the
construction of the gang's clubhouse.

Last March, the Hells Angels purchased a home outside city limits, in the
Municipal District of Rocky View.

Det. Brad Robson, with the Calgary police biker unit, said the attack on
Auger was an "intimidation" tactic.

"It's just one of the forms, like any organized crime group, of
intimidation and threats against people who are out there and willing to
stand up for themselves and fight for what they believe is right," said Robson.

"The Hells Angels are involved in drugs -- grow ops, cocaine, ecstasy --
and the dancing industry a bit."