News (Media Awareness Project) - CN BC: Biker Urges Public To Reserve Judgment Until Court Trial |
| Title: | CN BC: Biker Urges Public To Reserve Judgment Until Court Trial |
| Published On: | 2005-07-20 |
| Source: | Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-08-20 02:10:18 |
BIKER URGES PUBLIC TO RESERVE JUDGMENT UNTIL COURT TRIAL
VANCOUVER -- Tattooed, hog-riding Hells Angel Rick Ciarniello is
worried about how his daughter and relatives are going to be treated
with new accusations swirling in the media that his club is a
criminal organization.
He appealed to the public on an open-line radio show Tuesday to wait
for the allegations to be tested in court before judging him and
other Hells Angels.
Ciarniello says he just likes riding bikes and hanging out.
"I always thought that in order to be a criminal you have to be
guilty of committing some crime," he told Peter Warren on CKNW.
"I thought I was a citizen. Suddenly I'm a member of a criminal
organization, ergo I'm a criminal. It affects my children and all my
relatives. They are also painted with the same brush."
Coverage of the police raid in Vancouver was heavy and a police news
conference unveiled dramatic finds.
But the piles of marijuana, cocaine, crystal meth, guns and cash put
on display weren't seized during the raid last week. They were found
over the course of a 23-month investigation.
Ciarniello said the news conference was misleading and left
Vancouverites with the impression all the contraband was found in the
Angels' East End clubhouse.
Many callers to the show weren't interested in the details of when and where.
Listener after listener angrily accused him of protecting murderers.
He called them idiots, saying he and the Angels are cleaner than
Canadian politicians.
"The things going on with sponsorship scandals makes us look like
pikers," he said.
The men arrested in connection with last week's raid are charged with
drug trafficking, assault and extortion.
Police announced Tuesday the number of people in custody has jumped
to 19. Robert Thomas, a 40-year-old full member of the East End
chapter, was arrested without incident in Kelowna on Sunday.
And on Tuesday, Kerry Ryan Renaud, 25, turned himself in.
Many of those charged after the bust have been arraigned in court and
some released on bail. Publication bans are in effect on the evidence
against them.
Police allege that the Hells Angels East End chapter is a criminal
organization, which could mean longer sentences for members under a new law.
Seven of the 19 men arrested in connection the raid are full members
while the remainder are associates and hangaround members.
Ciarniello has a criminal record for possession of a handgun; he was
found guilty in 1971 and then paid a fine.
Most Angels who have records got them before joining the bike club,
he explained.
"It's assault, impaired driving, that sort of thing."
"We are a bunch of nice guys and we enjoy riding motorcycles. Most of
the people are not somebody you'd want to get on the bad side of, but
we're not looking for trouble."
Ciarniello has become a spokesman for the Hells Angels in Vancouver.
He says nobody else will do it and believes someone has to fight back
against all the accusations "on principle."
Of the people arrested in connection with the raid on the Vancouver
clubhouse, carried out by police using a battering ram, only six are
real Hells Angels members, Ciarniello said.
Police allege the rest are associates.
"That's not true, I've never heard of these people," Ciarniello said.
Police haven't said what they seized in the bust.
Ciarniello said they took pictures off the walls and computers that
were used for Internet browsing and to play music.
"They were looking for notes and anything that would prove the
members arrested were in fact members of the Hells Angels, something
we've never denied."
Several years ago, Ciarniello's clubhouse in Coquitlam was raided.
Police took computers but the Angel won the case and got them back
before investigators could crack into them.
The publicity is taking a toll on his family, he said. "My daughter
is going to be 25. Her peer group listens to the media.
"She knows I'm not involved in anything criminal. But people around
her are suspicious. When my kids were little other parents didn't
want them to play in the same sandbox with their kids. That has an
effect on her, I'm sure."
VANCOUVER -- Tattooed, hog-riding Hells Angel Rick Ciarniello is
worried about how his daughter and relatives are going to be treated
with new accusations swirling in the media that his club is a
criminal organization.
He appealed to the public on an open-line radio show Tuesday to wait
for the allegations to be tested in court before judging him and
other Hells Angels.
Ciarniello says he just likes riding bikes and hanging out.
"I always thought that in order to be a criminal you have to be
guilty of committing some crime," he told Peter Warren on CKNW.
"I thought I was a citizen. Suddenly I'm a member of a criminal
organization, ergo I'm a criminal. It affects my children and all my
relatives. They are also painted with the same brush."
Coverage of the police raid in Vancouver was heavy and a police news
conference unveiled dramatic finds.
But the piles of marijuana, cocaine, crystal meth, guns and cash put
on display weren't seized during the raid last week. They were found
over the course of a 23-month investigation.
Ciarniello said the news conference was misleading and left
Vancouverites with the impression all the contraband was found in the
Angels' East End clubhouse.
Many callers to the show weren't interested in the details of when and where.
Listener after listener angrily accused him of protecting murderers.
He called them idiots, saying he and the Angels are cleaner than
Canadian politicians.
"The things going on with sponsorship scandals makes us look like
pikers," he said.
The men arrested in connection with last week's raid are charged with
drug trafficking, assault and extortion.
Police announced Tuesday the number of people in custody has jumped
to 19. Robert Thomas, a 40-year-old full member of the East End
chapter, was arrested without incident in Kelowna on Sunday.
And on Tuesday, Kerry Ryan Renaud, 25, turned himself in.
Many of those charged after the bust have been arraigned in court and
some released on bail. Publication bans are in effect on the evidence
against them.
Police allege that the Hells Angels East End chapter is a criminal
organization, which could mean longer sentences for members under a new law.
Seven of the 19 men arrested in connection the raid are full members
while the remainder are associates and hangaround members.
Ciarniello has a criminal record for possession of a handgun; he was
found guilty in 1971 and then paid a fine.
Most Angels who have records got them before joining the bike club,
he explained.
"It's assault, impaired driving, that sort of thing."
"We are a bunch of nice guys and we enjoy riding motorcycles. Most of
the people are not somebody you'd want to get on the bad side of, but
we're not looking for trouble."
Ciarniello has become a spokesman for the Hells Angels in Vancouver.
He says nobody else will do it and believes someone has to fight back
against all the accusations "on principle."
Of the people arrested in connection with the raid on the Vancouver
clubhouse, carried out by police using a battering ram, only six are
real Hells Angels members, Ciarniello said.
Police allege the rest are associates.
"That's not true, I've never heard of these people," Ciarniello said.
Police haven't said what they seized in the bust.
Ciarniello said they took pictures off the walls and computers that
were used for Internet browsing and to play music.
"They were looking for notes and anything that would prove the
members arrested were in fact members of the Hells Angels, something
we've never denied."
Several years ago, Ciarniello's clubhouse in Coquitlam was raided.
Police took computers but the Angel won the case and got them back
before investigators could crack into them.
The publicity is taking a toll on his family, he said. "My daughter
is going to be 25. Her peer group listens to the media.
"She knows I'm not involved in anything criminal. But people around
her are suspicious. When my kids were little other parents didn't
want them to play in the same sandbox with their kids. That has an
effect on her, I'm sure."
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