MORE THAN ACCIDENTAL TOURISTS

KELOWNA - Busloads of Asian tourists piling on to Kelowna's waterfront
walkways bring a smile to Mayor Walter Gray's face as he looks out his
office window. But his expression darkens as his gaze shifts to the
downtown park, where, on the damp grass, metres away from the playing
children and holidaymakers, small knots of humanity huddle in sleeping
bags or hunch over picnic tables.

Yes, the Okanagan playground does have drug and homeless problems,
Gray admits somewhat reluctantly.

No worse than other small communities around the province, he adds
hastily.

Unlike other resort towns in B.C., however, Kelowna is popular with
Hells Angels who both holiday here and are rumoured to be setting up
an official chapter.

And that could crank up the amount of drug dealing, violence and
associated crime.

"There's no question in my mind that the Hells Angels and organized
crime are the root cause of social decay," Gray said
emphatically.

"It runs absolutely counter to all the objectives we have set for our
community."

Local RCMP are watching Angels' leather vests for the tell-tale sign
of a newly minted club -- a coloured patch with the Hells Angels
insignia and club name.

"I think we'll suddenly just see a Kelowna patch," said Supt. Bill
McKinnon, the head Mountie in Kelowna.

A full patch -- with the top and bottom "rockers" framing the winged
death's head logo -- means the member has come through the ranks as a
hang around and then a prospect.

Four members of Vancouver's East End chapter, all of whom who live in
Kelowna, were elevated to full patch status this year. They include
Richard Christian Goldammer, Hans Kurth, Marcello Carlo Verna and
Joseph Bruce Skreptak. A fifth Kelowna resident, Robert Leonard
Thomas, is a prospect with the East End chapter.

"They are commonly known as the K-Town crew by other Hells Angels,"
McKinnon said.

Six members are needed for a new charter which also has to be approved
by other chapters.

Hells Angels adamantly deny they are establishing themselves in
Kelowna.

"It's not happening -- that I am authorized to tell you," said Rick
Ciarniello, a member of the Vancouver chapter and occasional spokesman
for Hells Angels in B.C.

"I said I would never rule it out, but it's not in the plans," said
Ciarniello, explaining that club members gravitate to the Interior
city like other people because of the warm weather.

They're the kind of holidayer who is warily eyed.

At the Grand Okanagan -- the up-scale hotel where the federal cabinet
met earlier this week -- Hells Angels are welcome but not allowed to
wear their colours inside or park their motorcycles by the front door.

Over at Willow Inn, the downtown hotel and strip bar frequented by
bikers, owner Ken Noble takes the opposite approach.

"I don't mind the colours. I like to see who I am dealing with," he
said.

Outside the bar, a prospect with the Alberta Nomads chapter of the
Hells Angels, does not want a Hells Angels chapter in Kelowna.

"Why screw it up?" said the tattooed man known as Motor, his leather
vest barely covering his bare, muscled chest. "Everyone comes here
just to enjoy themselves."

The oil rig worker said he and his buddies come to Kelowna because the
weather's good and there's a "brotherhood" of bikers.

"It's like a bike show. The bikes here are a lot fancier than in
Alberta," he said, giving an affectionate pat to his 1999 Harley Dyna
Glide, decorated with a sticker saying "Support Your Local Hells
Angels." His companion's T-Shirt states "Be Silent or Be Silenced."

Maurice Garneau, 52, a Kelowna resident, knows about the intimidation
engendered by a Hells Angels patch.

Garneau enjoys riding his Harley but stopped drinking and doing
cocaine 17 years ago. "I'm a motorcycle enthusiast, not a biker. We go
somewhere and ride and see their bikes and we don't even park near
them. You mind your own business."

You keep away from the bikes and keep away from the Hells Angels
women, he said. Those who don't are dealt with by prospects looking to
earn their way up the ranks.

"It's the law of the jungle."

Police say intimidation is hard to quantify but they can use hard
numbers to assess Kelowna's drug and crime problems.

There has been a 338 per cent increase in cocaine seizures over the
last year and crystal meth use is skyrocketing, said McKinnon.

Drugs spark mini-crime waves in other areas. Property crimes, break
and enters, sexual assaults, and assaults related to turf wars over
grow ops are all on the rise, said Cpl. Rick Marshinew of the Criminal
Intelligence Section.

"We've had a 16 per cent increase in all crimes in the first
quarter."

There is also a disturbing increase in guns being seized, usually used
to defend grow ops, he said.

However, when arrests are made, it is usually the crop sitter -- the
low person on the totem pole -- who gets caught, even though they are
allegedly growing for the Hells Angels, police said.

"It's like a corporation. You never see the CEO on the ground getting
his hands dirty," Marshinew said.

Police in Kelowna have a "firm, but fair, in your face policy" when it
comes to dealing with either Hells Angels or the street fallout from
drugs, Gray said.

But, more tools are needed in the form of legislation and province
wide policies, he said.

Front-line police such as Const. Sergio Da Silva of RCMP intelligence
believe there is already a de facto Hells Angels' chapter, including a
fortified clubhouse sandwiched between an industrial area and small
homes with neatly kept yards. "They are here already, so having a
full-fledged chapter is almost inconsequential," he said.

Da Silva believes the Hells Angels want to fast-track a Kelowna
expansion to head off competition from the Bandidos -- a rival
motorcycle gang moving into B.C.

Intelligence suggests the Bandidos are looking for places without an
official Angels presence. Kelowna could be a lucrative centre, well
located for drug distribution to small towns in B.C.'s interior,
Alberta and the U.S., Da Silva said.

Supt. Don Harrison, district officer with RCMP E Division, described
the growing Hells Angels interest in Kelowna as a "cancer."

"If you are making huge profits, you invest it in legitimate
operations to clean it up. You buy real estate and businesses. You put
money in one end and the profits come out the other end washed,"
Harrison said.

The allegations are angrily denied by Ciarniello.

"These are legitimate businesses that people have worked hard on. Why
are the police at war with legitimate business people?" he demanded.

Real estate holdings in Kelowna owned by Vancouver, Haney and East End
chapter members range from a sprawling lakefront acreage bought for
$320,000 in 2003 to three dilapidated houses on one street bought in
April this year for a total of $430,000.

At least a dozen homes and lots in Kelowna are believed to be owned by
Angels. Businesses linked to members of the Hells Angels include the
Age of Fusion Artwork Inc., whose business licence is held by full
patch member Richard Goldammer and Ritual Tattoo whose business
licence is held by prospect Robert Thomas.

The Donna Apartment block, a square building with a slightly neglected
appearance, is owned by Baron Properties Inc., which has Rocco
Dipopolo, an East End associate as one of its directors. The apartment
block was bought in August last year for $415,000.

Digstown Clothing Co. Ltd, on Pandosy Street, is a branch of the same
trendy Vancouver clothing store which is owned by Damiano Dipopolo, an
East End member.