WELFARE CHEQUES FOR COKE

Murder trial hears how Hells Angels ran lucrative drug trade in city

The Hells Angels accepted welfare cheques as payment for cocaine in poor
parts of Montreal, the murder trial of biker kingpin Maurice Boucher heard
yesterday.

And some dealers could end up with $300,000 in endorsed cheques on the
first of the month, testified one former Hells pusher who turned informant.

"Even more than that," Serge Boutin confidently scoffed in front of the jury.

Boutin was the last witness against Boucher, who is charged with ordering
the deaths of two prison guards in 1997.

The prosecution finished presenting its evidence late yesterday and
Boucher's lawyer said he wasn't going to present a defence. That means
Boucher will not testify.

The Crown, defence and judge will spend the next few days preparing their
final remarks to the jury, so the jurors were sent home until Monday.

They will probably start deliberating Boucher's fate next Wednesday on two
first-degree-murder charges.

Boutin testified he had a big business selling cocaine and pot, first in
Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and then in the Gay Village. He estimated he sold as
much as 200 kilograms of cocaine a year, and between $5,000 and $10,000
went into his pocket every week as pure profit.

No Fees

When he started selling, the former dealer said, he accepted $15,000 to
$20,000 in welfare cheques each month in exchange for coke or to pay down
drug debts. He said he didn't ask for a cashing fee since he was already
making money off the cocaine.

Defence lawyer Jacques Larochelle said the cheques must have been as good
as cash.

Boutin didn't agree, saying some drug buyers were getting two different
cheques under different names and the government sometimes got wise,
stopping payment.

"There was a lot of graft possible in that area."

Boutin said he knew loansharks who would cash $300,000 in welfare cheques
every month. And if Boutin had wanted to, he added, he could have cashed
just as many. "Easily," the witness said.

Boutin was the second informant to testify against Boucher. The first was
Stephane Gagne, who is serving a life sentence for being the gunman in both
prison-guard killings.

Boutin said he met Boucher in a South Shore shopping mall right after Gagne
turned informant.

He described Boucher's reaction. The biker kingpin blurted: "We are all
going to be arrested," Boutin told the jury.

The defence tried to undermine Boutin's credibility by showing the witness
only told police about that conversation after authorities agreed to one of
his demands.

Worried About Retaliation

Boutin said he didn't want to be transferred to a federal prison to serve a
manslaughter conviction because he was worried about being killed for being
an informant. He wanted to do his entire seven-year sentence in a
provincial prison.

Three days after provincial authorities agreed to that, Boutin told them
about the conversation, the jury heard.