News (Media Awareness Project) - CN ON: The Rise and Fall of Niagara's Outlaw Bikers |
| Title: | CN ON: The Rise and Fall of Niagara's Outlaw Bikers |
| Published On: | 2008-12-15 |
| Source: | Tribune, The (CN ON) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-12-16 16:40:00 |
Empire on Wheels:
THE RISE AND FALL OF NIAGARA'S OUTLAW BIKERS
Ontario fell to the Hells Angels in a single night. There were no
shots fired. No murders. No explosions.
But there was a party.
In December 1999, years of diplomatic efforts and arm-twisting by the
Angels in Ontario paid off. In a ceremony in Sorel, Que., nearly all
of Ontario's 13 outlaw motorcycle gangs buried their own colours for
the winged death's head of the Angels.
The mass patch-over was an aberration in a culture that lives and
breathes tradition. It normally takes years for would-be Hells Angels
to get in with the gang. After that, at least a year spent as a
prospect member - a peon forbidden from wearing the Angels patch. Only
then can a man claim status as a Hells Angel.
But the Sorel ceremony was more hostile corporate takeover than
gangland tradition. By converting most of Ontario's bikers in a single
night, the Angels avoided the bloody battle for turf police had been
predicting for years.
The break from tradition was even more evident by the presence of
several Niagara men. They were not bikers. They had no colours of
their own to bury, but were going to become Hells Angels all the same.
Chief among them was Gerald Ward, a. k. a. Skinny. The others included
longtime friends and associates like Ken Wagner, known as Wags, and
Tim Panetta. Altogether, seven men, led by Ward, would become Angels
prospects to form the Niagara chapter of the Hells Angels.
Like the takeover of Ontario, Niagara was a special case. Carefully
crafted tradition designed to protect and insulate the Angels mattered
less than territory and power.
Niagara was unusual for another reason. Longtime rival gang, the St.
Catharines-based Outlaws, was already established in the region,
although by 2002 it was a shadow of its former menace.
The Angels and the Outlaws had signed a peace treaty the year before,
but former Niagara Regional Police biker cop Det. Sgt. Shawn Clarkson
said the old hatred still lingered.
And in the world of bikers, hatred often leads to bullets, blood and
bodies.
"There were still tensions, especially among the younger guys," said
Clarkson. "When Outlaws came around, you could tell they didn't like
it."
Fears the Angels and Outlaws would wage war over Niagara were
extinguished in 2002, at the grand opening of the Angels' clubhouse on
Darby Road in Welland.
One of the guests of honour was none other than Mario Parente,
president of the Outlaws.
"Parente and Skinny go back years. They had known each other forever,"
Clarkson said.
"When Parente showed up, a lot of the younger guys were upset. But he
was Skinny's friend so there was nothing they could do about it."
The Outlaws soon wouldn't matter to the Niagara Angels
anyway.
A few months after Parente was welcomed at Darby Road, Clarkson and
scores of cops shut down the gang in a joint-forces operation. Outlaws
across the province were arrested, including Parente.
The gang's St. Catharines clubhouse was seized by police. It sits
rusting until the courts decide what to do with it.
"They were not fighting with the Outlaws, but I am sure the Angels had
nothing but smiles on their faces when we did that," Clarkson said.
"One less thing for them to worry about."
There were no rivals left. Niagara belonged the Hells
Angels.
Whatever traditions were ignored in giving Ward membership, he proved
to be a valuable asset to the gang.
Clarkson estimates that under Ward's leadership the Hells Angels
controlled about 75 per cent of the drug market in Niagara. His
connections to the local cocaine trade brought in easy money by the
tens of thousands of dollars.
The quality of his coke and the patch on his back expanded Ward's
criminal corporation beyond the region's borders.
Men like Steven Gault, a fellow Hells Angel from Oshawa, made regular
pilgrimages to Niagara for a score.
Gault met Ward in 2005 at a Hells Angels ride to Prince Edward Island.
With a criminal record spanning 18 years, Gault had been convicted of
fraud, assault and issuing death threats. During what he would later
call a "consensual bar fight," Gault bit off a chunk of another man's
ear.
He was right at home at the Niagara clubhouse.
Ward often talked about his business with Gault, including dealing
with the annoyance of lesser criminals attempting to carve a piece of
the narcotic racket for themselves. Ward bragged to Gault about how he
shut down small-time dealers who were living off his table scraps.
"We don't often know what he did to those (smaller dealers), but they
ceased to be a problem for him," Clarkson said. "That just shows you
how powerful the image of the Hells Angels is. The patch carries a lot
of weight."
The local Angels quickly became part of the international fraternity
that wore the winged death's head. Greetings and visitors from
chapters around the world flooded in. Wagner, Ward's chief lieutenant,
proudly posed for a photo with the most famous Angel of all -Sonny
Barger, the California biker who played a major role in shaping the
gang.
Barger was once described by author Yves Lavigne as the Lee Iacocca of
the Hells Angels, shaping it from a gaggle of punks into a criminal
corporation.
Although they spoke of themselves as a unbreakable band of brothers,
local membership waxed and wanned. By 2006, half the original members
quit or had been drummed out.
The Angels rulebook said a minimum of six men are needed for a club to
remain open. But good help is hard to find, even in the underworld.
"Well, actually there was only three of us down here. Me, Kenny
(Wagner) and Tim (Panetta)," Ward complained to Gault. "I'd like to
put good, more good guys around but, f-- -, it's hard to find good
guys."
Ward got three new Angels, but they weren't his people: Peterborough's
Jason (One Eye) Meyer -the nickname is literal -Johnny Cane, from
Kitchener, and Donny Bachenski of Jarvis, Ont.
While he bristled at using outside help, Ward's business pushed on
unfettered.
Like a smart CEO, Ward knew how to delegate. He rarely handled drug
transactions personally, ordering Wagner to do it, who in turn used
his own minions for the dirty work.
Even in Ward's home on Quaker Road in Welland he was on his
guard.
"Be careful what you say on this phone," read a sticker on his
portable phone.
The cops weren't much of an issue. Ward and Clarkson sometimes got
into shouting matches when the biker cop would roust Hells Angels
after-hours club parties. But the drug money kept flowing. Ward felt
untouchable behind the fortified walls of the clubhouse, surrounded by
his outlaw bothers.
But hubris is a dangerous thing, and Hells Angels traditions exist for
a reason. Letting the rules slide to conquer Ontario had opened the
door a crack for police.
Ward didn't know it, but one of his brothers had already accepted 30
pieces of silver.
[sidebar]
THE FACTS
The world of the Hells Angels comes complete with its own symbols,
phrases and terminology that might seem obscure, even
incomprehensible, to those outside the outlaw biker subculture. Here
are some of them:
AFFA: Found on Angels patches, bikes and clothing. It stands for Angels
Forever, Forever Angels.
81: Often seen in phrases on clothing and websites, such as "Support your
local 81." 81 -made up of the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and the
first, A -is just a short form for Hells Angels.
Church: Nickname for weekly meetings held by chapter members to discuss club
business.
Filthy Few: A rarely seen badge stitched on biker vests. It is given to those
members who have killed someone with another Angel present as a witness.
Police say even those who own the patch do not wear it to avoid attracting
police attention.
666: Using the sixth letter of the alphabet, 666 is a badge that stands
for Filthy Few Forever.
1%er: The most commonly seen badge on Hells Angels vests and those of
other outlaw bikers. It is intended to demonstrate that the wearer
does not follow the rules of the other 99 per cent of society.
The death head: The trademarked logo of the Hells Angels, which
features a skull wearing a winged helmet. It is seen on the vests of
all full members of the gang. The Angels protect their logo
aggressively.
In 2003, the the Hells Angels website contained this
warning:
"The Hells Angels and Deathhead logo are trademarks owned by the Hells
Angels Motorcycle Corporation registered in the United States and
various other countries. Should we find you using any of these, we
will hunt you down and hurt you."
Prospect: A man who is being initiated as a Hells Angel. Prospects do not
wear the death head patch until they are accepted as full members.
THE RISE AND FALL OF NIAGARA'S OUTLAW BIKERS
Ontario fell to the Hells Angels in a single night. There were no
shots fired. No murders. No explosions.
But there was a party.
In December 1999, years of diplomatic efforts and arm-twisting by the
Angels in Ontario paid off. In a ceremony in Sorel, Que., nearly all
of Ontario's 13 outlaw motorcycle gangs buried their own colours for
the winged death's head of the Angels.
The mass patch-over was an aberration in a culture that lives and
breathes tradition. It normally takes years for would-be Hells Angels
to get in with the gang. After that, at least a year spent as a
prospect member - a peon forbidden from wearing the Angels patch. Only
then can a man claim status as a Hells Angel.
But the Sorel ceremony was more hostile corporate takeover than
gangland tradition. By converting most of Ontario's bikers in a single
night, the Angels avoided the bloody battle for turf police had been
predicting for years.
The break from tradition was even more evident by the presence of
several Niagara men. They were not bikers. They had no colours of
their own to bury, but were going to become Hells Angels all the same.
Chief among them was Gerald Ward, a. k. a. Skinny. The others included
longtime friends and associates like Ken Wagner, known as Wags, and
Tim Panetta. Altogether, seven men, led by Ward, would become Angels
prospects to form the Niagara chapter of the Hells Angels.
Like the takeover of Ontario, Niagara was a special case. Carefully
crafted tradition designed to protect and insulate the Angels mattered
less than territory and power.
Niagara was unusual for another reason. Longtime rival gang, the St.
Catharines-based Outlaws, was already established in the region,
although by 2002 it was a shadow of its former menace.
The Angels and the Outlaws had signed a peace treaty the year before,
but former Niagara Regional Police biker cop Det. Sgt. Shawn Clarkson
said the old hatred still lingered.
And in the world of bikers, hatred often leads to bullets, blood and
bodies.
"There were still tensions, especially among the younger guys," said
Clarkson. "When Outlaws came around, you could tell they didn't like
it."
Fears the Angels and Outlaws would wage war over Niagara were
extinguished in 2002, at the grand opening of the Angels' clubhouse on
Darby Road in Welland.
One of the guests of honour was none other than Mario Parente,
president of the Outlaws.
"Parente and Skinny go back years. They had known each other forever,"
Clarkson said.
"When Parente showed up, a lot of the younger guys were upset. But he
was Skinny's friend so there was nothing they could do about it."
The Outlaws soon wouldn't matter to the Niagara Angels
anyway.
A few months after Parente was welcomed at Darby Road, Clarkson and
scores of cops shut down the gang in a joint-forces operation. Outlaws
across the province were arrested, including Parente.
The gang's St. Catharines clubhouse was seized by police. It sits
rusting until the courts decide what to do with it.
"They were not fighting with the Outlaws, but I am sure the Angels had
nothing but smiles on their faces when we did that," Clarkson said.
"One less thing for them to worry about."
There were no rivals left. Niagara belonged the Hells
Angels.
Whatever traditions were ignored in giving Ward membership, he proved
to be a valuable asset to the gang.
Clarkson estimates that under Ward's leadership the Hells Angels
controlled about 75 per cent of the drug market in Niagara. His
connections to the local cocaine trade brought in easy money by the
tens of thousands of dollars.
The quality of his coke and the patch on his back expanded Ward's
criminal corporation beyond the region's borders.
Men like Steven Gault, a fellow Hells Angel from Oshawa, made regular
pilgrimages to Niagara for a score.
Gault met Ward in 2005 at a Hells Angels ride to Prince Edward Island.
With a criminal record spanning 18 years, Gault had been convicted of
fraud, assault and issuing death threats. During what he would later
call a "consensual bar fight," Gault bit off a chunk of another man's
ear.
He was right at home at the Niagara clubhouse.
Ward often talked about his business with Gault, including dealing
with the annoyance of lesser criminals attempting to carve a piece of
the narcotic racket for themselves. Ward bragged to Gault about how he
shut down small-time dealers who were living off his table scraps.
"We don't often know what he did to those (smaller dealers), but they
ceased to be a problem for him," Clarkson said. "That just shows you
how powerful the image of the Hells Angels is. The patch carries a lot
of weight."
The local Angels quickly became part of the international fraternity
that wore the winged death's head. Greetings and visitors from
chapters around the world flooded in. Wagner, Ward's chief lieutenant,
proudly posed for a photo with the most famous Angel of all -Sonny
Barger, the California biker who played a major role in shaping the
gang.
Barger was once described by author Yves Lavigne as the Lee Iacocca of
the Hells Angels, shaping it from a gaggle of punks into a criminal
corporation.
Although they spoke of themselves as a unbreakable band of brothers,
local membership waxed and wanned. By 2006, half the original members
quit or had been drummed out.
The Angels rulebook said a minimum of six men are needed for a club to
remain open. But good help is hard to find, even in the underworld.
"Well, actually there was only three of us down here. Me, Kenny
(Wagner) and Tim (Panetta)," Ward complained to Gault. "I'd like to
put good, more good guys around but, f-- -, it's hard to find good
guys."
Ward got three new Angels, but they weren't his people: Peterborough's
Jason (One Eye) Meyer -the nickname is literal -Johnny Cane, from
Kitchener, and Donny Bachenski of Jarvis, Ont.
While he bristled at using outside help, Ward's business pushed on
unfettered.
Like a smart CEO, Ward knew how to delegate. He rarely handled drug
transactions personally, ordering Wagner to do it, who in turn used
his own minions for the dirty work.
Even in Ward's home on Quaker Road in Welland he was on his
guard.
"Be careful what you say on this phone," read a sticker on his
portable phone.
The cops weren't much of an issue. Ward and Clarkson sometimes got
into shouting matches when the biker cop would roust Hells Angels
after-hours club parties. But the drug money kept flowing. Ward felt
untouchable behind the fortified walls of the clubhouse, surrounded by
his outlaw bothers.
But hubris is a dangerous thing, and Hells Angels traditions exist for
a reason. Letting the rules slide to conquer Ontario had opened the
door a crack for police.
Ward didn't know it, but one of his brothers had already accepted 30
pieces of silver.
[sidebar]
THE FACTS
The world of the Hells Angels comes complete with its own symbols,
phrases and terminology that might seem obscure, even
incomprehensible, to those outside the outlaw biker subculture. Here
are some of them:
AFFA: Found on Angels patches, bikes and clothing. It stands for Angels
Forever, Forever Angels.
81: Often seen in phrases on clothing and websites, such as "Support your
local 81." 81 -made up of the eighth letter of the alphabet, H, and the
first, A -is just a short form for Hells Angels.
Church: Nickname for weekly meetings held by chapter members to discuss club
business.
Filthy Few: A rarely seen badge stitched on biker vests. It is given to those
members who have killed someone with another Angel present as a witness.
Police say even those who own the patch do not wear it to avoid attracting
police attention.
666: Using the sixth letter of the alphabet, 666 is a badge that stands
for Filthy Few Forever.
1%er: The most commonly seen badge on Hells Angels vests and those of
other outlaw bikers. It is intended to demonstrate that the wearer
does not follow the rules of the other 99 per cent of society.
The death head: The trademarked logo of the Hells Angels, which
features a skull wearing a winged helmet. It is seen on the vests of
all full members of the gang. The Angels protect their logo
aggressively.
In 2003, the the Hells Angels website contained this
warning:
"The Hells Angels and Deathhead logo are trademarks owned by the Hells
Angels Motorcycle Corporation registered in the United States and
various other countries. Should we find you using any of these, we
will hunt you down and hurt you."
Prospect: A man who is being initiated as a Hells Angel. Prospects do not
wear the death head patch until they are accepted as full members.
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