FORMER MOTORCYCLE CLUB PRESIDENT ACQUITTED

The acquittal of a former president of a Vancouver motorcycle club with
ties to the Hells Angels marks the second time in 15 months a Lower
Mainland biker has been set free by the courts.

The acquittals of Romano Brienza on March 17 and of Hells Angel Elie
Bruneau in December 2001-both on cocaine charges-come as a blow to police,
who lawyer Ken Westlake says are on "a mission" to prove every member of
the Hells Angels is a criminal.

"I think the notion of saying that the Hells Angels are a criminal
organization is complete bunk, in terms of what I've seen," said Westlake,
who defended both men, along with several other members of the Hells Angels
over the years. "There's obviously guys who create crime from time to time,
like any other segment of society-just like there are bankers and everybody
else."

In the Brienza ruling, the appeal court found the case to be "thin," while
in the Bruneau case, the jury reached a not guilty verdict in 20 minutes,
Westlake noted.

Brienza, a longshoreman, is a former member of the Regulators, a defunct
puppet club of the Hells Angels, and Bruneau is a member of the Haney
chapter of the Hells Angels.

"It is a PR war-that's really all it's about," Westlake said. "It's about
enhancing the image of police in the public eye, and telling the good
things, but covering up the bad."

Police don't comment on court decisions but Vancouver police Const. Anne
Drennan pointed out that two East End chapter members of the Hells Angels,
Ronaldo Lising and Francisco Pires, were sentenced recently to four and a
half years for operating their sophisticated cocaine business.

It was the first successful prosecution of the motorcycle club in B.C.
history, garnering front-page news coverage.

At the time, police held a news conference to comment on the lengthy
investigation and called the convictions a victory.

Westlake, who defended Pires and will represent him at his appeal in May,
said the police simply made "a big deal" over eight ounces of cocaine being
sold over a year. "You know how many cases go through the courts every day
where there's eight ounces of cocaine sold by non-Hells Angels?"

Police arrested Brienza and his wife, Maja Jurisic, in March 1997 after
finding four pounds of marijuana and a kilo of cocaine in their Coquitlam
house. The marijuana could not be connected to Brienza or his wife, and
they were acquitted on those charges.

Police found the cocaine in the saddlebag of a motorcycle, which led to
Brienza's conviction in January 2000 of possession of cocaine for the
purpose of trafficking. He was later sentenced to two and a half years.

The appeal court judges, however, concluded there was no direct evidence
that Brienza owned the saddlebag. Despite police claims that Brienza was
president of the Regulators at the time of his arrest, Westlake said his
client was only a member of the now-disbanded club.

Westlake also rejected claims that the Regulators were a puppet club of the
Hells Angels.

"Yeah, everybody on the planet is an associate of the Hells Angels. I don't
think it's accurate."