HELLS ANGELS EXPANSION IN ONTARIO IS DISTURBING

Biker outlaws: Trying to sanitize their image Biker experts probably aren't
far off the mark in predicting that the Hells Angels will try to sanitize
their image in Ontario this summer. The most notorious outlaw motorcycle
gang in the world does a good job of that already. Anyone needs only to
visit the various Web sites of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation to
see how the organization markets a slick array of collectibles -- T-shirts,
vests, hats, belt buckles, mugs, keychains, you name it -- as part of a
clever strategy to project an attractive facade to the public.

The Angels sometimes manage to hoodwink a few people as to what they are
all about. Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman provided ample proof of that when he
foolishly shook hands with a gang member at a Hells Angels convention in
January. Fortunately Lastman is in the distinct minority. Far from being a
publicity coup for the bikers, the incident stood out more as a public
relations disaster for Lastman. Even so, it was a reminder of the extent to
which the Hells Angels will go to project a veneer of sophistication and
success. We can brace for more when they descend on Niagara Falls for a
convention later this month.

It can be easy to lose sight of the criminality of gangs like the Hells
Angels when they stage loud, colourful events orchestrated to capture the
attention of the public and news media. They put on a dazzling show of
power, and generate big bucks for the tourism industry. Let's face it.
There has always been a certain fascination with the exploits of organized
crime, from the kingpins of the Mafia to the Hells Angels, and that's
unlikely to change. But as the police and experts in the field remind us,
we drop our guard on the Hells Angels and Co. at our folly.

Outlaw motorcycle gangs are now considered by the Ontario Provincial
Police, and many police chiefs, to be the No. 1 organized crime problem in
Ontario today. Biker membership and criminal activity have increased in the
Golden Horseshoe since the Angels arrived in Ontario in December 2000.
Police believe the Angels are involved in importing and distributing drugs,
trafficking firearms and explosives, extortion, fraud, prostitution and
money laundering. Fortified clubhouses are now a problem in an increasing
number of neighbourhoods.

As with the Mafia, there is a tendency to think that most of the damage is
done to the gangs themselves as they battle it out to seize and hold onto
power. But that's naive. The economic and human costs are staggering,
whether it is small-business people who are defrauded, individuals whose
property is stolen, and drug addicts whose dependency is made worse by an
illicit supply provided through the gangs. The task of prosecuting and
jailing criminal bikers is becoming more complicated and expensive.

Ontario, so far, has been spared the biker ordeal in Quebec, where a turf
war involving the Hells Angels has claimed about 170 lives in eight years.
But the aggressive expansion of the Hells Angels is disturbing, as are
warnings by some observers that Ontario will see a wave of biker violence
this summer.

So much for the mystique of the Hells Angels and their partners in crime.
The ugly reality is something else entirely.

- -- Gord McNulty

Editorials are written by members of the editorial board. They represent
the position of the newspaper, not necessarily the individual author.