EX-BANDIDOS ASSOCIATE REWARDED FOR SNITCHING

A former Bandidos associate who snitched on fellow members during a
recent high-profile gang trial was rewarded for his work Monday with
a reduced sentence and ticket to a new life.

Jason Michel, 25, admitted to being one of several men involved in
the February 2005 kidnapping and torture of a rival drug dealer.

But he agreed to provide key evidence for the Crown against his co-
accused in exchange for a joint-recommendation of time served in
custody of just over two years.

Five men were convicted earlier this month and the Crown is now
expected to seek up to 12 years custody for their roles.

Queen's Bench Justice Holly Beard endorsed the plea bargain, which
now allows Michel to be relocated under the federal witness
protection program.

"The conviction of the other accused was unlikely without his co-
operation," said Beard. However, the judge warned Michel's actions
come with a steep price.

"This really is like a life sentence," she said. Michel will likely
always be "looking over his shoulder" because of his deal and would
become an instant target should he ever find himself back behind bars.

"If you are ever back in jail, you'll be like bait," said Beard.

Michel told jurors how the Bandidos committed a disturbing attack on
a 20-year-old man that wasn't for the faint of heart.

The victim owed money to the gang as part of an outstanding drug debt
and was lured to an inner-city residence by a so-called "friend" who
had been told of the pending attack by the accused.

Michel told court the man and his girlfriend were run off the road
and dragged from their vehicles into a nearby home by his co-accused.

They were separated and held in different parts of the house for
several hours, with the man being severely beaten and forced to turn
over money, he said. His injuries included fingers crushed with a
sledgehammer and having a tattoo forcibly removed with a knife.

"The events leading to this charge were horrendous," Beard said Monday.

"We don't expect this kind of behaviour in a civilized country like
Canada."

Michel told jurors he was serving as president of "La Familia" --
which he described as a "support" group for the local Bandidos
chapter -- at the time of the abduction. La Familia's job basically
involved selling cocaine on behalf of the Bandidos, he said.