Guilty verdicts at Bandidos murder trial
Last Updated: Thursday, October 29, 2009 | 10:31 PM ET
CBC News
Flowers and a cross mark the location where on April 8, 2006, the bodies of eight men were found in several vehicles near the small southwestern Ontario village of Shedden, south of London. (Dave Chidley/Canadian Press) Three men, including one so-called ringleader, were each found guilty of eight counts of first-degree murder Thursday in the killings of eight Toronto-area men linked to the Bandidos biker gang.
Three other men were found guilty of a combination of first-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the case.
"I think justice was served today," OPP Det.-Insp. Paul Beesley said. "You know, it just goes to show —and I want people to understand that — biker gangs are inherently violent."
The bodies of eight men were found on April 8, 2006, stuffed into four vehicles abandoned in a farmer's field in southwestern Ontario.
Wayne Kellestine, 60, Michael Sandham, 40, and Dwight Mushey, 41, were found guilty of eight counts each of first-degree murder. A first-degree murder conviction means an automatic life sentence with no parole for 25 years.
Frank Mather, 36, and Marcelo Aravena, 33, were found guilty of one count each of manslaughter and seven counts each of first-degree murder.
A sixth man, Brett Gardiner, 25, was found guilty of two counts of manslaughter and six counts of first-degree murder.
The six were convicted by a jury in Superior Court in London, Ont., in what is believed to be Ontario's largest mass slaying.
"Definitely this will be appealed, and we’re going to start with the appeal immediately," said defence lawyer Gregory Leslie.
The eight men killed are: George Jessome, 52; George Kriarkis, 28; John Muscedere, 48, the Bandidos Canada national president; Luis Raposo, 41; Frank Salerno, 43; Paul Sinopoli, 30; Michael Trotta, 21; and Jamie Flanz, 37.
Internal club cleansing turned to murder
The jury had begun deliberations Wednesday morning after hearing evidence from 70 witnesses in the case since late March.
The Crown successfully argued that the murders were the result of rising tensions between the dead men, who were all from the Toronto Bandidos chapter, and a probationary Bandidos chapter in Winnipeg.
Police say the killings took place just kilometres away from a farmhouse owned by Kellestine near the village of Shedden, south of London. A member of the Toronto chapter, Kellestine had become increasingly alienated from his local chapter and allied himself with the Winnipeg men.
The jury heard he had received orders from high-ranking Bandidos in the U.S. to strip the Toronto men of their gang affiliation and start a new Canadian chapter, but at some point in the days or hours leading up to the killings, the plan changed to mass murder.
The Crown's key witness was a man identified only as M.H., who became a police informant but was a member of the Winnipeg Bandidos and was at Kellestine's farmhouse the night of the killings.
Defence lawyer Clayton Powell said the verdict didn't come as a surprise because of the complexities of the case.
"Everybody ganging up on Mr. Kellestine. I thought that would be the result. I think he did, too," Powell said.
With files from The Canadian Press
