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The fifth estate: The Road to Hell
Battling the Bikers> Printer Version
Broadcast
October 24th, 2001
On March
28, 2001, nearly 2,000 officers carried out simultaneous raids in 77 municipalities
in Québec against the Hells Angels. Read more about Operation
Springtime 2001.
The Police Commander: André Bouchard
Commander
André Bouchard has been on the Montreal
police force for 31 years and fighting organized crime since 1976.
He's worked on the morality squad, in narcotics and two years ago, he
moved to homicide. Over the years he has investigated biker gangs, the
Mafia and other organized crime organizations.
For 11 years he was in charge of a surveillance team that
was called in on numerous cases, and he was also a member of the Wolverine
Squad. Since March of 1997, Commander Bouchard has been chief of the Major
Crimes Unit for the Montreal police.
The Intelligence Expert: Guy Ouellette
Guy
Ouellette was the head of biker intelligence for the Quebec provincial
police, the Súrete
du Quebec. He was in law enforcement for 32 years. As one of the top
experts when it comes to bikers, Ouellette traveled across Canada to assist
other police forces with biker intelligence gathering and investigations.
Ouellette retired from the police force and now he's giving tips and offering expertise to a new group of officers: students at the Nicollette police academy in Quebec. He also teaches a course on organized crime.
Ouellette was a technical advisor for the CBC Television
series on Quebec bikers called The Last Chapter.
The Prosecutor: René Domingue
René
Domingue has more than 25 years experience as a crown prosecutor. He worked
on some of the most high profile cases including prosecuting the Hells
Angels for the Lennoxville massacre, where several bikers were killed
in a north Montreal clubhouse.
After the death of 12 year old Daniel Desrochers by a biker bomb he was asked to be part of a six man prosecution team that would advise the Wolverine police squad. He says he quit after he realized the job came without any budget or resources. Now he processes plea bargains and is an outspoken critic of the Quebec legal system.
The Crime Reporter: Michel Auger
Michel
Auger is a veteran crime/investigative journalist. His career spans 37
years. he worked at the fifth estate from 1979 to 84 and then went over
to Le Journal de Montréal
and has been there ever since, covering crime and the biker gangs in Quebec.
A year after being shot six times, Auger has written a book about the bikers. He says he wrote the book as a form of therapy.
In Attempt, Auger writes that the Hells Angels had plans to kill other prominent people in Quebec, including the former chief of Montreal police and a television journalist. The Hells Angels decided not to go ahead with the plans after people took to the streets following the attack on him. Auger's book also says Montreal police have long known the identity of his shooter, but that they lack enough proof to arrest him and the others involved in the attempt on his life.
Auger has written extensively about the bloody turf war between Quebec's biker gangs. He wrote an expose on the violent activities of biker gangs and the Mafia the day before he was shot.
If you have tips for the police: You can call the Criminal Intelligence Service Outlaw Biker Hotline at 1-877-660-4321.
the fifth estate:
The Road to Hell
Originally Broadcast on October 24, 2001
Updated in February, 2004
Timeline
of Terror - Battling the Bikers -
Bikers in Your Backyard
Story Update - Resources