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About 'Mom'
Boucher:
The notorious leader of the Quebec Hells Angels
was found guilt in the shooting deaths of two prison
guards in May 2002. The jury reached their verdict
after 11 days of deliberation.
The jury concluded that Boucher had masterminded
the killings of Diane Lavigne and Pierre Rondeau
in 1997. The Crown accused him of ordering the killings
in a plot to destabilize the justice system.
Boucher received an automatic life
sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
He appealed the verdict one month later.
About the Hells Angels in
Quebec:
The trials for the Hells Angels who were arrested
during Operation Springtime are slowly making their
way through the Quebec legal system.
The cases are proceeding in 'mega-trials' where
many of the former Hell Angels members are tried
together in a specially built courthouse in Montreal's
north end.
The first 'mega'-trial case ended in disaster in
July 2002 when the Justice Jean-Guy Boilard quit
because of a complaint filed against him by one
of the defence lawyers after months of testimony.
Quebec Superior Court judge, Pierre Beliveau had
to order a new trial. Several jurors had stepped
down from the case claiming personal hardship. The
trial had already cost some $2.5 million.
Finally, in March 2004, nine members of Hells Angels
were convicted of 26 counts of gangsterism, drug
trafficking and conspiracy to commit murder. The
re-trial lasted nearly one year and the jury reached
their verdict after 12 days of deliberation.
A second 'mega'-trial case ended more successfully.
In September 2003 nine Hells Angels members pleaded
guilty to lesser charges bringing an unexpected
end to the trial.
About the Hells Angels in
Canada:
According to the latest (2003) Criminal Intelligence
Service Canada report successful law enforcement
action within the last two years has effected the
Hells Angels network in central and Atlantic Canada.
Due to Operation Springtime in Quebec, many of the
six Hells Angels chapters lack the members and organizational
capabilities to maintain the scope of their criminal
networks.
In February 2004 police conducted another massive
sweep in Montreal and issued warrents for 63 Hells
Angels members. The bikers were charged with drug
offenses and gangsterism. It was the biggest raid
since Operation Springtime in 2001. (read CBC.ca:
Police
raid biker gangs in Montreal)
The Halifax chapter has been weakened with the arrest
of 4 of its members during Operation Hammer in 2001.
Several members have recently been arrested in Ontario,
but the province is still home to 40% of Hells Angels
members in Canada.
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