An Ontario judge has ruled that the Hells Angels motorcycle gang is a criminal organization.

The ruling is important because it's the first time a judge has declared the group – as opposed to individuals – to be criminal. It gives the police more power to attack the organization, and could increase penalties for individual Angels by up to 14 years.




The case was the first to test the federal government's 2001 anti-gang law, which made it a crime to commit a serious offence for the benefit of a criminal organization.

Ontario police were pleased with the ruling, but the Angels are expected to appeal.

Judge Michele Fuerst of Ontario Superior Court made the ruling Thursday in a case in Barrie, Ont., involving two Angels who were accused of extorting money from a local businessman.

She concluded the men had used the gang's reputation for violence and intimidation as a tool because they'd arrived at his home wearing Hells Angels insignia.

The men "presented themselves not as individuals, but as members of a group with a reputation for violence and intimidation," Fuerst wrote in her ruling.

Steven (Tiger) Lindsay, 40, and Raymond Bonner, 35, were convicted for demanding $75,000 from a Barrie businessman because he sold them outdated equipment to steal satellite TV signals.