A bad day for the East Vancouver Hells Angels. Jean Joseph Violette loses his appeal for an extortion charge and Kim Bolan launches a new web site devoted to the East Vancouver Hells Angels called www.insidetheangels.com
The web site will be officially launched tomorrow and has a big countdown clock on it. She has however posted a preview video. The new site and six part series appears to be the result of interviews she’s had with the one and only Michael Plante. The one referred to as the Million dollar Rat in Neil Hall’s book about EPandora. Evidently that operation and testimony resulted in 12 convictions that lead to the East End Hells Angels.
Many people said the operation was a failure but it was far from it. It documented the Hells Angels connection to the drug trade and has formed part of the case to seize their clubhouse under criminal organization legislation. Kim Bolan was also on a documentary about EPandora called Outlaw Bikers IV Fallen Angels that was on History Television. I did cite part of that case in my chapter on the Vancouver Gang war in Alex Caine’s new book Angel Dust due to be released this fall.
I am pleased to see Bolan's new series; and disappointed that it starts with Mr. Plante.
ReplyDeleteThat whole story has already been fully told, and explored in a documentary you mention. It's old, old news.
That's all the media can show for the war on gangs after all these years, is going way back to the oft-told Plante..?
I see your point but I think any exposure is good. That trial was before I got involved so to speak and I think there's a lot there worth discussing when talking about the BC Hells Angels connection to the Vancouver drug trade. I think that whole bust that preceded the 1995 Christmas murder of the police informant and his wife is highly relevant. It showed the HAs were directly involved in the East Vancouver crack trade back in 1995. The local clubs didn't patch over until the /80's so it didn't take them long to take over the market.
DeleteIt's always this way, you can't really expect them to talk about what's being done against HA right now, that is Agent K's job.... ;)
DeleteEven stuff recently past, if discussed in enough detail can inadvertently offer clues to the opposition, threads that can lead forward to the present. Best not to do it.
In the future, I predict the bikers will move away from clubhouses, seeing them quite rightly as a huge justice-system nightmare and liability.
ReplyDeleteThere is a direct precedent; NYC's "Big Joey" Massino; who on taking over the Bonnano family, saw the social clubs as a same-style disaster; as every guy going in's license-plate sparks a new investigation. Massino shuttered all the clubs and forbade all open, non-furtive meetings or even dinners together.
You're probably right. Clearly with all these shootings in Surrey of Hells Angels rivals, they don't need a clubhouse in Surrey to shoot someone here. Yet I personally prefer they not have a clubhouse and be forced to go under ground. Otherwise it's just too much of a public show of defiance of law and order. I think we should get rid of TBarz. Being named in that US Indictment and still be in operation is quite an embarrassment. Especially when Randy Jones had it registered in his mother's name all that time.
DeleteThanks, you're right.
ReplyDeleteMe: "In the future, I predict the bikers will move away from clubhouses, seeing them quite rightly as a huge justice-system nightmare and liability"
ReplyDeleteThat is what seems to be happening; with the Head of RCMP & Watts saying they've told the bikers not to "set up shop"...run a Clubhouse for the new Surrey *West Point* group...
Mr. Ciarnello said they are already in "informally"...a move away from setting up a Clubhouse...
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