The Highway of Heroes

I just wanted to pause for a moment of silence as we recognize some of our real heroes who have fallen in the service of domestic peace. Eugene and Michele Uyeyama are the first heroes on the list.

Eugene Uyeyama was a police informant. He was murdered for exposing the Hells Angels involvement in a huge mobile drug lab operation in East Vancouver. As a result, he and his wife were murdered.

Now some will say how on earth can a police informant be a hero? Informants are rats. Well wait 'ill I tell ye. Look at what crack and crystal meth are doing to our society. People who sell crack and date rape drug are the real rats as are all who profit from it.

Just look at how Tony Terezaki beat addicts who owed money as well as the more recent enforcers who have started pushing women out of windows for drug debts in East Vancouver. They are below rats. That kind of violent cruelty needs to stop. Anyone who dares break the silence to protect the unfortunate victims of abuse are heroes because in so doing they put their own lives at risk.

So here's their tale: Two impeccably dressed hit men arrived at the front door of a Burnaby home bearing festively-wrapped gifts four days before Christmas 1995. Michele Uyeyama answered the door, peering over the safety latch to ask what they wanted.

They said they had presents from the "boys." She told them to leave the packages on the porch, but hit man Bobby Moyes said it was too wet. So Uyeyama reluctantly undid the chain and opened the door.

Once the door was open, Moyes said he stepped inside and stuck a gun in Michele's face. He told Mike to take care of her, then went down the hall and found Eugene Uyeyama in bed. They strangled the couple. Moyes then unwrapped one of the "Christmas gifts" to reveal a can of gasoline. He poured gasoline on the couple, left a flammable trail to the front door and lit it as they left.

Moyes described how he got the gun from the laundry hamper in the Coquitlam home he shared with Salvatore Ciancio, whom Moyes had met while serving a sentence at Ferndale for armed robbery.

Before Christmas of 1995, Moyes recalled, Ciancio asked for a favour : kill Eugene Uyeyama because he was believed to be a "rat" -- the term used by criminals to describe a person who cooperates with police -- after a cocaine shipment had been intercepted by police.

Moyes said he agreed to do it and it was arranged that a man named Mike would help do the "job." He said Ciancio wanted Mike killed at the house after the couple was murdered.

But Moyes said he did not kill Mike because things became screwed up. Besides, he said, Mike was watching him closely the whole time and things became so hectic he just wanted to get out of the house.

Here we have yet another case where a hit man was convicted of murder, yet the people who hired him was not convicted. This tragedy has happened repeatedly in BC. When bad judges refuse to enforce the law against the people who hire the hit men they are in essence pissing on a soldiers grave. It is as I have said before, treason.

Take note that Ciancio wanted Mike, the second hit man, killed at the house after the couple were murdered. That clearly shows who the real rats are. There is no loyalty among thieves. Take note that Ciancio was tied to the Hells Angels and I submit that the gift from the Boys was referring to the Hells Angels just as it has in other cases.

Agent 22 is a hero. Yes we have his real name and photo. We're not posting those out of respect so that he may hopefully not suffer the same fate as many others who have testified against the Hells Angels in court.

Margo Compton is another hero. She was a prostitute in a San Fransisco brothel called the Love Nest run by the Hells Angels. She had two daughters and wanted out. She testified against Otis Garrett who was convicted of running the prostitution ring on behalf of the Hells Angels. After the trial, Margo Compton and her twin 7 year old daughters were murdered for testifying against them.

Margo Compton did not die in vain. She put the corruption on the map. We knew the Hells Angels ran brothels in Vegas and Amsterdam where prostitution was legal but this was the first documented link connecting the Hells Angels to illegal prostitution. Her murder clearly explains why so many people are afraid to speak out.

Lisa is another hero. A guy with a camcorder went to East Van and started interviewing drug addicts and posting those interviews on Youtube. Lisa was one of the interviews. She was a heroine addict that pointed out the methadone program was not weaning her off the drug it was keeping her on it. She said the real solution is housing out of East Van. No doubt she will be punished by both sides for her testimony. God bless Lisa - a hidden angel.

I don't want to hear oh she's just a prostitute. How about oh he's just a John. Why is it that when men are sexually promiscuous they are studs and when women are sexually promiscuous they are sluts. One is no better than the other. Lisa is an angel. God Bless her broken heart.

Tony's Big Mistake

Tony's Big mistake wasn't selling and using drugs. Tony's Big mistake was using the Lord's name in vain. Jesus taught "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21

He explains that many will say Lord did we not prophecy in thy name? In thy name did we not cast out devils and do many might works? To which he tells us he will respond "I never knew you: depart from me ye that work iniquity."

I find Tony Terezakis' story bizarre. He sold drugs and video tapped himself beating drug addicts who had drug debts laughing yelling out Praise the Lord. Christ taught "inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me."

In essence Tony filmed himself beating Christ.

Paul did the same thing. He thought he was doing God a favour by stoning Christians. Then Christ confronted him and said "Saul, Saul why persecutest thou me?" Acts 9:4 From that moment on, Saul changed his ways and his name and became a powerful servant for good.

Tony can change. He's a big boy. But wearing a bling and using the Lord's name in vain won't do it. Coming clean by admitting what he's done and helping prevent the same thing from happening to others would be a start.

It's kind of strange how Juel Stanon took over Tony's old stomping ground and was shot dead a couple months after Tony got out of prison.

King David made a big mistake. David's big mistake wasn't adultery although that was big enough. David's big mistake was murder. Yet when he was confronted with that he confessed it and never turned back.

Anthony Terezakis

Update: Link to one of Tony's court cases

Big Tony is quite the character. He was a Hells Angels associate in East Vancouver who video taped himself beating drug addicts who owed money as he shouted Praise the Lord and spit in their face at the Cobalt and the American Hotel in East Vancouver.

One of his many co accused, Andrew Goosen, was sentenced to drug trafficking and assault. Goosen was represented by famous defense lawyer Matthew Nathanson who has represented Hells Angels in the past. Goosen, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of cocaine trafficking and one count of assault, the latter incident having been captured on a bizarre videotape produced by Terezakis.

"There is little, if any, evidence that Mr. Goosen took any steps in the drug trafficking without Mr. Terezakis' specific direction," concluded the judge. In May 2006, Terezakis was sentenced to 11 1/2 years in jail, reduced by five years for time already spent in custody, for his involvement in the case. He's out on statutory release.

After the criminal organization charges were dropped Big Tony agreed to plead guilty to operating a drug ring at the American Hotel in 2002. Also charged was Aviv Ciulla and Salvatore Ciancio from the 1995 cocaine seizures and mobile drug ring that extended into Kelowna and Winnipeg which involved the murder of a police informant. Praise the Lord.

Roberto Ciancio and the Hells Angels

Wow. Roberto Salvatore Ciancio has got off charges of cocaine trafficking and murder again thanks to two hung juries and two brain dead judges. The hung juries are a rarity. So tell me, isn't a hung jury when they can't come to 100% agreement?

Does that mean if a criminal's associates were to find one jury member and threaten their family, would that trial result in a hung jury if that one person voted no? Wow, who is this guy affiliated with?

Ciancio and Aviv Ciulla were charged with unlawfully conspiring to traffic in cocaine and possession for the purpose of trafficking after police made two major drug busts in September 1995.

On Sept. 24, 1995, police stopped a van travelling east on Highway 1 near Abbotsford and seized 135 kg of unprocessed, high-grade cocaine. On Sept. 26, 1995, a police search of a home on East 5th Avenue resulted in the seizure of 170 kg of high-grade coke. The prosecutor claimed that the men's finger prints were found on the drugs. That trial resulted in a hung jury.

In 2004, Ciancio was charged with seven murders, all of them drug-related, but the charges were stayed in 2004. In 2005, the Crown renewed two of those charges — first-degree-murder counts involving the slaying of an RCMP informant and his wife.

The December 1995 murder of police informant Eugene Uyeyama, 35, and his wife, Michelle, 30, were linked to the September 1995 drug busts. The Uyeyamas were strangled in their Burnaby home and their bodies set on fire.

After a lengthy trial, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Void in November 2006 found Ciancio not guilty of murder on grounds the evidence against him was unreliable, vague, confusing and inconclusive.

In June 2007, Ciancio was acquitted by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barry Brain Dead of conspiring to import 12 kilograms of cocaine into Canada. His co-accused, Allan Christopher Lees, was convicted.

Wow, who is this guy afilitated with? Well in 2003 A two-year police investigation - Project Ecru - aimed at cracking down on organized crime and motorcycle gangs in the Lower Mainland resulted in charges against 12 men, including an alleged Hells Angels associate, police said.

Anthony Terezakis, 43, the alleged Hells Angels associate, has been charged with instructing the commission of an offence for the benefit of a criminal organization - a drug ring - that allegedly used mobile laboratories to supply crack cocaine and heroin to a highly organized street-level distribution operation in the Downtown Eastside.

Well well well, Hells Angels charged with instructing drug dealers to supply crack cocaine and heroine in East Vancouver. Imagine that. Sure glad that publication ban has finally been lifted. So which drug dealers are pushing women out of windows anyways?

Benoit Guay

Well the news never ceases to amaze me these days. Benoit Guay was a former police officer in Montreal who turned serial rapist. There are several things about this story that concerns me. The guy was a police officer for 13 years before he was arrested for multiple armed rapes. That is a huge betrayal of public trust as was the Commander wing nut case.

The other thing that concerns me is the whole concept of statutory release after serving two-thirds of his sentence. As recent as last summer, August 2010, he was denied early parole because of his notable lack of empathy. He said "I will always be afraid of myself. This problem is something that will never go away."

Yet at the time the news reported that Guay will be eligible for release again at the end of 2010, when he will have served two-thirds of his sentence. Well here we are. As we near the end of 2010 the National Parole Board has ruled that Benoit Guay qualifies for a statutory release after serving two-thirds of his sentence. WTF?

The whole concept of statutory release concerns me. Statutory release basically means mandatory early release after two thirds of your sentence is completed. Kinda like mandatory minimum sentences only backwards. Statutory release automatically minimizes the penalty for violent crime by one third. That is wrong. Good behaviour means good behavior. It should not be automatic.

"Benoit Guay sodomized a 15-year-old girl. He sexually assaulted four others, mostly teenage girls. He used a gun to threaten victims into silence. He physically assaulted another three. For all this, including the presumed higher standard on police not to abuse the privilege of carrying a weapon, he received an eight-year sentence – at the Crown's request. By the peculiar math of Canadian justice, he is to be released to a halfway house at the four-year point."

That's another valid point. Peculiar math is right. He gets an 8 year sentence and the National Parole Board said he is due for Statutory release after two thirds of his sentence is complete. Well two thirds of 8 is 5.3 not 4 so how on earth does the National Parole Board figure two thirds of his sentence is half of his sentence.

The whole argument of Statutory release rises because they say instead of releasing a criminal straight into society, it's better to wean him in gradually through a half way house so we can keep an eye on him. That argument does have merit. However, the way it is currently used mocks justice. If someone is a dangerous offender with a high likelihood of re offending, you keep monitoring him. His release is conditional. Otherwise, the dangerous offender is not released.

We can argue about the death penalty until the cows come home. We can also argue about the fiscal cost of locking everyone in jail for every offense indefinitely. Yet two things are clear: We need to introduce mandatory minimum sentences for violent crime (murder, swarming and armed rape are violent crimes) and we need to do away with statutory release for violent crime. Period.

Those are two realistic steps that we can take that would protect the public without abandoning the hope of rehabilitation. Speaking of rehabilitation, we haven't heard from the balcony rapist in a while. No news is good news.

Kamloops double murder

Ken Yaretz and Damien Marks bodies were discovered in a shallow grave on a rural property in Kamloops May 27, 2009. They were missing since April 17, 2009.

Ken had ties to the Independent Soldiers. According to BC Daily Buzz Yaretz served a nine month prison sentence for drug trafficking in 2007.

Ken was with Jayme Russell when he was pulled over the previous summer. Jayme Russell was believed to be the leader of the Independent Soldiers in Kamloops. He was arrested for drug trafficking and was denied parole after serving one year.

Yesterday the police announced they were looking for a suspect in Ken and Damien's murder, Roy Frederick Fraser. The suspect turned himself in this morning in Burnaby.



Despite the fact that Yaretz had a documented link to the Independent Soldiers, police say they don't think that had anything to do with the murder. Much. Fraser had been growing pot in two out-buildings on the property, police said.

Marks and Yaretz disappeared on April 17, 2009, while moving into a basement suite on Schreiner Street in Brocklehurst. Marks' father, Robert Marks, said at the time the two men were heading to Knouff Lake to collect Yaretz's belongings on the night they moved.

Roy Fraser owned a trailer on the property at 9005 Finlay Road. Two bunkers found on the property once contained marijuana grow-ops. Neighbours claimed they had been under the impression the property was owned by the Hells Angels and that it had been used in the past as a marijuana grow op.

We know the Independent Soldiers are tied to the Hells Angels now. East Vancouver Hells Angels support gear was found with firearms at a grow op in near by Kelowna. Please tell me how that is not related.

Todd Tyreman

Here's a photo of Todd Tyreman on vacation in Mexico. Tell me, does Todd Tyreman know Cliff Montgomery the guy in Kelowna who was involved in that 100 kilos of cocaine bust? Does Cliff Montgomery know Glen Hehn? That would be an interesting association. Surely that would make them persons of interest or at least interesting people. Well one out of two 'ain't bad.

Maurice Boucher stabbed again

Maurice Boucher was stabbed in prison again last Saturday. Last time he was stabbed his attacker was stabbed 21 times by five other inmates who rushed to Boucher's aid. Like I said, the Hells Angels never fight one on one. Sad.

Vancouver gang war heats up

Not to flog a dead horse but it's obviously imperative to look at the root cause of the gang war if we have any hope of stemming it. A resurgence in daily shootings and executions has the public wondering if the gang war is starting again.

I had to chuckle when I recently heard a police officer talk about how things have improved since last year with all the gang related shootings. Maybe that meant the bad guys won and they eliminated all the competition I said. Well that was short lived because the shootings have started up again. So who's really to blame?

One thing is clear, the gang war is a fight over the profits from the local drug trade. Quebec had a long biker war that lasted many years which was the same thing - a fight for control of the drug trade in which the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine were the active participants. That is history.

It's interesting to note that the Hells Angels were actively involved in the Ontario Drug trade. Niagara was just the tip of the iceberg. In Ontario as well as back east, the Hells Angels were convicted of not only being involved in the drug trade but of using violence to take over the drug trade in smaller cities.

Take Prince George in BC for example. The Hells Angles control the drug trade there and are directly responsible for the drug related violence there. I'll admit the Hells Angels are very good liars. The spoof about just being a motorcycle club is no longer believable but their ability to create a massive maze of puppet clubs to avoid incarceration has been very effective at creating plausible deniability of direct involvement.

In Quebec they would say, it's not us it's the Rockers. But the Rockers sold drugs for the Hells Angels. In Winnipeg they would say, it's not us it's the Zig Zag Crew. But the Zig Zag Crew sold crack for the Hells Angels and paid dues to the Hells Angels for protection from other drug dealers. Things got so bad with the drug related violence in Winnipeg that they got the nickname Killerpeg.

When examining the historical origins of gang wars in Canada it doesn't take a brain surgeon to do the math. Winnipeg has indeed become the Rosetta stone for deciphering organized crime in BC. Agent 22 and Eric Sandberg. Remember Eric? Eric was from Winnipeg originally and met with agent 22 in Vancouver. Both were Hells Angels associates.

Eric Sandberg claimed he could acquire any type of gun the agent wanted and spoke of plans to "wipe out all of the competition in Surrey." He plead guilty to being involved in a Hells Angels drug smuggling operation and was sentenced to 5 years in total.

That little tid bit of information is of profound significance in determining the root cause of the Vancouver Gang war. The Hells Angels said they were ready to wipe out all the competition in Surrey and employ a vast maze of puppet clubs as well as hired hit men to do their dirty work while they sip champagne in a rich Kelowna neighbourhood overlooking the lake. For some, crime does pay. When they have ears and associates to take the fall for them.

BC Cars Impounded for 40 K and .05

The new laws in BC for impounding vehicles concerns me. Again I stress this is a BC law not a federal law that has been implemented by the provincial government with the lowest approval rating in the country. Speeding and drunk driving are bad. We all agree. Yet crime should be punished according to the nature of the offence.

Speeding kills innocent people. We all got a good laugh when two Hells Angels had their bikes impounded under the new legislation for speeding. Twice. Yet I might add their case was excessive speeding and reckless driving which endangered the public. I am not comfortable with a law that says the police can impound your car for a week for going 40 K over the speed limit.

People will argue that although the law says that it's more common for cars to be impounded for speeding more than 40 K over the limit. Well then the law should say that because more common means they do impound for 40 K which is becoming a burden on our over taxed policing.

Likewise with the drinking laws. .08 is the legal limit not .05. Changing the requirement from .08 to .05 will do nothing to get the drivers off the road that are drunk. Three drinks is over the limit but two drinks is not. Yet with the new law, two drinks is over the limit and they can impound your car for two drinks. That is nonsense.

An article in the Golden Ears Daily said most of the recent impounded vehicles in BC for drinking and driving were for people who blew over .08. They said most that means not all. That means some people had their cars impounded for blowing .05 which means they only had two drinks and their cars were impounded. That is not right.

Officers previously issued up to 40,000 24-hour roadside suspensions a year to drivers in the "warn range" of 0.05 to 0.08. Now they are seizing your car for .05 and giving you a criminal record.

Tom Stamatakis, president of the Vancouver Police Union claims the new law is stretching police resources and that Lower blood alcohol limits fail to target bad drunk drivers.

Right now we are faced with yet another Gordon Campbell tax grab. And they told us the NDP would be the ones who would tax and spend. Yet no NDP government has ever taxed and spent like Gordon Campbell or Brian Mulroney has. Isn't that ironic? Yet the NDP are endorsing the new laws just like they endorsed the MLA pay raises.

Maybe we should be more concerned with human trafficking and organized crime then possession of pot and driving at .05. Why is it we live in a province with such consistent political extremes?

Logic cries out for balance yet we throw caution to the wind and abandon sounds principles of balance at the first opportunity and rage from one extreme to the other. Well that didn't work so let's try this. Well that didn't work so let's try this. How about extremism didn't work so let's try balance. Wouldn't that be novel.

Rehabilitation in Prison

The Judicial Town Hall meeting in Abbostford will be broadcast on Shaw Cable’s Channel 4 on Oct. 24 at 2 pm. I'm hoping someone will tape it so we can youtube Steve Brown and Judge Wallace Craig's statements which I anticipate will be highly relevant.

The Abbotsford Mission Times ran a photo of one concerned citizen sporting the new "Revolving Door Makes Judges Accomplices" T-Shirt that has become so popular here. Obviously a lot of people here are concerned with organized crime and the lack of judicial accountability.

Judge Craig has been a pioneer who has cited case law in defending the public's right to criticize judges in a democratic system. The Times reports that he spoke about how the concept of rehabilitation has been misinterpreted by the courts.

Craig said the concept of rehabilitation has replaced the idea of penal consequence when it comes to sentencing, and described it as an abstract process where judges try to transform evil into docility and tractability.

"Each time a judge fails to grasp the enormity of a violent act and chooses rehabilitation rather than punishment," Craig said, "the victim becomes the proverbial lamb being sacrificed on the altar of rehabilitation."

Strong words and truthful words yet I would like to make a distinction. There is absolutely nothing wrong with rehabilitation of prisoners. Indeed that is the ideal to which we all should seek. A privatized prison that is mandated to make a profit has no concern for rehabilitating prisoners.

The problem arises as Judge Craig has pointed out, when courts twist the concept of rehabilitation to simply mean avoid or minimize any penal consequences. I heard a judge once say in the sentencing of a young offender for a very violent crime that the law has no provision to apply a sentence as a deterrent to crime. I thought to myself, you have got to be kidding. If the law doesn't have that provision it certainly should.

As a result we live with the other extreme where people who commit very violent crime have no real consequences and don't serve lengthy prison sentences. We need mandatory minimum sentences for violent crime, not for the possession of pot. It's really that simple. You commit a crime with a firearm and you get a mandatory minimum sentence. More than if you had committed a crime without a firearm.

Steve Brown stated that his brother in law might still be alive today, if two of his accused killers hadn't had previous second-degree murder charges for the beating death of a 15-year-old boy in Port Coquitlam pleaded down to manslaughter with 18 months behind bars. That is a significant statement that needs to be addressed. How can someone charged with murder only get 18 months in prison only to murder again after the fact?

The Times reported that Brown thinks people should stop supporting an administration that enables criminals and called the province's restorative justice program a failure. Indeed, spending money on prisons and fixing our broken judicial system should be an election issue.

It is another area Gordon Campbell has failed miserably at. Yes the criminal code is federal, yet the judges in BC aren't applying the laws to organized crime in BC the same way they are in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba or other areas of Canada. This needs to be corrected.

If a drunk driver can create the toughest drinking and driving laws in the country, he can certainly create the toughest organized crime laws in the country. One without the other is insane.

Cop charged with Assaulting Hells Angel

Well this is yet another example of our pathetic justice system at work in BC. An off duty cop gets in a fight with a Hells Angel at a bar in Kelowna. 15 to 20 Hells Angels and Associates jump in and kick his ass. Then they charged the off duty cop with assault.

I don't know which is more pathetic, having 15 to 20 guys jump in the fight or charging a cop with assault in a consensual fight. Do the Hells Angels ever fight one one one? Of course not. The purpose of joining a gang is so you don't have to fight one on one.

Here's the law: If an off duty cop or anyone else walks up to a Hells Angel in a bar and says "Do you want a fight?" and the Hells Angels says yes through word or deed, then that is a consensual fight not an assault. If he said no and the cop sucker punched him, that would be an assault. A Hells Angel charging a cop with assault for chest bumping him in a bar is absolutely pathetic. What next? Is the Hells Angel gonna hit him with his man purse? It's just the continued saga of the bully playing the victim.

Back in the day the Hells Angels had the reputation that one Hells Angels could take on five grown men. Not any more. Now the Hells Angels have the reputation of being bullies and if you look at one the wrong way, 15 of them will jump one guy and give him the boots. There is no L and R there. Just Hate and Disgust.

This case should have been thrown out a long time ago and never gone to court. The Hells Angels should be embarrassed for having so many guys jump in the fight and they should be embarrassed for charging a cop with assault. Whatever happened to "I don't dial 911?"

Mind you if they're not embarrassed walking around with their man purses they sure won't be embarrassed about not fighting one on one.

Yet having our judicial system cater to these known drug dealers like puppets on a string is the biggest embarrassment of all.

Drug Overdose in Maple Ridge Prison

Well we all know there are drugs in prison and we know there are drugs in the Maple Ridge Prison. Peter Adiwal was caught selling drugs there and received no extra time on his sentence. Now the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre in Maple Ridge claims a recent drug over dose in prison is the result of over crowding.

I agree over crowding in BC prisons is a problem ever since Gordon Campbell stopped funding prisons to pay for his two huge raises and his gold plated pension but how on earth is that the cause of drugs in prison? England has a problem with drugs in prison. It's because of corruption.

Corruption is how drugs can get into prison and are used in prison. A bad judicial system that gives no extra time for someone caught selling drugs in prison doesn't help either. The problem is prison guards. 2%, 10% 30% whatever the percentage is, that is the problem.

There is no reason we can't use drug sniffing dogs in our prisons here. Overcrowding is a legitimate problems as well but that is a separate problem. Gordo's prison tents are an embarrassment. How low can he go?

BC Rail Scandal shut down

One thing the Commander wing nut case has taught us is that corruption can enter anywhere. It can enter the military, the police, the judicial system, politics and even the CIA. Especially the CIA. With politics it's a given. Regardless of the party. Now we have an abrupt end to the BC Rail scandal with two MLAs pleading guilty which in turn shuts down any investigation into Gordon Campbell.

Everyone knows Gordon Campbell is a liar. He has the lowest approval rating of any premier in Canada rivaling Brian Mulroney before he left office. Gordon Campbell was recorded on tape campaigning against the MLA's gold plated pension, yet he brought it in along with two huge pay raises once he was elected.

Politics is the only place where dishonesty is not only tolerated, it's expected. There is not a snowball's chance in Hell Gordon Campbell didn't know what his caucus was doing with the sale of BC Rail. His party used stall tactics to delay the trial as long as possible.

Now Campbell has the outrageous audacity to blame his two MLAs and pass the buck by saying "They" waisted millions of taxpayers dollars by maintaining their innocence. They maintained their innocence and cut a deal to cut the proceedings short to save him not themselves.

When he said "These people are criminals," that would include him. There is no doubt he is the biggest criminal of them all. And the most dishonest. Do we really want to put him in in charge of his own provincial police force? I don't.

Colonel Thong

I realize this has nothing to do with gangs or organized crime but this case is so bizarre something needs to be said. Colonel Russell Williams former high ranking military official plead guilty to 88 charges including the rape and murder of one of his personnel. I realize he made a suicide attempt while in custody but it's hard for me to have sympathy for the guy.

Although he is obviously a very sick man, the rape and murder of one of your own military personnel is treason. Back in the day that kind of betrayal was punishable by firing squad.

The absolutely bizarre part is how he broke into a huge number of homes and stole women's underwear. He had them all categorized in his garage. Where and when he stole what from whom. He even took photos of himself wearing the woman's underwear.



Dude that is just plain nasty. It's not like he was gay. He had a wife and he committed rape on a women. He was just freaking weird. Like totally. How on earth did this guy rise so high in military command? It is difficult to comprehend.

Claude Berger

On a more positive note, this is one someone from Quebec sent me. It's about a Hells Angel with talent. Well, former Hells Angel named Claude Berger.

My French needs help but it would appear that in 2002 he was arrested for threatening a judge. As a result he was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

He was a former trumpet player with the Quebec Symphony and a former professor of music at Sherbrooke College. He claims that since 2002 he has no longer been with the Hells Agnels. Now he's a street musician and sells his own CD's. He does a great Louis Armstrong.



He is very talented. I respect that. Someone asked me if there was such a thing as a former Hells Angel. Implying that if you leave the group they will kill you. I don't know the answer to that question. I hope so. If the Hells Angels want to improve their image they have to start letting people go. Salut Claude. Tout le meilleur.

Kelowna Weasel

Here's another strange one. Here's a guy in Kelowna named Sylvain Laroche (Buk) who claims to be a member of the Hells Angels. He's from Quebec but claims to be from the Scarborough chapter and has a plaque from them.

He was convicted of impaired driving when he crashed his Harley in September of 2006. That wasn't his first conviction of impaired driving. Well get this, take a look at the logo on the shirt he's wearing. It's Weasels USA. I'm told he claims that's a puppet club for the Hells Angels International yet I find that hard to believe.



They claim to be a drinking club with a motorcycle problem. Take a look at the Weasels' motto called Hymn 69. Bragging about that is really bizarre. Sylvain is from Quebec. The French are known for being passionate lovers not rude pigs. What happened?

Get this. Kai Raecke wrote their bylaws in 1996. Kai Raecke is on the advisory Council for the Las Vegas 2010 BikeFest. He's listed as the Associate Editor for Easyriders Magazine. Easyriders? That's huge.



Nevertheless, it appears pretty clear that the Weasels aren't an MC they're just a drinking club. Apparently they've even been given a hard time from other MCs. It's kind of bizarre how a group of guys aren't allowed to make a t-shirt and form a club without having to approve everything through the Hells Angels or some other OMG.

I am told the Weasels formed a club in response to the group of rich motorcyclists who call themselves the Hamsters. Peace.

More Hells Angels speeding recklessly

Speeding is one thing, reckless driving is another. When I saw this new video I thought they were just replaying the last one and we just didn't hear that one of the bikes crashed. Not so. It appears that this is yet another video of two Hells Angels speeding excessively and driving recklessly a couple weeks after the last video was made public.

This is really bizarre. Motorcycle awareness is all about driving responsibly. It's not about driving like a crazed teenager on drugs. This kind of behavior gives all motorcyclists a bad rep not just Hells Angels. Running stop lights, driving on the wrong side of the road against traffic. It's no wonder one of the guys ended up crashing his bike.

It's like the idiot who died in Nanaimo. A young driver was changing lanes and didn't see a biker in his blind spot. When he did see the bike he stopped his lane change and returned to his lane. The biker pulled up beside him and started scowling at the young driver, missed a turn in the road and killed not only himself but his passenger as well. Absolutely senseless.

It is unwise for a car or a motorcycle to cruise in someone's blind spot. Now we have Hells Angels driving like maniacs still playing the victim and cry about the media picking on them. CBC, the Vancouver Province and the Burnaby Now failed to mention the fact that the second video was of Hells Angels. That's bizarre. And of course it's obvious I have mental problems because I do mention the fact that they are Hells Angels. Whatever.

Another motorcyclist was caught on camera driving recklessly and crashing in Abbotsford. Driving recklessly is irresponsible. Oh and here's another one:

Three grown men on motorcycles terrorize a female paralympian in Nanaimo. No charges were laid. These dirt bags are out of control. The woman was not in the wrong. She was behind one motorcycle and she was distracted by two other motorcycles that came roaring up behind her. She realized she was a bit too close to the motorcycle in front of her so she put on her brakes. Putting on your brakes is not reckless driving. Doing what these idiots did is. They should be charged with uttering threats and reckless driving. Not to do so is shameful.

East Vancouver Harm Reduction

A blog reader posted a few links in the comment section and I wanted to discuss and link to them directly. It's another look at harm reduction. It's a look inside ourselves that forces us to ask ourselves what are we and what do we endorse?

Vancouver's Drug Nightmare

HARM REDUCTION GONE BAD

the Harsh Reality of Drug Addiction

East Vancouver Darkness - Lisa

methadone heroin interviews

Looking at the videos is a glimpse inside the Downtown East side. I say glimpse because most there don't like cameras or to be photographed. Yet all one needs to do is to walk downtown with a camera on welfare night stepping over all the bodies on the ground to realize something isn't working. This knowledge begs for social justice.

Each addict has a story. Many have experienced horrible events and use drugs to escape those haunting memories for temporary relief which in turns compounds the problems and the misery. Looking at the situation, one is filled with compassion for the addict. Beat cops are essential yet the hunter looking for prey attitude isn't the right one unless it's directed at the drug dealers not the addicts.

The dealers are the ones profiting from the misery. They are the ones pushing women out of windows for drug debts. If a beat cop is a hunter looking for prey surely the hunt isn't a long one. Install cameras outside Carnage centre and arrest all the drug dealers. Don't beat the addicts. They have been beaten enough.

I remember the memorial of a Canadian solder from Edmonton who died serving in Afghanistan. His name was William Turner. They said he was the kind of guy who would say "Hi my name is Bill. I'm here to help." That is the kind of soldier we need walking the beat in East Van. One who doesn't kick the cat and arrests dealers.

Captain Trevor Greene was wounded in Afghanistan and has a moving recovery story. Some criticize him of being naive for removing his helmet and speaking with the elders. I say not. I just think he should of had one of his fellow soldiers watching his back while he spoke with the elders. He was attacked from behind with an axe.

He wrote a book about the missing women in East Van before he went to Afghanistan called Bad Date, The Lost Girls of Vancouver's Low Track. Harm reduction needs to change. Inspector John McKay is a good man. Follow him.

Through a Blue Lens

Tears for April

Stolen Lives

Laura Szendrei's Father

I was going to write about the Laura Szendrei murder even though it had nothing to do with organized crime because it was so outrageous. A pretty young girl beaten to death in broad daylight for no reason. No enemies. No sexual assault. No sense.

Then we heard that Hells Angels showed up at the funeral in coulours and were caught on video racing through traffic in colours at high speeds. Whenever the Hells Angels do anything with colours on it raises red flags. No different than if the UN, Red Scorpions or Independent Soldiers were to attend a funeral in their gang colours.

Then we hear that not only does the father happen to have a few friends who are Hells Angels, he was photographed posing in East Van support gear. We all know that when people pose with Hells Angels or Hells Angels support gear on facebook, it has real meaning in the world of organized crime.

Now this picture is innocent enough. He's posing with his daughter for a photo with a few of her friends and happens to be wearing support gear. However, someone sent the Vancouver Province a photo which they posted in their printed edition, not on the web site which was very different.

In that photo he was standing above his daughter and some of her friends who were sitting at a table. He was clearly posing and showing off his support gear as he was scowling at the camera trying to look mean. It was somewhat bizarre. Why on earth would a grown man idolize an organized crime group and brag about it to a group of young girls. Strange indeed.

I can understand some of the outrage the vocal pr reps for the Hells Angels have expressed over speculation over their involvement in the murder. However, they have to accept responsibility for what the group they support does and the knee jerk reaction that group creates within the public whenever they parade around in colours trying to intimidate people.

If you want to go to a funeral to support a friend's loss then feel free. But don't wear gang colours at the funeral. That is disrespectful. Gangs do that as a sign of support implying that their gang will retaliate which in turn implies that the motive for the funeral was gang related.

Now I will admit, notwithstanding the Hells Angels presence at the funeral and the father posing in support gear, I think it is unlikely the Hells Angels were responsible for her murder. I think it's more likely they were trying to send a message to her murderer. Although I say unlikely, it's still very strange.

Did Hells Angels show up at Juel Stanton's funeral? I know they showed up at a UN funeral where they were accused of hiring someone to commit the murder. The Hells Angels are such compulsive liars it's hard to know what the truth is even on the rare occasion they may be telling it.

The bottom line is that this murder is yet another local tragedy. Losing a child to murder is horrible. Someone knows something. If you know anything about Laura Szendrei’s murder, Geoff Meisner’s murder or Lindsay Buziak’s murder, please contact the police or call Crimestoppers at 1 800 222-8477.

Suspect arrested in Laura Szendrei's murder

Newspaperman assaulted by police trial

Well we've heard the story. Three drunk off duty police officers attacked a newspaper deliveryman in Vancouver and assaulted him. Now the case is coming to trial.

I was initially concerned the Delta cop wasn't charged at all when all along the claim was all three police officers beat him. The cab driver confirmed the two cops he gave a ride to jumped out of his cab and helped the other off duty cop on scene beat down the man who pleaded for them to stop.

This is the kind of thing that tarnishes the police and weakens public trust.

100 Kg of Cocaine seized in Kelowna

Well police announced at the press conference they seized 100 kg of cocaine in Kelowna. Indeed that's more than the 9 kg seized from David Giles and his associates and the 52 kg in Glen Hehn's storage locker but not as much as the 275 kg recently seized in Vancouver or the 2 1/2 tons from a boat bound for the Hells Angels. The 100 kg seizure is the largest in Kelowna. Just goes to show how large that 2 1/2 ton shipment was.

Two locals from West Kelowna were arrested and of course someone from Surrey had to be involved. I am a bit confused about the Mexican cartel connection though. On the news it said the cocaine came from Argentina and flew to Miami then to Vancouver. It would appear that it bypassed Mexico completely.

Although a Mexican was among those arrested, people from Argentina don't like to be called Mexicans. In fact no one in Latin America does. MS 13 were from El Salvador. Mexico think Argentina are snobs and Argentina think Mexican are second class citizens of Latin America. It's a shame really.

No word on what gang was bringing in the cocaine. Again. I find that odd. Drug busts in Victoria today too. Maybe CSIS is throwing the dog a few bones so Richard Barszczewski's contacts keep their job during contract negotiations.

Carol James' Leadership

Well there appears to be some minor rumblings over Carol James' leadership. That reminds me of when Gordon slime ball Campbell stole the party from Gordon Wilson. Gordon Wilson was the one who put the party on the map. Before the televised debate with him, Rita Johnston and Mike Harcourt, the BC liberals simply didn't exist.

During the debate Rita Johnston was insulting Harcourt's manhood while Harcourt just stood there with an American Express card and a BC Care Card. They were bickering back and forth while Gordon Wilson interjected "There you have it folks. Now you can all see first hand why we get absolutely nothing accomplished in Parliament." He was priceless. That debate put the liberal party on the map.

Then Gordon Wilson had an affair with one of his MPs Judi Tyabji and he lost the leadership of the party to which the evil opportunist Gordon Campbell jumped at. Gordon Wilson ended up marrying Judi Tyabji I might add. I thought he was way better than the drunk driver that replaced him.

Carol James is a trustworthy competent leader. I trust her more than I trust others in her party and a million times more that Gordon Campbell. I was disappointed she caved in to selfish belligerent members of her party over the pay raise. One git threatened to leave the party if she didn't cave in on supporting Campbell's second proposed pay raise and gold plated pension so she caved in to save the party. She should have given that guy the boot and voted against the pay raise and gold plated pension.

That's why I say I trust her more than the Gordon Campbell opportunists within her party. Bruce Ralston and Mike Farnworth are trustworthy but I think they support Carol. To me she epitomizes dignity and respect. Her mission is to restore dignity to the elderly and the oppressed and in so doing restore dignity to the disgraced province.

The same old stereotype is what scares people away from the NDP: the right claims the NDP will tax and spend us silly. Me thinks Gordon Campbell and Brian Mulroney did a fine job at that. It was refreshing to hear Bill Vandersalm speak at an anti HST rally in Vancouver. He spoke about the importance of education and other social programs and I shook my head and wondered if I was listening to the same Bill Vandersalm we had known.

Carol James spoke after him at the rally and thanked him for his support of the campaign against the HST and for his contribution to politics. She said he was the reason she got involved in politics when he started making dramatic cuts to education. I had a chuckle at that since I remember it well. The slogan from the teachers was "Stop Vanderlism."

When all is said and done, I'd be much more leery of endorsing a new opportunist leading the NDP in the next election. Carol James has earned the spot and has carried it with dignity and competence. She came to the Chris Mohan memorial mass in Surrey herself. Lets hope she retains the leadership bid in the party's leadership convention.

RCMP Contract up for Renewal in BC

I'm thrilled with the news of the recent large drug busts in Vancouver and Kelowna although I am skeptical about the timing. Large drug busts during contract negotiations with no known connection to local gangs. Suspicious.

Kash Heed is worried about RCMP accountability. Well isn't that ironic? What about his own accountability? Personally I don't see a Regional police force as the divine solution to all our problems. VPD and Delta PD have the same accountability problems the RCMP has.

Public accountability is the change that needs to be made not creating a new police force with no public accountability whatsoever.

Any policing changes coming from the Campbell government are suspect. They are the oxymoron of public accountability. Drunk driving charges now after two drinks instead of three? Brought in by a drunk driver himself who is railroading the HST against the democratic will of the people just like Brian Mulroney did with the GST?

Impound your vehicle for a week for speeding 40 k? Just because we have a provincial police force doesn’t mean it will be more publicly accountable. Not with the crooks we currently have in office.

The premier with the lowest approval rating in the country shouldn't be making any sweeping changes to anything other than himself. Kash Heed waving like some kind of hero standing next to Gordon Campbell while embroiled in his own scandal is somewhat bizarre. The RCMP has a noble history worth preserving. Only William Elliott in not the man to do it.

Kelowna Drug Bust tied to Mexico

Police announce they will reveal details about a large drug bust in Kelonwa tomorrow at a press conference which they say is tied to the Mexican cartel. Come on guys. We know the cocaine comes through Mexico but who was bringing it into the country? We all know who controls the drug trade in that retirement village.

East Van Town Hall Meeting

Speaking of Jim Chu, he just held a town hall meeting in East Van at the Carnegie centre in response to the sit in and public protests about the investigation surrounding Ashley Nicole Machiskinic's death. Activists claim she was pushed out of a hotel window and was murdered for a drug debt. They were calling on police to take her death seriously and the mistreatment of women in East Van.

Sounds like the police took a lot of heat at the meeting and locals expressed great concern over public trust in the police there. Jim Chu urged residents to work with police to end violence against women by reporting crime.

However, Daisy Kler of Vancouver Rape Relief said more than 70 per cent of women who contact the women's shelter never call police because they are afraid they will not be believed or have had a previous bad experience with police.

"Arrest the men doing violence against women," she urged Chu. Which is kind of hard if people don't report crime or give information to the police. Yet if there is no public trust, that's just not going to happen. Thus the dilemma.

Another woman, who lives in the Europe Hotel, shouted at the police chief as she recalled seeing a woman recently abducted by a man late at night but police refused to take her complaint, even though she had a licence plate number.

Jim Chu holding the town hall meeting was a good thing. Especially when local activists in the sit in were calling for a meeting with him specifically. That means they trust him.

The pushing to the ground of the disabled woman by an officer in East Van seems to be the tip of the iceberg. Many complain that police there treat the locals like garbage. Obviously if they report a crime and nothing is done about it, that is going to weaken public trust and discourage crime reported.

Some say that is a city hall initiative. I heard reports of police officers express their concerns that city hall started closing down the police station at night to suppress crime stats. That's kind of like closing down an emergency ward of a hospital at night.

Locals also expressed concern about the presence of Wally Oppal at the meeting and his appointment to investigate the Pickton inquiry. "I do not support you being the head of the commission," Radek told Oppal. "You didn't support us when we called for a public inquiry." She suggested Oppal is using the inquiry to boost his pension income.

I for one certainly didn't think he was a good choice to lead the inquiry. He was a former judge who publicly declared the judicial system in BC was fine and was soundly defeated in his re election bid. Public perception is he's a good choice to oversea the Pickton inquiry if the government wants to cover something up. Maybe he can oversea the Kash Heed scandal as well.

The whole meeting reminds me of an all candidates meeting that was held at First United during the civic election when the Woodwards Squat was on. Many locals expressed many concerns. One candidate expressed her concern over an NPA policy of having the police evict homeless from under bridges in the city. She thought that was cruel.

One of the people who had been evicted from under a bridge spoke and expressed his concern about having all his personal possessions stolen by the police as he was evicted. I cited the practice and asked where this police brutality will take us as a society. One candidate who was a former police officer got defensive and started to back pedal as he talked about the many accusations of the police assaulting members of the community in East Van.

I explained I wasn't taking about assaults when I was referring to police brutality. I was referring to the cruel practice of evicting homeless from under bridges and stealing their few personal possessions in a time when record budget cuts had seen a record number of homeless on the street. I said that practice was cruel and brutal then asked where will that kind of brutality take us as a society?

That was the year when the NPA was wiped out and COPE won a landslide under the leadership of Larry Campbell, Vancouver's own Da vinci. Although things greatly improved temporarily, some things went in the wrong direction and the over all situation has got worse. The Four Pillars program was about four pillars not one. Every time extremists from VANDU cited the four pillars they over emphasised the harm reduction pillar and ignored the other three pillars in the program.

The four pillars consist of Prevention, Treatment, Enforcement and Harm Reduction. Extremists completely ignore the enforcement and completely erase that one. All they do is scream harm reduction over and over again like spoilt brats demanding every drug under the sun at taxpayers expense. One officer referred to the program as the one legged horse. Four pillars will not support a building or a program if you only use one pillar. It’s like only using one oar in a boat designed for four. You just keep going in circles.

I'll tell ya what harm reduction is. Harm reduction is removing all the crack dealers from an area where addicts are seeking treatment for drug addiction. When an addict is seeking treatment and everywhere they go they have dealers in their face crying Crack Crack Crack like possessed ducks from an Alfred Hitchcock movie then that addict can't recover or have effective treatment.

We need to get over ourselves and stop suppressing crime statistics by making crime difficult to report in East Van. Reopening the police station at night would help. We need to end the brutality towards the homeless and we need to stop caving in to VANDU and start enforcing the drug laws that do exist by arresting the drug dealers outside the Carnagie centre (and Surrey Central). We need to stop kicking the cat and arrest the drug dealers not the drug addicts. They are the ones throwing women out of windows in East Van. That kind of violence needs to stop.

Spotlight on Prince George

One of the peanuts from the peanut gallery has repeatedly objected to my "obsession" with the Hells Angels. Well let's stop for a minute and look at the facts that we have on hand. Let's take a look at Prince George. We are told that no one sells drugs in Prince George without the Hells Angels permission.

The Hells Angels have a puppet club in Prince George called the Renegades. The Renegades were in turn in charge of the Crew who sold crack for the Hells Angels just like the Zig Zag crew did.

Only after the Crew started getting some bad press for cutting off fingers for drug debts many members of the crew crossed over to join the Independent Soldiers. Who as we know are not independent any more and are tied to Randy Naicker and Larry Amero of the Hells Angels. So in essence the crew crossing over to the Independent Soldiers was just a publicity stunt as the Hells Angles were still ultimately in charge.

It should then come as no surprise that the Crew, acting under the banner of the Independent Soldiers, have maintained their ruthless debt collecting tactics of hacking off fingers for drug debts. Yet their "rivals," the Game Tight Soldiers are also tied to the Hells Angels. Steven King, the leader of the Game Tight Soldiers was seen wearing a Renegades rocker riding with a Renegades patch member. So clearly the Hells Angels are tied to both groups and still run the drug trade in Prince George.

So when we hear of people dying in Prince George over drugs or getting their fingers cut off for drug debts or found chained in the basement of a crack house in Prince George getting tortured for drugs debts, clearly the Hells Angels are ultimately responsible and financially benefit from it.

That leads us to the nest question. If the Hells Angels run the drug trade in Prince George and are ultimately responsible for the drug related violence there, what about Dawson creek?

That's close to Prince George and we have been hearing sad tales of drug related violence there from people who claimed the Hells Angels were involved. Since the Hells Angels run the drug trade in Prince George logic would dictate they would be prime suspects for the drug trade in Dawson creek and the drug related violence there.

Then we have to ask, if the Hells Angels control the drug trade in Prince George and quite possibly Dawson creek as well, where else to they do business? We know the East Vancouver chapter are actively involved in Kelowna as that appears to be their retirement village. What about Ontario. We know the Hells Angels in Ontario were primarily involved in the drug trade. In fact their business was a violent bid to take over the drug trade in smaller towns once they were established in the larger cities.

Here's the obvious one. If the Hells Angels control the drug trade in Prince George and if the East Vancouver chapter has expanded into Kelowna, what about East Vancouver? Who runs the drug trade in East Van? If the Hells Angels are so determined to violently take over the drug trade in smaller towns, how can the East Vancouver chapter not control the drug trade in East Vancouver?

Perhaps some of the residents of Prince George will be empowered by the Gang task force's presence and their upcoming Gang Summit. Perhaps Dawson Creek will be the next stop on the tour. Hopefully some more tips start coming in so the cause of the violence can be dealt with.

Jim Chu saves the day

We all know the police have taken a few PR shots over the last few years. The most obvious one was the RCMP taser incident at the airport. What a tragedy. Obviously it was a mistake. Personally I have a problem with police getting a guy on the ground then tasering him over and over again while they already have him down. I would deem that to be a miss use of the weapon.

Nevertheless, we know the VPD have taken a few hits as well. Beating up the wrong guy when they responded to a domestic dispute comes to mind. The young cop that was caught selling pot on duty is another yet the RCMP just caught one of theirs for possession of pot. For me the cop pushing the disabled woman to the ground was the real shocker.

So here we have Jim Chu front and centre problem solving like he does so well. In response to the provincial government's proposed model for an Independent Investigation Office he has called for a greater role by a civilian body to investigate alleged crimes by police. I agree. Any appointed body is met with cynicism. Especially the new appointment to the RCMP. I think an increased role of a civilian body would be a healthy balance and help restore or build public trust.

No right to lawyer during interrogation

I'm going to have to process this one but it's another example of the courts interpreting the charter of rights instead of the people. The court specifically noted Canadians do not have the same rights as Americans do during interrogations.

They claim the charter right to speak with a lawyer upon arrest doesn't mean the lawyer has to be present during the entire interrogation which is sometimes a very long process. I'm not sure what my position on the matter is off hand other than the observation that it means people have more rights in America than in Canada which I'm not sure I'm comfortable with.

I guess that's why the Americans torture people on foreign soil. I guess that means Canada won't have to send people to Afghanistan or Sudan to be tortured. Now they can do it right here. Hey maybe they'll move Guantanamo Bay to Canada.

275 Kg Cocaine Seized in Vancouver

Police seized 275 kilograms of cocaine in a recent Vancouver drug bust. Well that's more than the 9 kilograms of cocaine seized from David Giles and his associates Revell and Rempel. It's also more than the 52 kilograms of cocaine seized from Glen Hehn and his associates Ewan Lilford.

But it wasn't as much as the 2 1/2 tons of Hells Angels cocaine seized. No charges were laid in that case thanks to Richard Barszczewski.

And it wasn't as much as the ton of cocaine seized in Port Hardy. Interesting that the really large cocaine busts are never tied to a criminal organization. Much.