Walter Stadnick was said to have profited over two million dollars from
selling drugs  from just March 1999- December 2000. Justice Jerry Zigman decided
that Stadnick  would pay a hundred thousand dollar fine and forfeit his home.
Stadnick gave up  three vehicles including his Harley. Stadnicks wife reached a
deal with the  government that she could keep her house by paying fifty thousand
dollars  through a second mortgage. He had no interest in reducing his
sentence. He  figured he would be released between the ages of sixty one and
sixty four, and  since he had no more than a high school education and a
criminal record he could  not get a regular job. Though many Hells Angels are
behind bars, the Hells  Angels are still said to be solidly on the streets of
Canada. With thirty four  chapters in Canada, they are at the top of the
organized crime game. It is said  that Toronto has the greatest concentration of
Hells Angels in the world and  crystal meth is in huge demand. Stadniks legacy
lives on which may be more  important to him than anything else. There are said
to be over twenty two Nomads  chapters worldwide in places even like Brazil,
Finland and Nevada. As the Hells  Angels saved themselves by turning to selling
illegal drugs in 1965, they have  recently gone to legal means to raise funds.
They have opened many retail stores  selling support gear with licenced
items. They wanted to and are making good  money off of their product. Its
crazy to see what the "industry" of motorcycle  gangs has been through but it
has lived on, how long do you think it will  last?

Legal Connections
Crystal meth- Methamphetamine is in the class of psychoactive illegal drugs.
Legal Questions
Why are the Hells Angels allowed to sell their product? This is seen as a good way of making profit if that is what they choose they need to do because it is safe and contains no illegal activity. It prevents the need of the income to come from illegal drugs.

If it is obvious that the Hells Angels have lived on and are still around, why aren't the police doing anything big to stop the whole entire process? If the police were to try and stop the secretive process the Hells Angels would put up a dangerous war hurting and affecting more people than they do now therefore if the police do anything they have to do it discretely not making the Hells Angels mad and rebel with a big war.

In 2005, Stadnick's father passed away at the age of 92. The service was heavily
  armed with cops though it was limited to close friends and family. Walter 
Stadnick came to the service transported from the Special Handling Unit of 
Ste-Annes-des-Plaines maximum-security prison located 400 miles away. He was 
allowed da half hour private visitation with his fathers body. He was said to 
have arrived at about noon and was already on the road back by one o'clock. It
  would probably be his last time out of prison for a very long while

Legal Connections

 Maximum security prison- Maximum security prisons and Supermax are grades of high security level used by prison systems in various countries.

Special Handling Unit- The Special Handling Unit is Canada's highest security super-maximum prison. It is co-located with the Ste-Anne-des-Plaines Institution (maximum
security) and the Regional Reception Centre, at the Correctional Service of
Canada (CSC) complex at Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec.

Legal Questions
Are all prisoners allowed to leave for visitation? No. It depends on the situation and circumstances.

Who decides if you can go? The judge decides, and if they decide yes they also decide the duration of the visit.

After that trial, the defendants were separated into their level of involvement.
  The first 98 Hells Angels, members of puppet gangs and other associates were to
  be tried individually for crimes they had committed or for evidence found at
  their site of arrest. 17 Rockers were to be tried en masse for drug
trafficking,  gangsterism and conspiracy to commit murder. The last 13 all
Nomads and some  Rockers were also charged with drug trafficking, gangsterism
and conspiracy to  commit murder and 13 charges of first degree murder. From the
testimony of  Rocker Gagne and the former Rocker turned RCMP agent Sirois,
the prosecution had  managed to trace 160 more or less murders back to the
Nomads and Rockers.

Legal Connections
Gangsterism- A gang is a group of associating people
with identifiable leadership and internal organization, identifying with or
claiming control over territory in a community, and engaging either individually
or collectively in violent or other forms of illegal behavior.Gang
members typically have to prove their loyalty by
committing acts such as theft or violence.
First Degree Murder- a killing which is deliberate and planned

Legal Questions
What is a prosecution? It is the institution and conducting of legal proceedings against someone in respect of a criminal charge.

Is all gangsterism illegal? Many think it is illegal to be part of a close group called a gang, but it is not illegal until actual crimes are involved. When drugs or committing crimes are involved that is when the issue becomes serious.

The prison guard murder case was reopened. This lawyer had no intention of Baucher
  getting away. She studied the first trial of this case and found the problem to
  be that bikers in the courtroom intimidated the jury, Bouchers defense lawyer
  used his ample charisma and professional ways to seduce the jury and the judge
  also did everything he could to discredit the testimony of Stephane Gagne. This
  trial went different, there was a different lawyer, no one was allowed any sign
  of insignia, and Boucher and the jury were to be out of sights of all
  spectators. Larochelle was Bouchers lawyer. When he found a slight difference
in  what Gagne said in the interrogation room and in court, he turned
on the  witness. Gagne was accused of lying and explained he had been awake
for twenty  five hours when he had said that years earlier. Larochelle said that
he didn't  think he looked tired and Charbonneau insisted to see the tape. As
Gagne was  talking in the tape his head was falling into his hands, you could
see tired and  unfocused in his eyes as well. Larochelle had been shot down. When
the jury came  back in, the foreman announced that they had all came to a
decision except for  one, who did not know what "reasonable doubt" meant. On May
5th 2002, Maurice  Boucher was found guilty of two counts of murder for Diane
Lavigne and Pierre  Rondeau and an attempted murder for the shooting of Robert
Corriveau.

Legal Connections
Reasonable Doubt- Lack of proof that  prevents a judge or jury to convict a  defendant for the charged crime. The prosecution must provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt to establish the defendants guilt otherwise he or she is entitled to an acquittal
 
Attempted murder- Attempted murder is when a person has the intention of murdering someone but for some reason, the victim is not killed. Whether its because they ends up
surviving, or the perpetrator never got the opportunity to kill them, either way
they didn't die.

Legal Questions
Why were Boucher and the jury out of sight of all spectators?
The judge wanted them to be out of sight of all spectators because many bikers would have been in the spectator scene, and many of the jury's decisions would have been influenced by the intimidation of the bikers being there. They may have been scared that the bikers would come after them if they didn't say things in their favour.

What is insignia? Its badge or mark showing any membership of an organization. Bikers were always seen with these supporting whatever group they were tied to and a member of.

In specific, one of the bikers named Boucher was all for this plan and wanted to
  target the people he had the most hate for, that being prison guards. He turned
  to a young "thug" Stephane Gagne. He was a young guy who was obsessed with
  becoming a Hells Angel. He had personal hate towards prison guards as he had
  been abused by them severely so he jumped at this opportunity to do the dirty
  work for Boucher. He chose the nearby facility Riviere-des-Prairies which was a
  holding pen for maximum security prisoners who were on their way to court. He 
stealthily found a way to watch outside the prison and study, and eventually
  found a target. He chose a man who looked important, nice car and appearance,
  and followed him out to the highway after he was leaving his work one night
  because he knew the highway would be the easiest place to escape the crime
  scene. After following this mans Buick and the setting not being right as he
was  not driving in a rural enough setting, he got an urgent page to Bouchers
office.  He was told he was impatient with the results, and they would now be
working  together. Their plan was to follow a prison guard onto a Metropolitan
on a  motorcycle, kill him just before the bridge to Laval and then cross over
and  dump the bike in a mall parking lot and drive away in a stolen car. June
26th  1977 was the chosen day to carry out the duty and they picked the
most low key  bike to use. They were set and in proper position, and they had
their eyes set  on their target who had turned onto their planned out setting.
The minivan they  were following belonged to Diane Lavigne who was the first
women to ever serve  as a guard in Quebec and her father was a veteran prison
guard. They brought  their bike even with her van and Gagne fired his revolver
three times into the  open window. She was dead and they then dumped the bike,
burned their clothes  and took off in a stolen Voyageur. Danielle Leclair was
another  Riviere-des-Prairies guard who was driving a quarter mile behind
Lavigne. She  saw Lavignes minivan on the side of the road but never stopped.
They wanted  to do another similar killing, but it could have made it
obvious who the killers  were. They knew they still wanted their next victim to
be another security  guard. Gagne and Fontaine were the ones scoping out their
targets for this  murder, and on September 8th they carried out their murder.
They followed a  bus leaving from Riviere-des-Praries to pick up
prisoners and as the bus stopped  at a railway crossing, Fontaine shot at
the driver Pierre Rondeau and Gagne's  final shot killed him. He also shot
at Corriveau who was hiding under the  dashboard but all shots actually missed
him.

Legal Connections
Crime-Guilty mind and the guilty act, mens rea and actus reus. Carrying out the crime and having the intent to do so.
Perpetrator- The person who actually committed the crime.
 Legal Questions
Why might Danielle Leclair not want to be asked questions or contacted about the death of Lavigne?  She ignored the obvious fact that something was wrong when her friends van was on the side of the road and may not want to feel guilty for lack of help or guilty of not doing anything about the crime.

Who was the actual perpetrator in this case?
Gagne was as he was the one who pulled the trigger in the killing of Lavigne.

Since the Hells Angels couldn't find out who was telling the cops about what they
were doing, their plan was to make the cops too scared to do anything about
what they were doing. Under the plan, they would murder police officers,
prosecutors, judges and others who tried to get members of the Hells Angels
locked up. They figured this way there would be enough fear in the authorities
to leave the hells Angels alone and to make sure that if a biker was arrested
he would never be convicted.
 
Legal Connections
 
Mens Rea- "The guilty mind" demonstrates that the act was intentional,
  knowing, negligent, reckless or wilfully blind.
Criminal Negligence- wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of
  others sometimes causing serious injury or death.
 
Legal Questions
Was a crime committed in the making of the bikers plans? Though the guilty mind 
(mens rea) is present, the actual guilty act is not yet present (actus reus) 
therefore the crime is not yet fully committed.

How many different types of involvement in crime could the bikers be punished for? At least eight including Abetting, Accessory after the fact, Aiding, Attempt, Conspiracy, Counselling,  Party to common intention, and being the perpetrator.

The police were clued in to what was going on and in March of 2001, the RCMP, 
SQ, OPP, and local police forces from Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver, Toronto 
and Hamilton cam together to take on a war with the Hells Angels gang. There 
were warrants for a total of one hundred and forty two bikers including the 
Nomads, Rockers and Evil Ones clubs. The charges against them would include 
conspiracy, drug trafficking, money laundering, gangsterism and murder. On
March  28th police had conducted raids in more than two hundred locations in
seventy seven different municipalities, and one hundred and eighteen bikers had
been taken to jail. Police also seized very Manitoba, and British Columbia
arrested ten more bikers. The biggest names in Hells Angels were taken to jail.
The only Nomad the police failed to put behind bars that day was Stadnick. He
was conveniently in Jamaica when the arrests were happening in Canada. They
found  out where he was and the Jamaican Defence Force SWAT team were arresting
him in  Jamaica while his house was being searched back at home and then he was 
transported back home to jail.
 
Legal Connections
RCMP- Royal Canadian Mounted Police
OPP- Ontario Provincial Police
SWAT- Special Weapons and Tactics
Conspiracy- An agreement between two or more people to carry out an illegal act
 
 
Legal Questions
What is it called when you get arrested somewhere other than your home country and 
get transported back home? This is called extradition.
 
Was Stadnicks home allowed to be searched without permission? Yes. In this
case no  search warrant was needed due to the circumstances in looking for the
criminal  and evidence to their case.

Nearing the end of the year of 1994, the Hells Angels threw a party at the Sherbrooke 
clubhouse to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Sherbrooke and Halifax 
chapters and to honour Stadnick for his work as the Canadian president. It was
a huge event with almost all of the Hells Angels in Canada. As much business
went on at this party, Stadnick made an important announcement to his group, he 
announced giving up presidency because he was joining a new club. He announced 
the new club would be more than a chapter, it would be made up of veteran Hells 
Angels who had proven their value. They would work with Hells Angels and puppet 
clubs throughout the country. The Nomads were the name of this group, and they 
got groups like the Hells Angels to do their bidding because it would be too 
dangerous if they did it themselves.
 
Legal Connections
Drug Trafficking- the selling and distribution of illegal drugs.
Party to Common Intention- The shared responsibility among criminals for any 
additional offences committed in the course of the crime they originally 
intended to commit.
 
Legal Questions
Why would the Nomads want lower on the chain groups to do their bidding and such? 
Because the Nomads were the very top of the chain, if they ever got caught all 
would end and their market would therefore crash. If a smaller person got 
caught, the Nomads may not be harmed and their market could keep going.
 
Why would the lower groups give in to the dangerous demands? Not only would lower 
levels want to prove themselves, they were scared that if they disobeyed a 
higher party, they would be killed for being un-loyal. The Nomads were guilty
of  abetting.

The Cossacks were little league compared to Hells Angels, Satan's Choice and Red 
 Devils. These were major biker gangs, and though Stadnick loved his crew, he 
wanted to move up. None of these big names ever gave an offer to him, so when he 
got the chance, he joined the Wild Ones. Wild Ones were much bigger than the 
Cossacks, but still a step behind the big boys. They were like a minor league 
farm team to Satan's Choice, sending prospects up to the parent club once they 
had proved themselves at a lower level.  In 1978, Stadnick figured
out the plan  of the game, and realised he and his gang were on a treadmill. He
and his fellow  Wild Ones did all of the "dirty work" taking all the risks and
getting a small  amount of the proceedings. Satan's Choice got the glory of
being on top, and  just hired their underlings to do their "dirty work".
Stadnick stood up for  himself, and pulled his few friends aside  and
shared what he thought. He told  them about a much bigger gang called the Hells
Angels, that they had it easy and  were treated with much more respect.
On October 12, 1978 three of them went to a meeting with the Hells Angels in 
Montreal. During their meeting in a public bar, two men walked in looking out
of  place. They pulled out guns and shot at the table the meeting was taking
place  at. Stadnick was the only Wild One member that survived, and the two
Hells  Angels ended up surviving but suffered through awful injury's. Stadnick
knew the  two men must have been hired from Satan's Choice because a Wild One
told them  what was going on. Stadnick rode back home to Hamilton hoping
everything would  blow over but the war continued. The war resulted in the death
of the Wild Ones  gang, Stadnick surviving but with no gang and few friends. He
later showed up to  the Hells Angels, being an English speaking successful drug
dealer which was  just what they could use to help expand their market and on
May 26, 1982 he was  initiated a member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club
Montreal South Chapter.  He became a full patch member on May 1, 1987. In 1988
he was voted president of  the Canadian Hells Angels.
 
Legal Connections
Aiding-
  A criminal offence that involves helping someone commit a crime
Abetting-
The crime of encouraging someone to commit an offence.
 
Legal Questions
Is what the two men (who shot some of the bikers at the bar) did considered 
recklessness?
Yes, the men took an unjustifiable risk that a reasonable person 
would not take.
 
Did the two mean have knowledge? Yes. They were aware of certain facts that could
be used to establish mens rea.
  

Wolodumyr (Walter) Stadnick later nicknamed "Nurget" was born to Andrew and
Valentina Stadnick on August 3 1952 at St. Joseph's Hospital. Though
he grew up on the  rough and tumble streets of Hamilton, people who remember him
as a child say he  was intelligent, quiet, polite, and generally well behaved.
As he grew to be a  teen, these characteristics took a turn for the worst.
He started to act out,  seemed impossible to motivate and was always found in
the smoking area at  school. He was known by the cops, and made his friends by
dealing drugs, which  is also how he got his nickname. By the end of high
school, he had two  motorcycles and a lot of clothing and jewelry though he
never had a job. While  most other kids leaving high school were working on
their future career paths,  Walter and his friends just hung out and enjoyed
their life. There whole group  of friends had bikes and were known as "bikers".
If anyone wanted to join or  maintain within the group, they had to have a bike.
After no time, the group  would ride together, dress alike, and even have
regular meetings and were then  officially named the Cossacks. Walter was
arrested in 1971 for a small  possession of hash. He was sentenced to 4 months
in jail and put on two years  probation.
 
Legal Connections
Probation-
the release of an offender from detention (his 4 months in jail), subject to a
  period of good behaviour under supervision.
Biker
  Gang- the gangs and groups mentioned throughout this story are "biker
  gangs". They are motorcycle subcultures which roots in the immediately
  post-World War ll era of society. They are centered around motorcycles and
  celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture and loyalty to the biker
  group. The ones in this novel were traffickers of illegal drugs such as coke
and  resulted to violence for a lot of their answers.
 
Legal Questions
Who supervises you while you are on probation?
Probation officers supervise offenders released from incarceration or sentenced to
  non-custodial things such as community service.
 
Is it a myth that your criminal record gets wiped when you are eighteen?
The government will always have you on record. Though it may not show up applying 
 for jobs for an example, it does not just disappear, it can be closed, sealed
or  possibly left open.