14:36
Arrested a Ukrainian national, Serhiy Hudz, on parole violations. Hudz, a legal resident, is a member of the Warlocks motorcycle gang whose rap sheet includes murder, aggravated assault, theft, receiving stolen property and driving under the influence, according to ICE.
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Lea Sheppe, 58, was scheduled to be tried in B.C. Supreme court
Lea Sheppe, 58, was scheduled to be tried in B.C. Supreme court this week, but instead entered a guilty plea to a single count of forcible confinement.On Wednesday, Dean Curtis Madill, 53, entered a guilty plea related to the same events. The incident arose early in 2008 when Sheppe learned that his son's motorcycle was missing. Sheppe and Madill later found the man they thought was responsible.While Sheppe and Madill initially forced the man into a vehicle and took him to a home where he was assaulted in March 2008, Sheppe was not present in May when Madill again confronted the man. At that time, Madill hit the man and caused a serious head injury. Madill was given a conditional sentence of two years less a day on a charge aggravated assault.
Walter Stadnick, 51, of Hamilton, and Donald Stockford, 42, of Ancaster, were convicted
Walter Stadnick, 51, of Hamilton, and Donald Stockford, 42, of Ancaster, were convicted in June 2004 on five charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, drug trafficking and gangsterism. Stadnick was earlier acquitted of 13 first-degree murder charges and three counts of attempted murder. The pair launched a request to appeal questioning language used in Crown disclosure and the consistency of statements provided by some witnesses at their trial.On Monday, the Court of Appeal of Quebec dismissed their request.In September 2004, the pair sat motionless as Quebec Superior Court Justice Jerry Zigman read his sentence for nearly 30 minutesHe called them "hardened criminals who show little or no hope of being able to straighten out their lives and cease participating in criminal activities. "They are violent people who are a danger to society. They have expressed no remorse for their acts."Stadnick and Stockford, who were tried in English, were among the last to face trial of those arrested during a massive Quebec police sweep in 2001.The men were founding members of the Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels in Montreal, which controlled the drug trade and led an eight-year bloody turf war with the rival Rock Machine.Stadnick and Stockford were heavily involved in biker activities in British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario. Stadnick served as national president of the Hells Angels for six years.
Terrence Tongolini to serve a minimum eight years jail.
A sex predator former Hells Angel who set fire to businesses as part of an extortion racket that left his victims fearing for their lives, has been jailed.Terrence Tognolini used his bikie status to threaten, bully and blackmail businesses who failed to meet his demands, the County Court in Melbourne heard today.
But Tognolini, already behind bars for eight years for offences including drug dealing and a sex attack on a young girl, will serve a concurrent sentence that adds only 18 months' jail time for his campaign of fear and violence.Tognolini ran a hydroponics business and, during his eight-year reign of terror, targeted five hydroponic businesses around Melbourne that were competitors.He threatened violence and arson if they did not stock his items or hand over thousands of dollars in cash.Some properties were set alight in arson attacks and Tognolini told one victim he would "cut his eyes out" and threatened to kill him and his family if he did not meet his demands for money.Many of his victims lived in fear, too scared to go to police for fear of retribution.In October 2009, a County Court jury found Tognolini guilty of nine counts of blackmail, three of arson, one of threatening to damage property and one of indecent assault over the racket.Tognolini - who has 19 prior convictions including for drugs, armed robbery, and carrying a loaded firearm - is already serving a minimum six-and-a-half year jail term for sex offences against teenage girls.The court heard the Hells Angels inked over Tognolini's club tattoos and expelled him when the child sex offences came to lightToday, Judge Lance Pilgrim jailed Tognolini for 12 years, which is to be served concurrently with his existing jail term.The judge set a minimum term of eight years before Tognolini is eligible to apply for parole.
A former member of the Hells Angels, who is also a person of interest in the murder investigation of a Bendigo woman, has been sentenced to 12 years jail for an extortion racket he ran in the mid 1990s.
A Victorian County Court judge ordered Terrence Tongolini to serve a minimum eight years jail.
Police believe the 45-year-old may be linked to the murder of single mother Vicki Jacobs.She was shot dead while sleeping beside her six-year-old son in their Long Gully home in 1999.
But Tognolini, already behind bars for eight years for offences including drug dealing and a sex attack on a young girl, will serve a concurrent sentence that adds only 18 months' jail time for his campaign of fear and violence.Tognolini ran a hydroponics business and, during his eight-year reign of terror, targeted five hydroponic businesses around Melbourne that were competitors.He threatened violence and arson if they did not stock his items or hand over thousands of dollars in cash.Some properties were set alight in arson attacks and Tognolini told one victim he would "cut his eyes out" and threatened to kill him and his family if he did not meet his demands for money.Many of his victims lived in fear, too scared to go to police for fear of retribution.In October 2009, a County Court jury found Tognolini guilty of nine counts of blackmail, three of arson, one of threatening to damage property and one of indecent assault over the racket.Tognolini - who has 19 prior convictions including for drugs, armed robbery, and carrying a loaded firearm - is already serving a minimum six-and-a-half year jail term for sex offences against teenage girls.The court heard the Hells Angels inked over Tognolini's club tattoos and expelled him when the child sex offences came to lightToday, Judge Lance Pilgrim jailed Tognolini for 12 years, which is to be served concurrently with his existing jail term.The judge set a minimum term of eight years before Tognolini is eligible to apply for parole.
A former member of the Hells Angels, who is also a person of interest in the murder investigation of a Bendigo woman, has been sentenced to 12 years jail for an extortion racket he ran in the mid 1990s.
A Victorian County Court judge ordered Terrence Tongolini to serve a minimum eight years jail.
Police believe the 45-year-old may be linked to the murder of single mother Vicki Jacobs.She was shot dead while sleeping beside her six-year-old son in their Long Gully home in 1999.
John Virgil Punko, a member of the East End chapter of the notorious motorcycle gang,
But on Wednesday, Punko's lawyer told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Leask that a significant mitigating factor was that Punko was enticed into his drug dealing by the RCMP and their police agent Michael Plante.
Richard Cairns told the judge that even before Plante became a police agent who was offered up to $1 million to infiltrate the club, as a police informant Plante had been providing Punko with the narcotic painkiller Percocet, fuelling his drug addiction and making him delusional and paranoid.Cairns admitted that Punko was a willing participant and an equal partner to Plante."He took to it like a duck to water. He succumbed to his greed."Cairns said without the behaviour of Plante and the police, Punko should be sentenced to four and a half years in jail, leaving him with two years in prison after dead time.But he said considering the actions of Plante and the police,a lesser sentence is called for."What you're saying is that I should start with the four and a half years and subtract a number that reflects the court's weighing of the behaviour of Plante?" asked Leask."That's exactly right," said Cairns. "In our submission, that could amount to a significant reduction, such that Mr. Punko would walk out of the door."Prosecutor Martha Devlin disputed Cairns' characterization of the accused's state of mind and argued that the court should call Punko to testify.
Cairns said he was opposed to such a move and the judge adjourned the sentencing hearing until Monday to hear more arguments on the issue.John Virgil Punko, 43, pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to produce and traffic methamphetamine, trafficking five kilograms of cocaine in 2004 and possessing $387,140 cash that was the proceeds of crime, including $142,500 from the sale of cocaine.Prosecutor Martha Devlin told the court that Punko should be given 30 months of credit for 15 months served in pre-trial custody, which would reduce the Crown's requested sentence to slightly more than 13 years.The sentencing hearing before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Leask is set for all this week. The defence is scheduled to make its sentencing submissions WednesdayCo-accused Randy Potts, 49, who is also a member of the East End chapter of the Hells Angels, is set to be sentenced starting next Monday at the Vancouver Law Courts.The charges against the bikers stem from a $10-million police investigation known as Project E-Pandora that targeted the East End Hells Angels.The two-year investigation, which ended in 2005 with the arrest of more than six Hells Angels in B.C. and a dozen associates, utilized a police agent named Michael Plante, who was promised $1 million to infiltrate the biker club.Plante secretly tape recorded conversations between Punko, Potts and a meth lab cook named Ryan Renaud, whom Punko suspected was also working for the UN gang and its boss Clay Roueche.
The methamphetamine was sold for $13,000 a kilogram. Plante and Punko often had discussions about "cooking" meth and distributing it at a number of locations, Plante and Punko went to various locations in Punko's vehicle including a 7-11 store, Fitness Quest gym and a White Spot restaurant in New Westminster.Punko was earlier convicted of threatening a prosecutor in another Hells Angels case.
Last summer, a jury convicted Punko, Potts and two other Hells Angels members of weapons offences and extortion.In that case, Punko was convicted of the unauthorized possession of a loaded semi-automatic pistol and sentenced to 15 months in jail, plus a consecutive sentence of four years for counselling a police agent to do damage to a Surrey home where Punko was trying to collect a large sum of money from a man.It was effectively a sentence of time served but Punko was denied bail by Leask before sentencing.
Punko has been in custody since he was arrested in July 2005 during the RCMP's Project E-Pandora investigation into the East End chapter.Last year he was sentenced effectively to time served after a jury found him guilty of weapons offences. Randy Potts, one of his co-accused in the gun case, also pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. His sentencing hearing is expected to proceed on Tuesday
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Eight suspected Hells Angels members allegedly involved in drug trafficking and intimidation have been arrested in eastern Ontario.
They are suspected of being connected to the Ontario Nomads branch of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, and were arrested between Jan. 14 and 18. One warrant remains outstanding.The arrests were the result of an investigation involving the Ontario Provincial Police, the RCMP and several local police forces in the region, said an OPP news release Wednesday. Investigators said the operation was launched in August 2007 after police in the area received complaints about drug trafficking and intimidation.The nine people, including one person who is not in custody, are facing a total of 302 charges related to drugs, weapons, assaults and gang activity.“We’ve got some fully automatic weapons with silencers, brass knuckles, a large amount of jewelry with the insignia of the Hells Angels,” said Det. Pat Benoit, of the Kingston Police, who worked on the case.As part of the investigation, police conducted searches and seized an estimated $249,000 worth of cocaine, cannabis resin and marijuana, and cash totalling $53,000. They also seized a sawed-off shotgun, a machine-gun with silencer and nine handguns.Investigators said they also impounded numerous vehicles, including cars, boats, ATVs and two Harley-Davidson motorcycles.An arrest warrant is still outstanding for Conklin.Those charged include eight men and one woman. The following people have been charged:
Tracy Anne O’Neil, 26, of Brockville.An arrest warrant is still outstanding for Conklin.
Ian Conklin, 45, of North Augusta Township.
Blaine Donner, 37, of Brockville.
Craig Haines, 29, of Ottawa.
Jameson Murray, 22, of Ottawa.
Dwayne William Brugma, 26, of Brockville.
Lloyd Macdonald, 39, of Ottawa.
Ryan Albert Morton, 26, of Lansdowne.
Mario Sincennes, 45, of Ottawa.
Monday, 18 January 2010
Robert Martin, 36 one of the top-10 most sought criminals in the province, facing 22 counts of various criminal charges.
Two members of the Hells Angels wanted by Quebec police were picked up in Mexico, where authorities say they were hiding out. Robert Martin, 36, was considered by the RCMP and Surete du Quebec (SQ) as one of the top-10 most sought criminals in the province, facing 22 counts of various criminal charges.
Yannick Gauthier, 36, faces at least one charge of racketeering. Arrest warrants were issued against Robert and Gauthier last April, following operation SharQc, which brought together investigators from the RCMP, the SQ and the Montreal Police. Police would not elaborate on the circumstances of the arrest of two individuals. The two men arrived from Mexico on Saturday evening at Dorval Airport. So far, more than 120 outlaw bikers have been arrested in the SharQc operation. About 20 more are still sought. Police believe some are in Quebec, while others are hiding in Mexico or other countries.
Yannick Gauthier, 36, faces at least one charge of racketeering. Arrest warrants were issued against Robert and Gauthier last April, following operation SharQc, which brought together investigators from the RCMP, the SQ and the Montreal Police. Police would not elaborate on the circumstances of the arrest of two individuals. The two men arrived from Mexico on Saturday evening at Dorval Airport. So far, more than 120 outlaw bikers have been arrested in the SharQc operation. About 20 more are still sought. Police believe some are in Quebec, while others are hiding in Mexico or other countries.
John Virgil Punko, 43, pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to produce and traffic methamphetamine, trafficking drugs and possessing cash that was the proceeds of crime.
John Virgil Punko, 43, pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to produce and traffic methamphetamine, trafficking drugs and possessing cash that was the proceeds of crime.Prosecutor Martha Devlin told the court that Punko should be given 30 months credit for time served in pre-trial custody, which would reduce the Crown requested sentence to slightly more than 13 years.The sentencing hearing before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Leask is set for all this week.
Co-accused Randy Potts, who is also a member of the East End chapter of the Hells Angels, is set to be sentenced next week.The charges against the bikers stem from a $10-million police investigation that targetted the East End Hells Angels, which ended in 2005 with the arrest of more than six Hells Angels in B.C. and a dozen alleged associates.The police investigation utlilized a police agent, Michael Plant, who was promised $1 million to infiltrate the biker club, wear a secret listening device and gather evidence.Punko was earlier convicted of threatening a prosecutor in another Hells Angels case.Last summer, a jury convicted Punko, Potts and two other Hells Angels members of weapons ofences and extortion.In that case, Punko was convicted of the unauthorized possession of a loaded semi-automatic pistol and sentenced to 15 months in jail, plus a consecutive sentence of four years for counselling a police agent to do damage to a Surrey home where Punko was trying to collect a large amount of money from a man.It was effectively a sentence of time served but Punko was recently denied bail by Leask before sentencing.Potts, who is free on bail before sentencing, is attending Punko’s sentencing.
Co-accused Randy Potts, who is also a member of the East End chapter of the Hells Angels, is set to be sentenced next week.The charges against the bikers stem from a $10-million police investigation that targetted the East End Hells Angels, which ended in 2005 with the arrest of more than six Hells Angels in B.C. and a dozen alleged associates.The police investigation utlilized a police agent, Michael Plant, who was promised $1 million to infiltrate the biker club, wear a secret listening device and gather evidence.Punko was earlier convicted of threatening a prosecutor in another Hells Angels case.Last summer, a jury convicted Punko, Potts and two other Hells Angels members of weapons ofences and extortion.In that case, Punko was convicted of the unauthorized possession of a loaded semi-automatic pistol and sentenced to 15 months in jail, plus a consecutive sentence of four years for counselling a police agent to do damage to a Surrey home where Punko was trying to collect a large amount of money from a man.It was effectively a sentence of time served but Punko was recently denied bail by Leask before sentencing.Potts, who is free on bail before sentencing, is attending Punko’s sentencing.
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Mother of the Hells Angels bikie Peter Zervas has taken back $20,000 in cash she had provided to keep her son out of jail
Mother of the Hells Angels bikie Peter Zervas has taken back $20,000 in cash she had provided to keep her son out of jail after he was charged last week with threatening her and damaging property at the family's unit in Lakemba.Yesterday Fredericka Bromwich asked Central Local Court to recover the money she had provided to ensure her son's freedom as he faces charges of riot and affray in relation to a brawl between members of two rival bikie gangs at the domestic terminal of Sydney Airport in March.Her youngest son, Anthony, was killed in the melee after he was allegedly hit in the head with a steel post. Eleven Commanchero have been charged with his murder.Police allege that Mr Zervas, who was shot five times as he returned home days after the brawl, destroyed or damaged hundreds of dollars of his mother's property, including six ceramic plates and a glass dinner table, nine days ago.The next day police charged him with stalking, intimidating and intending to cause his mother physical or emotional harm. He was also charged with possessing ecstasy and 46 tablets of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.Mr Zervas faced Burwood Local Court last week charged with the offences and was granted bail. But on Wednesday he was arrested and taken into custody by police after his mother indicated that she wanted to withdraw her financial support.The court had previously required that Mr Zervas live at the Lakemba unit, but that condition was deleted.
Yesterday the magistrate Jane Culver added a further condition to his bail: that he not contact or approach his mother or go within 100 metres of her property.A family friend later provided security and Mr Zervas walked free from the court yesterday afternoon. The case will resume on March 18.
Yesterday the magistrate Jane Culver added a further condition to his bail: that he not contact or approach his mother or go within 100 metres of her property.A family friend later provided security and Mr Zervas walked free from the court yesterday afternoon. The case will resume on March 18.
Topdogz gang was formed over the course of last year and consists of ninety criminals from around the country. It is led by a 43-year-old former Hells Angels member.
Six suspected gang members were arrested on Wednesday as police in southern Sweden seized weapons and explosives in a sting operation targeting the Topdogz criminal organization, local newspaper Sydsvenskan reports. The first three arrests came at four o'clock on Wednesday morning when police stopped a vehicle near Harlösa, 40 kilometres north east of Malmö, where the gang is believed to have access to premises. "We found several weapons, ammunition and something that appeared to be explosives," police investigator Per Wejsfelt told news agency TT. The weapons seized included shotguns, pistols and revolvers. Police have sent in the suspected explosive substance for forensic analysis. Details remain scarce about three further arrests in the area on Wednesday evening that also led to weapons seizures. Bravo, the Skåne region's anti-organized crime unit, followed up Wednesday's operation with nighttime raids on addresses connected to the detained suspects, resulting in the recovery of stolen goods "of considerable worth". The Topdogz gang was formed over the course of last year and consists of ninety criminals from around the country. It is led by a 43-year-old former Hells Angels member.
The group denies police suspicions that it functions as the Hells Angels' "war machine" in Sweden, ready to fight side by side with the larger group in the case of conflicts with other gangs, Sydsvenskan reports.
The group denies police suspicions that it functions as the Hells Angels' "war machine" in Sweden, ready to fight side by side with the larger group in the case of conflicts with other gangs, Sydsvenskan reports.
