Hells Angel Larry Amero and two men from his Wolfpack gang alliance appeared briefly by video link in B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday, charged in connection with the 2012 murders of rivals Sandip Duhre and Sukh Dhak.

Amero, Dean Wiwchar and Rabih “Robby” Alkhalil could be seen in separate sections of a split TV screen at the Vancouver Law Courts.

Both Wiwchar and Alkhalil remain in custody out of the province, prosecutor Sandra Dworkin told Justice Janet Winteringham.

Amero, who was arrested in Ottawa on Thursday and charged with two counts of conspiracy to kill Duhre and Dhak, has been brought back to B.C.

All three will appear again by video on Feb. 14.

The Crown is proceeding by way of direct indictment, meaning the case will be heard at the Supreme Court level, bypassing a preliminary hearing in Provincial Court.

The prosecution must now be completed within 30 months, according to a new time limit imposed on criminal cases by the Supreme Court of Canada in a 2016 ruling known as Jordan.

Amero won a Jordan application last August in Quebec, where he had been facing cocaine smuggling charges for almost five years while in pretrial custody. He was released and the charges were stayed.

He then moved to Ottawa until his arrest by the Vancouver Police and their Ontario counterparts.

The new murder charge against Wiwchar, 32, was also laid Thursday, in connection with Duhre’s January 2012 assassination. The convicted hitman was also charged last week with conspiracy to commit the murder of Dhak in November 2012.

Alkhalil was already charged in 2013 in the Duhre murder and had made B.C. Provincial Court appearances on the charge. But he is now on the new indictment with his co-accused.

 Wiwchar was earlier identified as the suspected Duhre hitman when he was on trial in B.C. Supreme Court in 2015 on several firearms charges.

Hells Angel Larry Ronald Amero in file photo

Both Wiwchar and Alkhalil were convicted last year of first-degree murder for the June 2012 execution of John Raposo in Toronto’s Little Italy. Their Ontario trial heard that Alkhalil brought Wiwchar in, describing him in a text message as the “best hitter.”

Wiwchar dressed like a construction worker with a reflective vest and dust mask and wore a wig to kill Raposo outside the Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe.

Dean Wiwchar is also charged in the murders.

 

West Point chapter of the Hells Angels with Amero’s image photoshopped in on the right. PNG

Amero, a B.C. longshoreman and member of the West Point chapter of the Hells Angels, was seriously injured in the August 2011 Kelowna shooting that left Red Scorpion leader Jonathan Bacon dead. Independent Soldiers gangster James Riach was in the targeted Porsche Cayenne with Bacon and Amero, but escaped injury.

Three men linked to the United Nations gang — Jason McBride, Michael Jones and Jujhar Khun-Khun — are currently on trial for the 2011 shooting. Sukh Dhak is alleged to have ordered the Kelowna hit, according to evidence at their trial.

After the Bacon murder, anti-gang police issued repeated public warnings that anyone connected to the Dhak-Duhre group could be targeted in retaliation.

A few months later, Duhre was shot to death in the lobby of the Sheraton Wall Centre in downtown Vancouver. The violent conflict continued and in November 2012, Dhak and his bodyguard Thomas Mantel were gunned down outside a Burnaby hotel.

kbolan@postmedia.com

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan

A longtime Vancouver Hells Angel is offering to help people get licences to grow their own medical marijuana “everywhere in Canada except Quebec!!!!”

Hal Bruce Porteous, 45, made the offer in an Instagram post, asking followers who want the licence to send him a direct message.

“If anyone is in serious pain and doesn’t want to take prescription medication and would like a medical marijuana license to grow there (sic) own medication, please DM me. This is legal!!” said Porteous, a member of the biker gang’s Vancouver chapter. “Permitted 4 licences at each address!!!!”

Retired police biker expert Andy Richards obtained a copy of the post and provided it to Postmedia. He said it is of concern when a member of a criminal organization appears to be brokering licences in the medical marijuana industry.

“Law enforcement has suggested for the last few years that organized crime had infiltrated the (Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations) system primarily through nominee licences,” said Richards, who is CEO of Spire Secure Logistics. “This is a bit more concerning because this demonstrates — if anybody needed more evidence — that they in fact control and broker and sell these licences across Canada. And for a country and industry that’s looking to legitimize in the next 12 months into a regulated, compliant non-black market scenario, this is not a good starting point.”

Porteous’s Instagram account is set to private, but Richards said the post “was brought to our attention. We do high-level consulting work with companies in that sector.”

This week, the B.C. government released new rules for recreational cannabis when it is legalized, saying it would be sold in both public and private stores to those over 19. But the new pot rules don’t affect medical cannabis, which will continue to be sold online by federally licensed producers under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations.

Hal Porteous singing.

B.C.’s anti-gang agency, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, also has concerns about Porteous’s apparent online offer of assistance for medical cannabis growing licences.

“It concerns the CFSEU-B.C. that a member of the Hells Angels is publicly offering to broker licences for individuals to grow marijuana,” Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said. “While the licences may be legal, it is well documented that the Hells Angels, and many of their members, are involved in and have been convicted of criminal activity worldwide.”

Health Canada spokeswoman Sindy Souffront said any applicant for a medical growing licence is subject to a security check. “Every application undergoes a detailed assessment and review, including an in-depth security check undertaken by the RCMP,” she said.

Asked if the review could determine if an applicant was fronting for someone else, she said: “Health Canada can only talk about anything related to the application and creating the rules. But when it comes to actual implementation and a situation like this, I think you have to talk to the RCMP.”

A decade ago, U.S. authorities linked Porteous to a massive cross-border drug smuggling ring, but he was never charged. His close associates, Rob Shannon and Jody York, both pleaded guilty in the U.S. case, along with several other B.C. men. Shannon was sentenced to 20 years in jail, while York got five years. Both have since been released and returned to Canada. U.S. government authorities said the conspirators moved $19 million worth of marijuana and cocaine across the border over five years and that they were working for the Hells Angels in B.C.

Porteous, who owns Midas Touch Diamond and Design, did not respond to a request for comment.

Hal Porteous backstage with singer Rihanna.

Both Shannon and York appeared in a video for a rap song Porteous recorded called OSG. He released it on a 2015 CD of the same name. Porteous’s Facebook page features photos of him rapping and backstage with singers Fergie and Rihanna.

Porteous’s name surfaced in a 2004 trial of a onetime Hells Angels prospect, who was convicted of beating a man he believed had stolen marijuana belonging to Porteous.

kbolan@postmedia.com

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan

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Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com.

Sorry for the delay in reopening Real Scoop comments. I have been battling the cold/flu that so many have. But I am back at work, though off on holidays next week.

I wrote this story a couple of days ago – Hal Porteous offering help on his Instagram account to those wanting to get licences to grow their own medical cannabis. The medical system will remain in tact and parallel to the implementation of the recreational pot system this summer. The B.C. government announced our province’s rules earlier this week for non-medical pot: Stand-alone public and private stores, legal possession of up to 30 grams, ability to grow up to four plants out of site, etc.

Here’s my story about Porteous and his history:

A longtime Vancouver Hells Angel is offering to help people get licences to grow their own medical marijuana “everywhere in Canada except Quebec!!!!”

Hal Bruce Porteous, 45, made the offer in an Instagram post, asking followers who want the licence to send him a direct message.

“If anyone is in serious pain and doesn’t want to take prescription medication and would like a medical marijuana license to grow there (sic) own medication, please DM me. This is legal!!” said Porteous, a member of the biker gang’s Vancouver chapter. “Permitted 4 licences at each address!!!!”

Retired police biker expert Andy Richards obtained a copy of the post and provided it to Postmedia. He said it is of concern when a member of a criminal organization appears to be brokering licences in the medical marijuana industry.

“Law enforcement has suggested for the last few years that organized crime had infiltrated the (Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations) system primarily through nominee licences,” said Richards, who is CEO of Spire Secure Logistics. “This is a bit more concerning because this demonstrates — if anybody needed more evidence — that they in fact control and broker and sell these licences across Canada. And for a country and industry that’s looking to legitimize in the next 12 months into a regulated, compliant non-black market scenario, this is not a good starting point.”

Porteous’s Instagram account is set to private, but Richards said the post “was brought to our attention. We do high-level consulting work with companies in that sector.”

This week, the B.C. government released new rules for recreational cannabis when it is legalized, saying it would be sold in both public and private stores to those over 19. But the new pot rules don’t affect medical cannabis, which will continue to be sold online by federally licensed producers under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations.

B.C.’s anti-gang agency, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, also has concerns about Porteous’s apparent online offer of assistance for medical cannabis growing licences.

“It concerns the CFSEU-B.C. that a member of the Hells Angels is publicly offering to broker licences for individuals to grow marijuana,” Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said. “While the licences may be legal, it is well documented that the Hells Angels, and many of their members, are involved in and have been convicted of criminal activity worldwide.”

Hal Porteous singing.

Health Canada spokeswoman Sindy Souffront said any applicant for a medical growing licence is subject to a security check. “Every application undergoes a detailed assessment and review, including an in-depth security check undertaken by the RCMP,” she said.

Asked if the review could determine if an applicant was fronting for someone else, she said: “Health Canada can only talk about anything related to the application and creating the rules. But when it comes to actual implementation and a situation like this, I think you have to talk to the RCMP.”

A decade ago, U.S. authorities linked Porteous to a massive cross-border drug smuggling ring, but he was never charged. His close associates, Rob Shannon and Jody York, both pleaded guilty in the U.S. case, along with several other B.C. men. Shannon was sentenced to 20 years in jail, while York got five years. Both have since been released and returned to Canada. U.S. government authorities said the conspirators moved $19 million worth of marijuana and cocaine across the border over five years and that they were working for the Hells Angels in B.C.

Porteous, who owns Midas Touch Diamond and Design, did not respond to a request for comment.

Both Shannon and York appeared in a video for a rap song Porteous recorded called OSG. He released it on a 2015 CD of the same name. Porteous’s Facebook page features photos of him rapping and backstage with singers Fergie and Rihanna.

Porteous’s name surfaced in a 2004 trial of a onetime Hells Angels prospect, who was convicted of beating a man he believed had stolen marijuana belonging to Porteous.

kbolan@postmedia.com

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan

There was pretty big news out of Manila overnight. James Riach was convicted and sentenced for his role in a drug trafficking organization. At the time of his 2014 arrest there, police said the drug ring was linked to a Mexican cartel. Riach  has been an Independent Soldier and involved in the Wolf Pack gang coalition. More recently he is believed to have joined the Hells Angels and in fact an HA member on Instagram referred to him as Loonie81 – his nickname plus the numbers associated to HA for Hells Angels.

Here’s my story:

A high-profile B.C gangster has been sentenced to life in prison in the Philippines for his involvement in an international drug-trafficking ring that set up in the Southeast Asian country.

Independent Soldier James Riach, who is part of the Wolf Pack gang alliance, got the news in a Manila courtroom Wednesday, along with his Canadian co-accused Ali Shirazi.

Judge Selma Alaras issued an 11-page ruling, saying both Riach and Shirazi had possessed more than $2.5 million Cdn worth of ecstasy and shabu — a local pill that contains methamphetamine and caffeine.

The Canadians were also ordered to pay a $12,000 fine.

The Philippines National Bureau of Investigation arrested Riach and Shirazi at their rented Manila condo in January 2014. They had been in the country for about three months.

Also arrested at another apartment and charged that day was Riach’s long-time B.C. associate Barry Espadilla. But Espadilla was released 18 months later after an appeals court judge accepted his lawyer’s argument that police lied to get search warrants in the case.

He has since returned to Canada.

Riach had been on bail in the Philippines — even getting married there a couple of years ago — before being taken into custody again this week.

Ali Shirazi and James Riach before 2014 court appearance in Manila.

B.C.’s anti-gang Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit got news of the guilty verdict and sentence shortly after it happened, Sgt. Brenda Winpenny said Wednesday.

She said the lengthy sentence should be a warning to other B.C. gangsters who think they can get into the drug trade abroad.

“While we cannot speak to the court decisions in another country, there is no doubt that the life sentence that was handed down is significant and will undoubtedly send a message to people from B.C. and Canada, that drug trafficking in other countries may, if you’re convicted, come with a serious penalty, including imprisonment for life,” Winpenny said. “In the case of Mr. Riach and Mr. Shirazi, we will continue to watch to see if there are further court proceedings or if this is the end.”

IS clothing seized by police in Kelowna

Global Affairs Canada official Philip Hannan said he couldn’t comment on whether any consular services have been given to the Canadians because he had not yet had the chance to liaise with “mission staff.”

According to the Canadian government’s website, there is no Offender Transfer Treaty between Canada and the Philippines. When such treaties exist, Canadians imprisoned abroad can apply to serve all or part of their sentence in Canada closer to their families.

Riach’s friend Chris Seymour said that he plans to campaign to get the B.C. man returned to Canada. 

“I sure hope that the government will step in now and do something for him. He didn’t run on his bail or anything. This is not right and would never have stood up in any kind of (Canadian) court,” Seymour said Wednesday, noting human rights abuses in the Philippines. “How could this happen to a Canadian citizen? I am totally sick to my stomach over this.”

He suggested Riach might be getting especially harsh treatment because of the extreme positions of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who has encouraged the extrajudicial killings of thousands of suspected drug offenders.

Riach, 36, has a criminal history in Canada. He was convicted in 2010 of possession and careless storage of a loaded .45-calibre semiautomatic Glock pistol found under his mattress in is luxury Yaletown condo.

But he was acquitted of more serious gun charges after an arsenal of weapons was found in the apartment.

Riach was also in a vehicle with Red Scorpion gangster Jonathan Bacon and Hells Angel Larry Amero when it was sprayed by gunfire in Kelowna in August 2011. Bacon was killed and Amero was seriously injured. Two women in the car also sustained injuries.

Three men linked to the United Nations gang are currently on trial in Kelowna for the murder.

kbolan@postmedia.com

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan

 

The B.C. director of civil forfeiture wants criminal convictions against several Hells Angels admitted as evidence in an upcoming civil trial over the seizure of three biker clubhouses.

Lawyer Brent Olthuis, representing the government agency, argued in B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday that admitting the biker convictions and related court rulings would be appropriate in the civil case.

Olthuis told Justice Barry Davies that the convictions are relevant to show the reputation of the Hells Angels, who he referred to as the HAMC.

“We are wanting to introduce these convictions … against the HAMC members primarily in aid of the allegations … as to the main purposes and activities of the HAMC and the members of that club and their awareness of the club’s public reputation,” Olthuis said. “These convictions are clearly probative.”

He also said that several of the Hells Angels defendants refused to answer questions about the convictions during pre-trial discovery sessions.

The long-running civil forfeiture case began in 2007 when the government seized the Hells Angels’ Nanaimo clubhouse, alleging that he had been used for criminal purposes.

The director of civil forfeiture later made the same allegations in lawsuits he filed to seize biker clubhouses for the East End Vancouver and Kelowna chapters.

And the Hells Angels filed a countersuit in 2012, seeking to get B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Act declared unconstitutional.

The trial has been delayed several times, but is now set to begin next month at the Vancouver Law Courts.

Hells Angels Clubhouse at 3598 E. Georgia street in Vancouver.

The government’s amended claim alleges that if the Hells Angels get to keep the clubhouses they will be used in the future “to enhance the ability of a criminal organization, namely the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, to commit indictable offences.”

Olthuis said it was a more efficient use of the court’s time to enter all the criminal convictions and related rulings into evidence rather than have to call evidence about the individual prosecutions.

He listed the cases he wants admitted:

• the 2007 conviction of former Hells Angels hang-around Jonathan Sal Bryce for trafficking inside the East End clubhouse. Bryce is the son of chapter president John Bryce, and was arrested during the E-Pandora undercover investigation targeting the biker gang;
• Eight different convictions against Nomads Hells Angel Ronaldo Lising, a former East End chapter member;
• Three convictions against East End Hells Angels Jean Violette;
• Six convictions against former East End member John Punko;
• Manslaughter convictions against Kelowna Hells Angels Rob Thomas and Norman Cocks;
• A conviction against former Hells Angel enforcer Jules Stanton, who was murdered in 2010;
• A series of convictions against former Hells Angel Randy Potts;
• Two convictions against Kelowna Hells Angel Joseph Skreptak;
• And convictions against former Nanaimo chapter members Robert “Fred” Widdifield and Rajinder Sandhu in an extortion case;
• Convictions against Kelowna Hells Angels David Giles and Bryan Oldham in a drug conspiracy case. Giles died last year while serving his sentence.

• Kelowna Hells Angels clubhouse

Lawyer Greg DelBigio, representing some of the Hells Angels defendants, argued that it would be inappropriate to have the convictions and judgments admitted.

He said the earlier cases “are irrelevant to the proceedings and they are beyond the scope of questioning at discovery.”

DelBigio said that because the government is arguing that the clubhouses will be used in the future for criminal activity, it is impossible to speculate about who it believes would be committing the offences.

“My friends don’t say that a particular person at a particular point in time in the future is likely to do a particular crime,” he said. “It is that somebody at some unspecific point of time is going to do something.”

He said that some of the convictions reference are “very, very old” and that have to bearing on the government’s allegations in the current case.

Pre-trial applications are set for two more days this week before the civil forfeiture trial begins April 23.

kbolan@postmedia.com

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan

The long-awaited trial between the B.C. director of civil forfeiture and three Hells Angels chapters finally gets underway next month – 11.5 years after the case began.

This week, the parties are in B.C. Supreme Court to argue pre-trial applications related to the evidence expected in the case. Justice Barry Davies will issue rulings on the applications before the trial begins April 23.

I sat in on one of the applications:

Here’s my story:

 

The B.C. director of civil forfeiture wants criminal convictions against several Hells Angels admitted as evidence in an upcoming civil trial over the seizure of three biker clubhouses.

Lawyer Brent Olthuis, representing the government agency, argued in B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday that admitting the biker convictions and related court rulings would be appropriate in the civil case.

Olthuis told Justice Barry Davies that the convictions are relevant to show the reputation of the Hells Angels, who he referred to as the HAMC.

“We are wanting to introduce these convictions … against the HAMC members primarily in aid of the allegations … as to the main purposes and activities of the HAMC and the members of that club and their awareness of the club’s public reputation,” Olthuis said. “These convictions are clearly probative.”

He also said that several of the Hells Angels defendants refused to answer questions about the convictions during pre-trial discovery sessions.

The long-running civil forfeiture case began in 2007 when the government seized the Hells Angels’ Nanaimo clubhouse, alleging that he had been used for criminal purposes.

The director of civil forfeiture later made the same allegations in lawsuits he filed to seize biker clubhouses for the East End Vancouver and Kelowna chapters.

And the Hells Angels filed a countersuit in 2012, seeking to get B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Act declared unconstitutional.

The trial has been delayed several times, but is now set to begin next month at the Vancouver Law Courts.

The government’s amended claim alleges that if the Hells Angels get to keep the clubhouses they will be used in the future “to enhance the ability of a criminal organization, namely the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, to commit indictable offences.”

Olthuis said it was a more efficient use of the court’s time to enter all the criminal convictions and related rulings into evidence rather than have to call evidence about the individual prosecutions.

He listed the cases he wants admitted:

• the 2007 conviction of former Hells Angels hang-around Jonathan Sal Bryce for trafficking inside the East End clubhouse. Bryce is the son of chapter president John Bryce, and was arrested during the E-Pandora undercover investigation targeting the biker gang;
• Eight different convictions against Nomads Hells Angel Ronaldo Lising, a former East End chapter member;
• Three convictions against East End Hells Angels Jean Violette;
• Six convictions against former East End member John Punko;
• Manslaughter convictions against Kelowna Hells Angels Rob Thomas and Norman Cocks;
• A conviction against former Hells Angel enforcer Jules Stanton, who was murdered in 2010;
• A series of convictions against former Hells Angel Randy Potts;
• Two convictions against Kelowna Hells Angel Joseph Skreptak;
• And convictions against former Nanaimo chapter members Robert “Fred” Widdifield and Rajinder Sandhu in an extortion case;
• Convictions against Kelowna Hells Angels David Giles and Bryan Oldham in a drug conspiracy case. Giles died last year while serving his sentence.

 

Lawyer Greg DelBigio, representing some of the Hells Angels defendants, argued that it would be inappropriate to have the convictions and judgments admitted.

He said the earlier cases “are irrelevant to the proceedings and they are beyond the scope of questioning at discovery.”

DelBigio said that because the government is arguing that the clubhouses will be used in the future for criminal activity, it is impossible to speculate about who it believes would be committing the offences.

“My friends don’t say that a particular person at a particular point in time in the future is likely to do a particular crime,” he said. “It is that somebody at some unspecific point of time is going to do something.”

He said that some of the convictions reference are “very, very old” and that have to bearing on the government’s allegations in the current case.

Pre-trial applications are set for two more days this week before the civil forfeiture trial begins April 23.

kbolan@postmedia.com

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan

A member of the West Point Hells Angels died of a suspected overdose last week while in the middle of a court case with the B.C. Civil Forfeiture office.

Lukasz Cimoszko, 36, was found dead near Barriere, RCMP Sgt. Janelle Shoihet confirmed Monday.

She said there was nothing suspicious about the death and the B.C. Coroners Service is leading the investigation.

Coroners’ spokesman Andy Watson said he couldn’t comment. 

Social media tribute to Hells Angel Lukasz Cimoszko, centre, who died last week. Also pictured is Hells Angel Bob Green, left, who was shot to death in October 2016 and Hells Angel Bjorn Sylvest, who died in July 2016 while house boating on Shuswap Lake.

Social media tributes were pouring in for Cimoszko, who became a full-patch member of the notorious biker gang in 2012.

Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello did not respond to requests for comment.

Cimoszko was in the middle of a court battle with the B.C. government agency over $12,270 seized when he was pulled over by Vancouver police a year ago.

According to the claim, Cimoszko’s 2015 Corvette was stopped with the engine running across from a pub on Manitoba Street on March 21, 2017.

Officers ran the plate, which showed that the Hells Angel leased the luxury vehicle. They followed the Corvette and watched it “weave within its lane and fail to signal when it changed lanes,” the claim said.

“The VPD initiated a traffic stop to confirm the driver’s sobriety.”

Cimoszko drove for another two blocks before he pulled over, even after police turned on their lights and siren, the court documents said.

He was wearing “a sweater bearing (Hells Angels Motorcycle Club) patches and the HAMC deathhead logo.” His passenger was wearing an “HAMC support lanyard.”

Vancouver officers saw a machete “in plain view lodged between the centre console and the passenger seat.” Both Cimoszko and the passenger were arrested for possession of a dangerous weapon, although neither was criminally charged.  

Hells Angel Lukasz Cimoszko, 36, died April 12 near Barriere, B.C.

Police searched Cimoszko and found two folding knives in his pants pockets.

They also searched the vehicle and found bundles of cash, more than 240 grams of marijuana, four more knives and “documentation” related to the Hells Angels.

Most of the cash was in two packages of 250 $20 bills located in an open bag on the top of the centre console, the suit says. Two smaller loose bundles were in a black satchel in the trunk of the Corvette.

Cimoszko told police he had a medical marijuana licence to possess the pot. The next day, investigators confirmed he had a pot licence for possession of up to 150 grams and to grow 74 plants at a Langley address.

The director of civil forfeiture alleges the cash “is proceeds and an instrument of illegal activity.”

“The money has been used by Mr. Cimoszko to engage in unlawful activities which variously resulted in, or were likely to result in, the acquisition of property or an interest in property, or cause, or were likely to cause seriously bodily harm.”

A list of the alleged criminal activities included in the civil forfeiture suit includes possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of the proceeds of crime, participation in a criminal organization and commission of an offence for a criminal organization.

The director claims Cimoszko obtained the money from criminal activity and would likely use it for more crimes if it was given back to him.

In Cimoszko’s response, he says police didn’t really stop him for traffic violations, but because he’s a Hells Angel.

“Members stopped the vehicle as part of a ruse in order to engage in a fishing expedition in relation to the defendant,” his written response said. “The defendant carries on a legitimate business and collects, remits and files the necessary taxes to the appropriate government authorities.”

Cimoszko also claimed that the VPD search of his vehicle was warrantless and in violation of his Charter rights.

Phil Tawtel, Civil Forfeiture Office executive director, said he couldn’t comment on the Cimoszko case since it remains before the courts.

“As with any civil litigation, where a defendant dies during the proceeding conduct of the (case), litigation can pass to the legal representative of the estate,” he said.

Corporate records list Cimoszko as the president of two B.C. companies, both incorporated on Dec. 3, 2009. One is called Luke Contracting Ltd. of which he is the only director. The second — Exotic Auto Imports Ltd. — also lists  fellow West Point Hells Angel Larry Amero as a director.  

Hells Angel Larry Ronald Amero in file photo

Amero was charged in January with conspiracy to kill gangster rivals Sandip Duhre and Sukhveer Dhak, who died months apart in targeted 2012 shootings. He remains in pre-trial custody awaiting trial.

Cimoszko’s only B.C. conviction was in Surrey in 2002 for driving while prohibited. He got a week in jail.

Land title records show that he bought a 26th-floor apartment in downtown Vancouver in 2012 that is now assessed at $1.05 million. In addition to the leased Corvette, personal property records show Cimoszko also had leased or bought a 2016 Honda Pilot, a 2016 Harley and a 2017 Cadillac Escalade.

Meanwhile, another civil forfeiture case involving the Hells Angels is set to start in B.C. Supreme Court next Monday, more than 10 years after it was first filed.

The B.C. government wants the clubhouse of the East Vancouver, Nanaimo and Kelowna chapters forfeited, alleging they would be used for criminal activity in future if returned to the bikers. The Hells Angels are challenging the constitutionality of the province’s Civil Forfeiture Act.

kbolan@postmedia.com

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan

The federal government is not doing enough to keep organized crime out of the medical marijuana business, B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said Thursday.

Farnworth was reacting to two recent Postmedia News stories about full-patch members of the Hells Angels being involved in medical pot in B.C.

This week, Postmedia reported that West Point Hells Angel Lukasz Cimoszko, who died recently of a suspected overdose, had a federal licence to grow medical cannabis despite allegations by the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office that he was involved in organized crime.

And in February, Postmedia revealed that long-time Vancouver Hells Angel Hal Porteous was offering on Instagram to help people obtain medical marijuana growing licences. Porteous has since retired from the biker gang.

“We don’t want to see the involvement of organized crime in either medical cannabis or the recreational cannabis industry. This is clearly evidence that not-thorough-enough background screenings are being done by Health Canada on who is getting these licences,” Farnworth said.  “There is absolutely no place for organizations like the Hells Angels in either recreational cannabis or medicinal cannabis.”

Farnworth said the federal government has promised reforms to the medical cannabis licensing system within five years to help deal with organized crime infiltration and other issues that have been raised.

“I think that is far too long. I think now with the legalization of recreational cannabis, there needs to be significant reform done on the medical cannabis side,” he said.

He said organized crime’s involvement in the production and sale of cannabis “is an area of real concern for us at the provincial and local level.”

“It is frustrating that Health Canada does not seem to realize this, and I don’t know why,” Farnworth said. “There should be thorough background checks because they know that this whole system of medical cannabis is attracting organized crime like moths to a flame.”

Hal Porteous.

Cimoszko was fighting a lawsuit filed by the director of civil forfeiture last year after the biker was stopped by Vancouver police and found to have 240 grams of marijuana, a machete and bundles of cash totaling $12,270 in his leased Corvette.

He argued in his court documents that he had a medical licence to possess the pot and that police violated his Charter rights when officers searched him.

But the government agency alleged he was in possession of more pot than his licence allowed and that he was “participating in the activities of a criminal organization.”

“Mr. Cimoszko did not have sufficient legitimate income to have acquired the money,” the suit said.

It noted that he got his licence in April 2013 under the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations.

Related

• Hells Angel facing B.C. civil forfeiture suit dies of suspected overdose
• Hells Angel offers to help people get medical pot-growing licences

At the time, Cimoszko’s business partner in a car import company, fellow West Point Hells Angel Larry Amero, was facing cocaine importation charges in Quebec. The charges were stayed last year due to delays in the case. But Amero has since been charged with conspiracy to kill two gang rivals.

Health Canada media relations officer Rebecca Purdy said she couldn’t comment on how a Hells Angel would qualify for a medical pot growing licence.

“For privacy reasons, Health Canada cannot comment on whether an individual is authorized and registered to produce a limited amount of cannabis for their own medical purposes,” she said in an email.

Earlier this year, Postmedia reported that Porteous, a member of the Vancouver Hells Angels chapter until recently, offered to help people get medical licences.

“If anyone is in serious pain and doesn’t want to take prescription medication and would like a medical marijuana license to grow there (sic) own medication, please DM me. This is legal!!” 

Retired police biker expert Andy Richards provided Postmedia with a copy of Porteous’ social media post.

Richards, now CEO of Spire Secure Logistics, said the revelations about Cimoszko’s growing licence “certainly reflects poorly on Health Canada’s ability to regulate our national medical cannabis system.”

“When one full-patch HA member is able to obtain a personal production licence, and another has the ability to broker ‘pooled’ licences across Canada, one has to wonder how well regulators will be able to monitor and inspect aspects of the legal recreational cannabis system,” he said Thursday.

“The prevention of organized crime infiltration, black market diversion, and keeping cannabis out of the hands of youth have been touted as primary goals of legislation. To be honest, so far we’ve seen little beyond lip service.”

Kbolan@postmedia.com

Blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

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The Hells Angels “are an extraordinarily sophisticated entity” fighting to preserve their brand to help members around the world commit criminal acts, a lawyer representing the B.C. government said Monday.

Brent Olthuis told B.C. Supreme Court that three B.C. biker clubhouses should be forfeited to the government because they would likely be used to commit crimes if the bikers are allowed to maintain control of them.

After more than a decade, the director of civil forfeiture’s lawsuit against the Hells Angels finally got underway before Justice Barry Davies at the Vancouver Law Courts Monday.

It started on Nov. 9, 2007, when Mounties broke down the door of the little white building on Victoria Avenue in Nanaimo that housed the Hells Angels clubhouse there. In 2012, the civil forfeiture office filed suits to get clubhouses of the East End and Kelowna chapters forfeited as well.

The government’s claim against the biker gang alleges that if the Hells Angels get to keep the clubhouses they will be used “to enhance the ability of a criminal organization, namely the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, to commit indictable offences.”

The Angels have filed a counter-claim, seeking to get B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Act declared unconstitutional.

Othuis told Davies Monday “this is a case fundamentally about things and under the civil forfeiture statute, the likely use to which those things are going to be put in the future.”

He said almost all Hells Angels chapters are required to maintain a clubhouse as its “base of operations.”

“We say one of the main purpose or main activities of the Hells Angels is the facilitation or commission of serious offences that if committed would likely result in the direct or indirect receipt of material benefits by the Hells Angels,” Olthuis said.

“The Hells Angels pursues those ends, in part by cultivating or protecting a brand that is associated with violence and intimidation.”

He said the evidence at the trial would show that the clubhouses are used for nefarious purposes.

“These are the sites at which members will congregate for the purpose of counselling or conspiring to commit crimes of violence or financial gain,” he said.

“They are safe houses. They are places where members of the Hells Angels meet, where they recruit new members and support clubs, where they collect and store legal funds to defray legal costs for criminal prosecution, all in confidence.”

The Hells Angels also use the clubhouses to collect and store data on members, rivals, suspected informants and police investigations that threaten the Hells Angels brand.

“The clubhouses function as planted flags. They are warnings or reminders to rival criminal organizations that the areas in question, the places of these clubhouses, are Hells Angels turf,” Olthuis said.

The trial is expected to last for five weeks. 

Olthuis said he would call two former police agents – Micheal Plante and David Atwell, who testified against the Hells Angels in B.C. and Ontario trials, as well as a series of police experts who have dealt with the bikers over the years.

MORE TO COME…

Reporter Kim Bolan is reporting live from the courthouse today. Follow along for more updates.

NANAIMO, B.C.: 07/08/2010 – The Hell’s Angels clubhouse is pictured in this 2010 file photo.

A long-awaited civil forfeiture trial against the Hells Angels is underway.

The civil forfeiture case began in 2007 when the government seized the Hells Angels’ Nanaimo clubhouse, alleging that it had been used for criminal purposes. The director of civil forfeiture later made the same allegations in lawsuits he filed to seize biker clubhouses for the East End Vancouver and Kelowna chapters.

Later in 2012, the Hells Angels responded with a countersuit, seeking to get B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Act declared unconstitutional.

The trial has been delayed several times, but finally began on Monday, April 23, 2018.

Reporter Kim Bolan is reporting live from the courthouse today for the second day of the trial. Follow along for more updates.

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An undercover police officer who discussed an international cocaine deal with Kelowna Hells Angel David Giles testified Tuesday that he never tried to steer Giles to specific answers during their 2012 conversations.

The officer, whose identity is shielded by a publication ban, continued his evidence on the second day of the trial between the Hells Angels and the B.C. director of civil forfeiture.

The government agency wants the Nanaimo, Kelowna and East Vancouver clubhouses of the biker gang forfeited on the basis that they would be used to commit crimes in the future.

The Hells Angels are fighting back with a countersuit seeking a declaration that the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Act is unconstitutional.

The trial got off to a slow start after lawyers for the Hells Angels challenged the admissibility of the 2012 recorded conversations, arguing they are hearsay evidence.

The intercepted conversations were part of a case that led to convictions against Giles, Hells Angel Bryan Oldham and several associates in 2016.

Giles died last year just months into a lengthy jail sentence.

The officer, who posed as a South American drug lord during four meetings with Giles, described the biker showing his Hells Angels tattoos and reassuring the cop that his “brothers” in the gang had his back in the deal.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barry Davies will hear submissions Wednesday on whether or not to admit the evidence.

Hells Angel lawyer Greg DelBigio questioned the officer about his role in the earlier investigation.

“One of the issues you need to pay attention to is whether or not the target you are dealing with is simply lying to you, right?” DelBigio asked.

The cop responded that he is deliberately not provided with other details of the investigation so he can’t assess the truth of the target’s answers. He simply passed his information about what was said to the officer in charge of the undercover operation, he explained.

“If, for example, you were steering too hard and Mr. Giles lied to you, that is something you can’t comment on one way of the other?” DelBigio asked.

The officer replied: “Again, I was not trying to steer him.”

He said he would try to push a certain “topic of conversation” but did not try to elicit specific answers.

The officer said that Giles also admitted to having previously imported cocaine from South America to Canada, including a 2001 shipment of 2.5 tonnes on a fishing boat called the Western Wind that was seized by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Brent Olthuis, a lawyer representing the B.C. government, also tried Tuesday to get the ruling that convicted Giles admitted as evidence in the case.

But the Hells Angels lawyers said it would be improper to do so.

In the earlier ruling, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Carol Ross cited Giles’ conversations with the purported drug lord, which took place in Panama.

Giles described himself as the “consigliere” of his co-accused, Kevin Van Kalkeren.

“Mr. Giles discussed his history in the Hells Angels and some aspects of the club in relation to the criminal activities of members. He said that any business on the side, like the stuff they were talking about, had to be brought to three people in his room,” Ross noted.

The civil trial continues.

kbolan@postmedia.com

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Sorry for the delay in reopening Real Scoop comments. I have been battling the cold/flu that so many have. But I am back at work, though off on holidays next week.

I wrote this story a couple of days ago – Hal Porteous offering help on his Instagram account to those wanting to get licences to grow their own medical cannabis. The medical system will remain in tact and parallel to the implementation of the recreational pot system this summer. The B.C. government announced our province’s rules earlier this week for non-medical pot: Stand-alone public and private stores, legal possession of up to 30 grams, ability to grow up to four plants out of site, etc.

Here’s my story about Porteous and his history:

A longtime Vancouver Hells Angel is offering to help people get licences to grow their own medical marijuana “everywhere in Canada except Quebec!!!!”

Hal Bruce Porteous, 45, made the offer in an Instagram post, asking followers who want the licence to send him a direct message.

“If anyone is in serious pain and doesn’t want to take prescription medication and would like a medical marijuana license to grow there (sic) own medication, please DM me. This is legal!!” said Porteous, a member of the biker gang’s Vancouver chapter. “Permitted 4 licences at each address!!!!”

Retired police biker expert Andy Richards obtained a copy of the post and provided it to Postmedia. He said it is of concern when a member of a criminal organization appears to be brokering licences in the medical marijuana industry.

“Law enforcement has suggested for the last few years that organized crime had infiltrated the (Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations) system primarily through nominee licences,” said Richards, who is CEO of Spire Secure Logistics. “This is a bit more concerning because this demonstrates — if anybody needed more evidence — that they in fact control and broker and sell these licences across Canada. And for a country and industry that’s looking to legitimize in the next 12 months into a regulated, compliant non-black market scenario, this is not a good starting point.”

Porteous’s Instagram account is set to private, but Richards said the post “was brought to our attention. We do high-level consulting work with companies in that sector.”

This week, the B.C. government released new rules for recreational cannabis when it is legalized, saying it would be sold in both public and private stores to those over 19. But the new pot rules don’t affect medical cannabis, which will continue to be sold online by federally licensed producers under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations.

B.C.’s anti-gang agency, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, also has concerns about Porteous’s apparent online offer of assistance for medical cannabis growing licences.

“It concerns the CFSEU-B.C. that a member of the Hells Angels is publicly offering to broker licences for individuals to grow marijuana,” Staff Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said. “While the licences may be legal, it is well documented that the Hells Angels, and many of their members, are involved in and have been convicted of criminal activity worldwide.”

Hal Porteous singing.

Health Canada spokeswoman Sindy Souffront said any applicant for a medical growing licence is subject to a security check. “Every application undergoes a detailed assessment and review, including an in-depth security check undertaken by the RCMP,” she said.

Asked if the review could determine if an applicant was fronting for someone else, she said: “Health Canada can only talk about anything related to the application and creating the rules. But when it comes to actual implementation and a situation like this, I think you have to talk to the RCMP.”

A decade ago, U.S. authorities linked Porteous to a massive cross-border drug smuggling ring, but he was never charged. His close associates, Rob Shannon and Jody York, both pleaded guilty in the U.S. case, along with several other B.C. men. Shannon was sentenced to 20 years in jail, while York got five years. Both have since been released and returned to Canada. U.S. government authorities said the conspirators moved $19 million worth of marijuana and cocaine across the border over five years and that they were working for the Hells Angels in B.C.

Porteous, who owns Midas Touch Diamond and Design, did not respond to a request for comment.

Both Shannon and York appeared in a video for a rap song Porteous recorded called OSG. He released it on a 2015 CD of the same name. Porteous’s Facebook page features photos of him rapping and backstage with singers Fergie and Rihanna.

Porteous’s name surfaced in a 2004 trial of a onetime Hells Angels prospect, who was convicted of beating a man he believed had stolen marijuana belonging to Porteous.

kbolan@postmedia.com

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KELOWNA — A dramatic 2011 shooting in the heart of this Okanagan city is expected to come to a less dramatic conclusion today as three gangsters plead guilty to having a role in the murder of Red Scorpion boss Jonathan Bacon.

All three accused — Jason McBride, Jujhar Khun-Khun and Michael Jones — are expected to admit their involvement in the brazen Aug. 14, 2011 gangland hit to B.C. Supreme Court Justice Allan Bretton.

An agreed statement of facts has been reached and will be read in court, Crown spokesman Dan McLaughlin said last month as a new indictment was sworn in the case. 

Jujhar Khun-Khun (left); who’s been charged with the death of Jonathan Bacon in a turf war over drugs. Sukh Dhak is on the right.

McBride, Khun-Khun and Jones were originally charged in 2013 with the first-degree murder of Bacon, as well as the attempted murder of others with him in a Porsche Cayenne when it was shot up in the entrance to the Delta Grand Hotel.

Now McBride is expected to plead guilty to second-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder, while Khun-Khun and Jones have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit murder. 

Wounded in the vehicle were Hells Angel Larry Amero, who was driving, and passengers Leah Hadden-Watts and Lyndsey Black. Independent Soldier James Riach jumped out as the shooting started and escaped injury. 

Hells Angel Larry Ronald Amero in file photo

The late Sukh Dhak, who was gunned down a year later, is named as a co-conspirator in the new indictment.

The trial of the three gangsters began in Kelowna on May 29, 2017, and continued on and off until October, before being adjourned to sort out disclosure issues.

Crown prosecutor Dave Ruse laid out the expected evidence in his opening statement almost a year ago. He said that DNA of all three accused was found on hoodies and a ball cap discarded after the murder.

And he said that former gangsters-turned Crown witnesses would testify that all three accused were part of the team hunting Amero, Bacon and Riach because Dhak believed the trio was behind the murder of his brother Gurmit in Burnaby in October 2010.

Ruse said that Khun-Khun, McBride, Jones and a fourth man, Manny Hairan, arrived in Kelowna early on the morning of Aug. 14 to kill Amero and his friends after they had been spotted partying in the lakeside resort town.

The group searched for its targets in bars and biker clubhouses, before walking along the scenic waterfront behind the Delta Grand where Amero and his party were staying.

They knew they had found their prey when McBride recognized Amero’s boat — Steroids and Silicone — tied up behind the hotel.

 The shooting, carried out by masked gunmen, was captured on grainy hotel security played during the trial.

Kelowna residents and visitors who were enjoying the sunny Sunday afternoon recounted on the stand how shocked and frightened they were when the gunfire began.

Paramedics tend to victim Larry Amero at the scene of Jonathan Bacon’s murder.

Bacon was the eldest of a trio of Abbotsford gangsters who got involved in the drug trade at a young age and later joined the notorious Red Scorpion gang. Younger brother Jarrod is serving a 14-year sentence for cocaine trafficking. Youngest brother Jamie remains in pre-trial custody on a charge of counselling to commit murder. Last December, murder and conspiracy charges Jamie had been facing in the  2007 Surrey Six slayings were stayed.

At the time of Bacon’s murder, he had formed a gang alliance called the Wolfpack with some Hells Angels and some Independent Soldiers.

Earlier this year, Riach was sentenced to life in jail in the Philippines for trafficking drugs there. And Amero was charged in Vancouver in January with conspiracy to kill Dhak, as well as gangster Sandip Duhre, who died months apart in targeted 2012 shootings.

Neither Riach nor Amero were called as witnesses in the Kelowna trial.

After the Bacon murder, anti-gang police issued repeated public warnings that anyone connected to the Dhak-Duhre group could be targeted in retaliation.

They were right.

A few months later, Duhre was shot to death in the lobby of the Sheraton Wall Centre in downtown Vancouver. The violent conflict continued and in November 2012, Dhak and his bodyguard Thomas Mantel were gunned down outside a Burnaby hotel.

Several associates on either side of the conflict were also murdered in cases that remain unsolved.

Both Khun-Khun and Hones have been identified other trials as a suspects in two separate Lower Mainland murders.

More to come.

kbolan@postmedia.com 

blog: vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop

twitter.com/kbolan 

The new charges in the case are:

Count 1/Chef 1:

That on or about the 14(th), day of August, 2011, at or near Kelowna, in the Province of British Columbia, Jason Thomas MCBRIDE did commit the second degree murder of Jonathan Bacon, contrary to Section 235(1) of the Criminal Code.

Count 2/Chef 2:

That on or about the 14(th), day of August, 2011, at or near Kelowna, in the Province of British Columbia, while using a prohibited firearm, Jason Thomas MCBRIDE did attempt to commit the murder of Larry Amero, James Riach, Leah Hadden-Watts and Lyndsey Black, by discharging that firearm at Larry Amero, James Riach, Leah Hadden-Watts and Lyndsey Black, contrary to Section 239(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.

Count 3/Chef 3:

That between the 1(st) day of June, 2011 and the 14(th) day of August, 2011, both dates inclusive, at or near Vancouver, Coquitlam, Kelowna, and elsewhere in the Province of British Columbia, Michael Kerry Hunter JONES and Jujhar KHUN-KHUN did conspire together, and with Jason McBride, Suhkveer Dhak, and others to commit the murder of Larry Amero, James Riach and Jonanthan Bacon, contrary to Section 465(1)(a) of the Criminal Code.

Before he became a member of the Hells Angels, David Atwell says his criminal activity was “minimal” and involved a “couple of assaults, some drug use.”

“But as a full-patch Hells Angel, I was able to buy kilos of cocaine without being questioned why and where it was going,” Atwell told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barry Davies on Tuesday.

Atwell, who first became involved in the notorious motorcycle club at Toronto in late 1999 and from 2005-07 acted as a police agent targeting the club, was testifying at a trial in which the B.C. director of civil forfeiture is seeking to take over three Hells Angel clubhouses in B.C.

In addition to the drug-trafficking activities he engaged in, he told the judge that when he joined the club, which he described as a “very unique and elite group,” he no longer had to wait in line to get into a bar and seldom had to pay for a drink.

“I had girls interested in me that otherwise wouldn’t be interested in me. Very pretty, well-put-together ladies. Kind of miss that part.”

Atwell, who signed a deal with the director to testify honestly about his dealings with the Hells Angels in exchange for being paid $75,000, was asked by Stephen King, a lawyer for the director, to describe in detail the Hells Angels’ clubhouse in Toronto.

He said the building was a brick structure with metal doors and featured windows on the main level that were bricked in. There were cameras pointing down from above the front door with a monitor inside to see who was at the front door, as well as cameras mounted on the neighbouring buildings, he said.

Five or six pillars located outside the clubhouse were installed to prevent law enforcement from using vehicles to breach the entrance to the clubhouse, he added.

“The whole fortification of the clubhouse is to keep the police out or to add to their time trying to gain access,” said Atwell, who was testifying by video from an undisclosed and remote location. Inside the courtroom, screens were put in place to block the public-gallery’s view of the video screen.

A publication ban imposed by the judge prevents reporting information that might identify Atwell, including his current name and employment, as well as his city of residence.

Atwell said that there was always someone at the Toronto clubhouse and while he was acting as a police agent, the “mechanism” of the drug deals happened at the clubhouse.

“It’s a secure environment, almost like a sanctuary. There was a lot of covert conversations in the clubhouse that took place.”

He said inside the clubhouse there was disclosure from previous court cases, transcripts from individuals who had been witnesses at trials as well as photos, including a photo of a police agent that had been circulated by the club.

On a computer there was information about club members who had been arrested and members who were out on bail, he said.

Lawyers for the club objected to the relevance and the potential prejudice of Atwell’s testimony about the Toronto clubhouse, but the judge overruled those objections.

Earlier, Atwell told the judge that he is in the witness-protection program and that his life was in peril.

“The $75,000 is a small compensation for exposing me to the courts,” he said.

Atwell’s testimony is expected to continue Wednesday.

The trial opened last week in a case that began in November 2007 when the police raided the Hells Angels’ Nanaimo clubhouse, with the clubhouse becoming the subject of the first forfeiture action. In 2012, the director filed lawsuits seeking forfeiture of the East End and Kelowna clubhouses as well.

The director is arguing that the clubhouses should be seized because they would likely be used to commit crimes if the club is allowed to maintain control of them.

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A former Hells Angel denied a suggestion Wednesday by a lawyer for the notorious motorcycle club that he was motivated financially to turn on the club and become a police agent.

David Atwell, who confirmed that he was paid $500,000 to become an agent and target the Hells Angels, made the comment while he was being cross-examined in court at the trial at which the B.C. government is seeking to forfeit three Hells Angels’ clubhouses.

Joseph Arvay, a lawyer for the club, suggested to Atwell that the main reason he became an agent was the money that he would receive.

Atwell, a member of the Toronto chapter of the Hells Angels from about 2000 to 2007, conceded that there were financial benefits but insisted that when he signed a contract with police to become an agent, he didn’t know the amount of money that was involved.

“And are you suggesting to this court the promise or potential of making that amount of money was not a very significant factor in your decision to become an agent?” asked Arvay.

“I was surprised at that amount, but I had already agreed to sign on. That figure was not instrumental,” said Atwell, adding that the figure was “too good to be true.”

Atwell, who signed a deal to be paid $75,000 by the provincial director of civil forfeiture in exchange for testifying about his time with the club, said that he wanted to know what dangers were involved in being a police agent and something about the “job description” of being an agent.

“But there wasn’t really any talk about specific dollar figures until I signed the contract.”

Earlier, Arvay questioned Atwell about a book — The Hard Way Out: My Life with the Hells Angels and Why I Turned Against Them” — that identifies Atwell as the author along with Jerry Langton.

Atwell said that while he didn’t take any issue with the first-person account, it was Langton who was the actual writer of the book and that he himself had never read the book.

Asked by Arvay as to why he hadn’t read the book, he said it was because it was about a part of his life that he wanted to leave in the past.

“You weren’t ever curious?” said Arvay.

“Not in the least,” said Atwell.

The former Hells Angel said that he and Langton agreed to split the proceeds from the book, including $25,000 for signing a book contract and an additional $18,000 in payments.

Atwell said they hadn’t yet gotten any royalties from the book.

On Wednesday, Atwell also testified that as an agent he had participated in drug and gun purchases with a number of Hells Angels who were later convicted of those offences.

The government is seeking to forfeit the Nanaimo, East End and Kelowna clubhouses of the Hells Angels. The director claims that the clubhouses should be seized because they would likely be used to commit crimes if the club is allowed to maintain control of them.

Atwell is expected to continue his cross-examination Thursday.

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A former Hells Angel testified Thursday that members of the biker club would discuss some of their criminal activities at the Toronto clubhouse, but only after the business of their formal meetings was done.

But David Atwell also agreed with a lawyer for the Hells Angels that there were rules against such discussions, even though they did occur.

Lawyer Joe Arvay suggested the Angels ran their weekly “church” meetings in a similar fashion to the Boy Scouts.

“There was no criminal activity ever discussed at a church meeting. Isn’t that true?” Arvay asked.

“No, that’s not true,” said Atwell, who testified via video link from an undisclosed location.

“You are right in the first part — that there’s a rule you shouldn’t talk about it. But criminal activity would get leaked to a meeting.”

Atwell, a former police agent who spent his six years as a Hells Angel, is testifying at the civil forfeiture trial between the bikers and the B.C. government.

The director of civil forfeiture agreed to pay the former sergeant-at-arms of the Toronto chapter $75,000 for his evidence. The B.C. government is trying to get three clubhouses in East Vancouver, Kelowna and Nanaimo forfeited alleging that if the Hells Angels continue to own them, the buildings will be used for criminal activity.

Related

• Former Hells Angel testifies at clubhouse forfeiture trial
• Former HA denies $500,000 payment was behind him becoming agent

Atwell has been given a new name and is in the Witness Protection Program after testifying in several Ontario criminal cases targeting the Hells Angels.

Under cross-examination Thursday, Arvay asked Atwell about several passages attributed to him in the book The Hard Way Out: My Life with the Hells Angels and Why I Turned Against Them, by Jerry Langton.

Arvay suggested the passages contradicted evidence Atwell had given this week in B.C. Supreme Court.

“Nothing illegal was discussed, just club business. It’s not illegal to be a Hells Angel and we all wanted to keep it that way,” Arvay read from the book.

“We never did any business in the clubhouse … because we knew that anybody could be listening there.”

Asked Arvay: “Does that accurately describe your views?”

Atwell suggested Langton had attributed things to him that he had never said.

“Yes things that were illegal were discussed in the clubhouse,” Atwell said.

“Almost all of my or most of my drug purchases as an agent originated in the clubhouse.”

But Atwell agreed with Arvay that members of the Hells Angels or those aspiring to join the biker gang were not forced to participate in criminal activities. Some of his former Hells Angels friends had legitimate jobs, Atwell agreed.

He also agreed that a Hells Angel could get kicked out of the group if caught committing a crime in a clubhouse.

“There was also a rule that you couldn’t commit crimes with your Hells Angels crests or patches or rings on because it would look bad toward the brand — the brand the Hells Angels, which was protected by the Hells Angels,” Atwell told Justice Barry Davies.

Atwell completed his evidence, but a second former Hells Angel is expected to testify Friday.

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David Atwell, a former Hells Angel who testified against Toronto gang members several years ago, has been giving evidence this week for the B.C. director of civil forfeiture in his attempt to get three biker clubhouses in this province forfeited.

My colleague covered the first two days of Atwell’s evidence. Here are his stories:

• Former Hells Angel testifies at clubhouse forfeiture trial
• Former HA denies $500,000 payment was behind him becoming agent

I was in court today for his second day of Attwell’s cross-examination. It was a weird set-up. He was on a video link from an undisclosed location. Then there are screens blocking those monitors from those of us in the public gallery as he lives in witness protection.

Here’s my story:

A founding member of the Nanaimo Hells Angels suggested Friday that he had been unfairly convicted in an extortion case because of his membership in the notorious biker club.

Robert “Fred” Widdifield was brought from prison as a witness in the civil trial to determine if three Hells Angels clubhouses in east Vancouver, Nanaimo and Kelowna should be forfeited to the B.C. government.

When asked by government lawyer Brent Olthuis if he had a criminal record, Widdifield said: “I was convicted on a hearsay rule and I was given five years for being a Hells Angel.”

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barry Davies declared Widdifield an adverse witness in part because of his hostile demeanour on the stand.

Davies also referred to a pretrial interview Widdifield did with a lawyer for the civil forfeiture office in which he claimed the Nanaimo clubhouse had been “stolen” from the Hells Angels when it was seized in November 2007.

Widdifield “retired” from the Hells Angels in June 2014, something referenced in an affidavit his lawyer filed last summer as part of his appeal in the extortion case.

He lost that appeal of his extortion sentence in February.

Olthuis suggested the affidavit was an attempt by Widdifield to distance himself from the Hells Angels to improve his chances on appeal and to show that “any influence the club may have had on you was no longer an issue. Is that fair?”

Replied Widdifield: “I don’t know how you want to spin this thing. But what the hell are you trying to say?”

Davies intervened and told the retired biker to answer the question.

Widdifield admitted Friday that he has occasionally socialized with current Nanaimo Hells Angels despite swearing in his affidavit that he doesn’t maintain contact with any of them.

Asked Othuis: “In what sort of setting would you see them?”

Replied Widdifield: “At a restaurant or at a bar maybe. … I may have lunch with one or two of them.”

He also admitted that he had attended the house the chapter is now using for its meetings “maybe once or twice.”

Asked about the conflicting information in his affidavit, Widdifield testified: “I guess I lied about that.”

Olthuis asked Widdifield if he retired from the Hells Angels “based on any concern for the influence the chapter had on your life.”

“No,” Widdifield said. “I was 62 years old. I had been doing it for 40 years — since I was 23 years old. It was time to retire.”

Hells Angels lawyer Greg DelBigio asked Widdifield if he socialized with Nanaimo bikers after his retirement because they were Hells Angels or because they were old friends.

They had been his friends for decades, he said.

“Nanaimo is a pretty small place,” Widdifield said. “You can bump into people at different places. … Some people I have known since I was six years old.”

Earlier Friday, Olthuis read parts of Widdifield’s earlier pretrial interview with government lawyers.

Widdifield described joining the Satan Angels motorcycle club in 1978 and then being part of the “patch-over” to the Hells Angels in 1983.

He agreed that he was once a director of the company that owns the Nanaimo clubhouse property and had been a party in the government’s lawsuit against the Hells Angels.

And he alleged the police might have stolen a computer from the clubhouse “when you raided the place” in November 2007.

The trial continues next week.

kbolan@postmedia.com

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