Rockers Motor Club
Founded | March 26, 1992 Quebeckers and Francophone Canadians |
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The Rockers Motor Club, often abbreviated as the Rockers MC, was a
Lasting from 1992 until 2001, the group played a significant role in the ill-famed Quebec Biker War.[22] Acting not only as a recruitment tool to test the competence of bikers wanting to become Hells Angels, the Rockers Motor Club was also utilized to carry out numerous unlawful objectives of the Angels which included intimidation, violent assaults, and assassinations of their rivals in an effort to help the ladder obtain total control over the nation's illegal drug trade.[21][23]
Prior to the formation of Angels-affiliated Rockers Motor Club in the early 1990s, another biker gang had coincidentally existed in the same area known as the Montreal Rockers Motorcycle Club, also nicknamed "the Rockers". This particular group emerged as a supporter club for the Montreal chapter of the
History
The Rockers MC was first set up in March 26 of 1992 by then-President of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) Montreal charter,
The Rockers were officially established a couple years before the Quebec Biker War began by high-ranking Hells Angels crime boss Mom Boucher. The aim of the club's creation was to provide more manpower and follower who were willing to commit crimes in order to become Hells Angels. In addition, the club was also setup as a means to distance the Hells Angels from unwanted police attention that would especially come from "street-level" crimes, and - thus, were often called upon to carry out HAMC's so-called "dirty work".[25][26] Several other Hells Angels supporter motorcycle clubs were established for this same purpose around and after this time including the Damners MC, Demon Keepers MC, Evil Ones MC, Jackels MC, Jokers MC, Mercenaries MC and the Rowdy Crew MC.[27][28] The Rockers were different from any other of the said HAMC puppet clubs, however, as they acted exclusively as the group's enforcement arm.
When settings up the Rockers, Maurice Boucher hand-picked his ambitious
As a support club (synonymously referred to by police as "puppet clubs"), the Rockers MC operated under the discretion of the Hells Angels, most notably its Quebec Nomads chapter which consisted of Canada's most reputable and high-ranking members.[32][33] In the context of law enforcement, "supporter" motorcycle gangs like the Rockers Motor Club act as auxiliary organizations to their dominant affiliated gang and, like in the case of the Rockers, may be used to help them facilitate various criminal activities.[34][35][36]
During the year of 1995,
One of the most notable members of the Rockers was Dany Kane, a criminal from Montérégie who would later become a police informant for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Sûreté du Québec.[40]
While a member of the Rockers, Dany Kane would later come into contact with a small-time crook named
In amidst of the war with Rock Machine, Rockers MC biker Paul "Fon Fon" Fontaine, along with an accomplice, murdered provincial prison guard Pierre Rondeau and nearly killed Rondeau's colleague, Robert Corriveau on Sept. 8, 1997. The attack was ordered by Maurice Boucher in an attempt to destabilize the Quebec justice system and frighten police informants who were either members or associates of HAMC. Fontaine was successfully awarded with membership into the Hells Angels MC Quebec Nomads chapter for this act.[17][43]
In response to the targeted murder of senior Hells Angel Normand Hamel on April 17, 2000, by Rock Machine MC members, a longstanding HAMC-affiliated outlaw motorcycle club based in Laval, Quebec known as the Death Riders MC assimilated into a new chapter of the Rockers Motor Club which became known as Rockers MC North.[44] Acting on behalf of the Hells Angels, this newly-formed support charter oversaw the drug trade in Laval as well as the lower Laurentides region in Southwestern Quebec.[7]
Dissolution and legacy
There is wide speculation amongst journalists and law enforcement alike that much of the gang-related homicides that occurred during the notorious Quebec Biker War were committed by bikers who belonged to the Rockers Motor Club. It is alleged that nearly all of such individuals had been driven by the desire to "prove their worth" to the Hells Angels MC - hoping to be admitted as "full-patch" members.[45]
The majority of Rockers MC members were arrested by the Quebec authorities in 2001 following a massive law enforcement crackdown involving the RCMP, Sûreté du Québec, Ontario Provincial Police and the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal known as "Operation Springtime".[citation needed] This, in turn, caused the gang to disband for good.[citation needed]
In 1998, gang hitman Aime Simard testified against five Rockers MC bikers before he was
Rockers member Dany Kane committed suicide in his garage
List of Rockers MC members
- Gregory "Picasso" Woolley
- Jean-Guy Bourgouin[50]
- Dany "Dany Boy" Kane
- Aimé "Ace" Simard
- Stéphane "Godasse" Gagné
- Francis Boucher[51]
- Sébastien "Bass" Beauchamp — Joined up with the Rockers in 1997 and became a full-patch member in 2000. Received a seven-year prison sentence following Operation Springtime. Fatally shot in December 2018 by freelance contract killer Frédérick Silva.[52][19]
- Robert Johnson[53][54]
- Stéphane Sirois[55]
- René "Balloune" Charlebois[25]
- Serge "Pacha" Boutin[56]
- Normand "Norm" Robitaille[25]
- Kenny Bedard[57]
- Daniel Lanthier[58]
- Guillaume "Mimo" Serra[59]
- Pierre "Pépé" Provencher[60]
- Sylvain Laplante[61]
- Normand "Pluche" Bélanger[61]
- Paul "Schtrompf" Brisebois[61]
- Pierre "Peanut" Laurin[62]
- Stephen Falls[63]
- Bruno Lefebvre — Sentenced to 11 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder, drug trafficking and gangsterism following Operation Springtime. Assassinated in 2013.[64]
References
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- ^ a b "Maurice 'Mom' Boucher, former Hells Angels boss, dies in prison from cancer". Globalnews.ca. July 10, 2022.
- ^ "Picture-Perfect Ending: Canadian Underworld Chief "Picasso" Woolley Walks Free from Prison". The Gangster Report. 11 November 2020.
- ^ "R. v. Lindsay | Jun 30, 2005". www.incjournal.com.
- ^ a b c "The Quebec Biker War Timeline: Murder & Mayhem in Montreal in Fight for Biker Kingdom". The Gangster Report. December 2018.
- ^ "The former vice-president of the Rockers was arrested for firearm possession". Toronto Star. 17 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Death Riders: The Grim Reapers of Laval". AmericanMafia.com.
- ^ "Quebec's biker war started 25 years ago today". Biker News. 13 July 2019.
- ^ Cherry, Paul (Apr 22, 2022). "Man pleads guilty to being accessory after the fact to murder in C.D.N.-N.D.G." Montreal Gazette.
- ^ a b "Biker war vigilance urged by Winnipeg police". CBC News. Jul 15, 2011.
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- ^ "Paul "Fon Fon" Fontaine".
- ^ a b Cherry, Paul (Dec 21, 2018). "Slain biker's life had a rough start, violent ending in St-Léonard". Montreal Gazette.
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- ^ a b "Man who is alleged to be a middleman between Montreal Mafia and Hells Angels denied parole". Biker News. 26 May 2020.
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- ISBN 978-0-307-37276-5.
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- ^ "CN MB: Bad to the Bone". Rave.ca. 2002-06-23.
- ^ "Reorganized crime". The Globe and Mail. 26 September 2008.
- ^ a b "The mark of Kane". The Globe and Mail. 9 April 2005.
- ^ "Danny "Danny Boy" Kane".
- ^ Borden, Sherri (8 Apr 2004). "CC: CN NS: Wilson Admits Ordering Murders". Halifax Herald Nova Scotia – via Cannabis Culture.
- ^ "Witnesses recall fatal guard shooting at Hells Angels trial". CBC News. Oct 10, 2008.
- ^ "The Death Riders/Rockers North".
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- ^ "Hells Angels informer dies in jail". The Globe and Mail. 22 July 2003.
- ^ "Inmate's death raises alarm over prison violence". CBC News. Feb 9, 2004.
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- ^ "BAnQ numérique".
- ^ "Arrested for the murder of a former Hells Angels relative". 27 February 2019.
- ^ "The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada". 11 April 1997.
- ^ "BAnQ numérique".
- ^ "Woman who dated Bernier had links to biker gang". The Globe and Mail. 8 May 2008.
- ^ Cherry, Paul (Feb 27, 2015). "Hells Angel underling who turned informant granted parole after security risk". Montreal Gazette.
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- ^ "Minister gives bikers chance to defend themselves". CBC News. Jun 15, 2001.
- ^ "GUILLAUME "MIMO" SERRA Ex-prospect des Hells Angels Nomads 55 ans". Le Journal de Quebec (in French). 27 Mar 2021 – via PressReader.
- ^ "PIERRE "PÉPÉ" PROVENCHER Ex-membre des Rockers 71 ans". Le Journal de Quebec (in French) – via PressReader.
- ^ a b c Myles, Brian (6 June 2002). "Les Rockers - les Nomads ne faisaient plus confiance à la bande d'indisciplinés". Le Devoir (in French).
- ^ "Unexpected end to Hells Angels mega-trial". CBC News. Sep 11, 2003.
- ^ "Un influent Rockers reste en prison". 11 January 2010.
- ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/former-gang-member-shot-inside-outremont-business-1.1321367