It's a deal that caused outrage at the time, and continues to resonate today. The North chapter, led by Laurent "L'Anglais" Viau,, consisted mostly of former Popeyes members and still retained Popeye attitudes, in marked contrast to the South chapter headed by Rjean "Zig Zig" Lessard, which was more disciplined. Check out these rare photos of the Hells Angels out and about. That cancer is justice.". Watch This Semi Truck's Turbo Break And Catch on Fire While Pulling 120,000 Lb. In 2004, he was re-arrested on sexual assault charges involving a boy under the age of 14. "He had this fascination early in life with bikers and military things and weapons and bombs," Dubro says. "He had absolutely no conscience, no respect for human life at all," says Dubro. He sensed something was brewing between Sorel and Laval and that it would end in blood. George Harrison met the guys during his trip to California. Dozensof Hells Angels from Quebec and Nova Scotia are initially charged on2 October, 1985. In the motorcycle world, this club is considered royalty. Chris is a proficient reader and writer. Unsurprisingly, many people treat club members as feral animals. ", On October 27, 1981, Trudeau detonated a bomb underneath McGurnaghan's car as it drove along Westmount Park. Parts of the St Lawrence River have been known as the Hells Angels Graveyard. [4] Lessard had joined the Angels in 1979, and did not have the Popeye mentality. By the time the Popeyes patched over, Trudeau had already killed four people (he was also reputed to have cut off the head of one of his victims, earning him the nickname "Apache"). RELATED:15 Things You Didnt Know About The Outlaws Motorcycle Club. "They noticed that the Laval chapter's garage that served as their bunker was closed," de Champlain says. In 1968, George Harrison of The Beatles played a small role in getting the club into the UK. The violence also attracted the attention of motorcycle gangs based in the US, especially the Chicago-based Outlaws and California-based Hells Angels, who were both looking to expand internationally. [5], After Buteau's assassination, Michel "Sky" Langlois became the president of the Angels while Lessard continued to lead the South chapter.

Luc Sam Michaud Luc Michaud was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. Rjean Zig Zag Lessard Rjean Lessard was the former Hells Angels Montreal President. "[3] Journalist James Dubro told Lejtenyi: "There's always has been more violence in Quebec. A couple of months later, while incarcerated, Trudeau cut a deal. His body wrapped in a sleeping bag and thrown into the St Lawrence River, his body weighed down with cement blocks. Pelletier, Michaud, Lessard and Tremblay were given life sentences for the murders with no chance of parole before 25 years. Michel Genest is granted full parole. I remember an Outlaws hit man telling me he was scared going to Montreal.". Receive the next edition of "The One Percenter Throwdown" to your inbox. But then, salvation came in the most unexpected way: he was picked up on a weapons charge in April 1985 and sentenced to a year in prison.

Hells Angels were really popular in the 60s.

[9] Lessard now extended the party for a second day, and announced that participation at the party was mandatory. [2] Gerry "Le Chat" Coulombe, a prospect with the South chapter, was also troubled by the massacre and also agreed to turn informer for the Sret du Qubec. Rock Machine would go on to form alliances with the Bandidos MC. [2] In exchange for his life, Trudeau was offered a deal by the South chapter to kill three other people associated with the North chapter.

They'd find out by June, when the bodies started floating to the surface of the St. Lawrence River. He was significantly overweight, believed to weigh around 300 pounds, and died from a heart attack in February 1996. The [Laval] guys weren't following the steps the others were taking. If there's one crime that Yves "Apache" Trudeau is most closely associated with, it would be the Lennoxville Massacre of March 24, 1985. "The girlfriends of the guys who'd disappeared were approached and asked, 'Have you seen your boyfriend lately?' Robert Tremblay is granted full parole. 2010 11 August, 2010. By the end of his sentence, Trudeau, then 62, was dying of cancer. At 64 years old, he still has another 10 years to serve before even being eligible.". However, Canada has complicated laws regarding these services, so the club has to be very careful with their presence in the country. Jacques Pelletier is granted full parole. One of the Angels present at the massacre, Richard "Bert" Mayrand, who was the older brother of victim Michel "Willie" Mayrand, refused the Crown's offer to testify against his brother's killers, saying the Angels were his family and he would never betray his "brothers" who had killed his biological brother. Before that, they were disorganized and unruly. But it would take more than what they had to effectively decapitate the club's leadership. The club has opened 444 chapters on six continents in the world. Also a possibly motive was the rumour that money was owed by the Hells Angels Laval and Montreal chapters to West End Gang leader Frank Peter Dunie Ryan. [9] Viau and four of North chapter members Jean-Guy "Brutus" Geoffrion, Jean-Pierre "Matt le Crosseur" Mathieu, Michel "Willie" Mayrand,[12] and Guy-Louis "Chop" Adam attended. Dubro says Trudeau pulled the trigger on Kennedy. Michel Genest, found guilty of the beating of Claude Roy in the weeks following the Lennoxville event is granted unescorted day release visits from prison. Still, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation calls them an outlaw motorcycle gang. [7] As the Halifax chapter was poorer than the North chapter, Trudeau's behavior was considered to be especially crass. You must own a chopper or other serious bike. Apache Trudeau was known as a killer with no respect for human life at all.. [9] Most of the North chapter now appeared with the notable exceptions of Trudeau, who was undergoing drug rehabilitation in Oka, and Michel "Jinx" Genest, who was in the hospital recovering from a failed assassination attempt by the Outlaws. Rjean Lessard is granted full parole. RELATED:24 Pics Of Angels And Their Motorcycles. That decision saved his life. I remember an Outlaws hit man telling me he was scared of going to Montreal. But Trudeau's most infamous killing took place three years later, and was also carried out for the West End Gang. Trudeau committed several murders at the behest of the West End Gang, the largely Irish community of criminals operating out of Montreal's predominantly English-speaking southwest. Upon his release from prison in 1994, he was given a new identity and a job at a seniors' residence in St-Eustache on the north shore of the St. Lawrence near Montreal. He gunned his victims down at their homes, planted bombs in their vehiclesit didn't matter if he killed innocents along the way. [3] Confusingly, the North chapter was based in Laval (north of Montreal) while the South chapter was based in Sorel (northeast of Montreal). By 1975, for instance, the Devil's Disciples disbanded after 15 of their members had been murdered by one criminal group or another. "Dunie got a little pissed off and he wanted to set an example," says D'Arcy O'Connor, author of Montreal's Irish Mafia, about the West End Gang. Here's What The Need For Speed Mustang Is Worth Today, Check Out These Rare Photos Of The Hells Angels Out And About, 15 Cool Vintage Photos Of The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, 15 Things You Didnt Know About The Outlaws Motorcycle Club, 15 Mistakes And Fails From The Original F&F Movie, Here's What Happened To The Ghost Rider's Suzuki Hayabusa, Skoda Rapid: A Highly Capable Compact Sedan That Eluded Americans. The murder of six Hells Angels by their one-time comrades-in-arms shocked the underworld, law enforcement, and the public, and almost led to the club's complete downfall in Quebec. Robert Snake Tremblay Robert Tremblay left to Europe and lived in England before being brought back to stand trial. On September 8, 1983, Buteau and another Angel, Ren Lamoureaux, were having lunch at a Longueuil restaurant, Le Petit Bourg, with Guy "Frenchie" Gilbert, the president of the Kitchener, Ontario, chapter of the Satan's Choice biker gang, who was considering "patching over" to join the Angels. [9] Four other Angels chapters, all in British Columbia, did not attend the party. As a rider, one of the best decisions you can make to expand your social horizons is to join a motorcycle club. [9], Three members of the North chapter in attendance at the party who were not attacked - Gilles "Le Nez" Lachance, Richard "Bert" Mayrand, and Yvon "Le Pre" Bilodeau - were ordered to remove the bodies and wash away the blood. Yves "Apache" Trudeau | Image via. The Hells Angels Club was founded in California in 1948. Trudeau's reputation was solid enough that he began taking contracts from outside the Hells. Rjean "Zig Zag" Lessard, the leader of the plot behind the massacre, converted to. Then they realized that these people had disappeared, but they didn't know they were dead.". [16] He fled Canada in March 2001 to escape an arrest warrant and has disappeared. Robert TinyRichard Robert Richard was acquitted of the first degree murder charges. There are not so many clubs who have sued Disney and won. Maurice "Mom" Boucher is one of the most famous club ex-leaders.

Girlfriends and wives died alongside their men. [3], Gilles Lachance, who was profoundly troubled by the massacre, contacted the Sret du Qubec to state his willingness to work as an informer and to wear a wire. Besides being almost constantly high on cocaine, the North Chapter was also withholding profits they made from selling $300,000 worth of speed to the West End Gangprofits that were supposed to be shared equally.

Saturday 23 March, 1985 Members of the Laval chapter are requested to come to the clubhouse in Lennoxville, Quebec. During the next 10 years, the club could open many chapters in San Francisco and Oakland. Though he denied killing anyone, he stated his regret for his involvement in a crime that put him in prison for 20 years. He questions the whole value of the informant program, saying the return on the investment isn't always justifiable.

As part of the case he admitted to being involved in 43 murders between September 1970 and July 1985. Jacques Pelletier is returned to prison for associating with known criminals. | Images via Wikipedia Commons. After having their Hells Angels colors removed the bodies of the five men are wrapped in sleeping bags, cinder blocks are used as weights and they are thrown into the St Lawrence River. The explosion blew off McGurnaghan's legs and shattered windows in the upscale neighbourhood. Luckily for him he had checked into a drug rehabilitation facility shortly before the events of 24 March. The Hells Angels have grown so big that they have ties with many celebrities. Several members of the Hells Angels were present and played a role in the slaughter, but only four Jacques Pelletier, Luc "Sam" Michaud, Rjean "Zig-Zag" Lessard and later Robert "Snake" Tremblay were convicted of first-degree murder. If you're not a male, you can't become a member. [13] At the bottom of the river, police divers located the decomposing bodies of all five victims, wrapped in sleeping bags and tied to weightlifting plates. "He was very professional, very meticulous, and that's why they used his services.". Yves Trudeau, one of the initial targets of the massacre who was in a drug rehabilitation facility at the time of the murders, assisted police with their case after he found out that there was a contract put on his head by members within the club.

He invited several Hells Angels to London where he was hosting a lavish Christmas party. Robert "Snake" Tremblay was granted full parole on August 30, 2004 and is living in Montreal. [1], In the immediate aftermath of the massacre, police noted changes at the North chapter compound. [3] Trudeau carried out one killing, but was arrested for possession of illegal weapons in July 1985. "[3] The Hells Angels, who had been looking to expand into Canada, decided that the Popeyes were the best gang to take into their organization. They even have their own (legal) store in Toronto and do a lot of charity work.

Only 3 members are available to come, so the meeting is postponed until the following day. Conservative Senator and victims' rights advocate Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu says the Trudeau deal was a glaring example of abuse of the system, of a shortcut too eagerly seized by police and prosecutors. In the meantime, the cops knew something was going on. Gilles Lechance was present at the Lennoxville event and turns police informant after he is arrested. ", Asked about his terminal illness and what he thought about death, Trudeau said, "I see it as a punishment." Accessed January 31, 2022 in French page 58, even in 1970 Beaulieu was well established as president of the Gitans club. He was granted parole, and died soon after.

Sunday 24 March, 1985 Five members of the Hells Angels LavalChapter are summoned to the Hells Angels clubhouse in Lennoxville, Quebec, arriving in the evening of Sunday 24 March, 1985. [9] Also attending the meeting was Georges "Bo-Boy" Beaulieu, the president of the Angels' Sherbrooke chapter,[10] who agreed with Lessard and Carroll that the North chapter needed to be liquidated. Also absent was Apache Trudeau. Asked what he wanted to accomplish in his remaining time, he said, "I want to show my mother I'm good.". This page was last edited on 18 July 2022, at 20:13.

"There's always has been more violence in Quebec," says Dubro. 2 members could make it over and built connections with local bikers. In March 1985, the Sorel mother chapter held a secret meeting declaring the Laval chapter to be in "bad standing." The four were quickly murdered and disposed of in the St. Lawrence. There are only 4 European countries that still don't have an association with the club. [11], In March 1985, at a secret meeting in Sorel, the Montreal North chapter were declared to be in "bad standing" with the Hells Angels and were hence to be killed. At Ryan's funeral, his friend and colleague Allan "the Weasel" Ross made contact with Trudeau, and, having heard that April was bragging about the murder, arranged for payback. If you want to become a club member, you should be ready to make sacrifices. Once Blass was safely out of the apartment, Trudeau detonated a bomb hidden inside the TV. The explosion, writes de Champlain, blew the four men to pieces and badly damaged eight other apartments in the Concordia University student ghetto building. [16] Carroll moved to Montreal in 1990 and later played a very prominent role in the Quebec Biker War. Even Lichtenstein has its own chapter. In the biker world it's known as the Red Zone.

Jacques Pelletier Sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. The victims were considered "risky members" due to their partying lifestyles. Sunday 7 April, 1985 Hells Angels member Michel Jinx Genest phones Claude Roy, a LavalChapterprospect, inviting him to meet him at a motel inSt Basile le Grand. On Sunday, March 24, after cajoling a few reticent North members to make the trip from Laval to Lennoxville, the trap was sprung. The girlfriends of the guys who'd disappeared were approached and asked, 'Have you seen your boyfriend lately?' Five men were killed in the Lennoxville Massacre, all were members of the Hells Angels North Chapter: One man was killed in the weeks following the Lennoxville event: One of the believed initial targets of the massacre wasYves Apache Trudeau, who was a prominent member within the LavalChapter and a known hitman, later admitting to 43 murders. Over a dozen members are believed to have been involved in the beatings, shootings, the cleanup of the bodies and disposing of evidence. [14] Mayrand later returned to the Angels and served as one of Boucher's lieutenants during the Quebec Biker War. Sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. The Port was then run by the Gang's leading light, Frank Peter "Dunie" Ryan. The criminals take advantage of protection that isn't available to victims and a lot of the criminals who turned informant will wind up being recidivist.". In exchange for his testimony, he pled guilty to 43 charges of manslaughter and served seven years in prison. In attempts to stop people from making profits off them, the club sued Toys R Us, Amazon, Saks, Zappos, Alexander McQueen and Marvel. Just a couple months previously, he'd hired the biker to eliminate Hughie McGurnaghan, a gang member whom Ryan felt had cheated him out of drug money. Pelletier were granted day parole in October 2008. "He hired Yves Trudeau to send a message to the rest of the West End Gang that you don't fuck around with Dunie Ryan if you owe him money. Heavily addicted to cocaine though he wasde Champlain writes that he went through $60,000 worth of cocaine in just three weeksTrudeau was no dummy. [4] The North chapter, which had often chafed at and had broken Buteau's rules about not using drugs, quickly spun out of control under Viau's leadership as Viau himself abused cocaine and alcohol. By the early 1980s, their notorious behaviourespecially their heavy cocaine use, flaunting of club rules, and the disrespect shown to other criminalswas becoming a serious issue. [5] In a division of labour, Langlois focused his efforts into expanding into the rest of Canada while Lessard had effective operational control of the Angels in Quebec. After Frank Ryan was killed it is believed that members of the Laval chapter including Yves Trudeau organized a revenge bombing, which was not to the liking of the higher up Hells Angels. They've been seen with Jerry Garcia, Allen Ginsberg and Ken Kesey. [13], Together with Jacques "La Pelle" Pelletier and Robert "Snake" Tremblay of the South chapter, Lachance went to see Genest to inform him that he could either join the South chapter or be killed; he chose the former. [8] The Hells Angels assassin Yves "Apache" Trudeau later testified for the Crown that relations between the North and South chapters were "ice cold" by the beginning of 1985. [7] Carroll went to Montreal to meet with Lessard, and demanded that he take action against the North chapter. It was decided that an example would be made of the LavalChapter members. Wikipedia Commons. (In an odd twist, O'Connor says he was living nearby at the time and heard the detonation as it went off but didn't know what it was. On November 13, 1984, Ryan was gunned down by Paul April, another West End Gang member, and his partner Robert Lelivre. Get Hotcars Premium. The five men were ambushed when they arrived. [3] As result of Trudeau's testimony, 90 murders were solved and nineteen Hells Angels members were convicted. [9] Lessard and Carroll in particular wanted Viau and Trudeau dead. NEXT:15 Mistakes And Fails From The Original F&F Movie. He died en route to the hospital. The Laval chapter was told to appear at the Sherbrooke chapter's clubhouseactually in neighbouring Lennoxville, home of Bishop's Universityon Saturday, March 23, for a party. The Lenoxville Massacre event shook up the biker scene in Canada. "Makes it a little easier. Red and white are the main colors. He even worked at an explosives factory, where he honed the skills that would later become his trademark. The Angels and the Rock Machine co-existed peacefully for several years, which police believed was due to Boucher's respect for the Cazzetta brothers, who were well connected to the Rizzuto crime family, and were the only criminal group the bikers were unwilling to attack. He would testify against his former colleagues in exchange for a cushy cell and reduced sentence. So a week before the meeting, he quietly booked himself into a detox centre in Oka, just west of Montreal. Lennoxville Massacre, also known as the Lennoxville Purge, refers to the 1985 murder of 5 Hells AngelsNorth Chapter members from Laval inLennoxville, Quebec, Canada. "[8] Other organized crime groups that the Hells Angels did business with, such as the Rizzuto crime family and the West End Gang, had been pressuring the Angels to bring the North chapter under control. In Canada, the Hells Angels have a total control of street prostitution. The club has to stay close-knit to maintain their integrity. One of the most recognizable Hells Angels symbols is the dead head designed by Frank Sadilek. Sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. [5] Goudreau was a prospect with the Outlaws and believed he would be rewarded with "full patch" status if he could assassinate the leader of the Canadian Hells Angels. Sorel drew up a list of North members to be murdered, Trudeau among them. The gang got paid in beer and didn't even complain. Please help us out by hitting the Share button so that we can keep bringing you more articles and Follow us on Facebook so that you get updated when we release new articles. "A guy like that doesn't have a soul. The relationship was so strong that in January 1982 Ryan forced the Hells to murder three of their own members, and one of their girlfriends. [3], When the leader of the Hells Angels' Halifax chapter, David "Wolf" Carroll, paid Trudeau C$98,000 dollars for killing someone, he learned that the North chapter was actually entitled to one-quarter of the money, and that Trudeau had instead used the money to support his cocaine addiction. It would be based in the northern suburb of Laval, and became known as the North Chapter, while the chapter based in Sorel, about an hour's drive northeast of Montreal, would remain the provincial mother chapter.

Several North members arrived as scheduled but others, including chapter president Laurent Viau, declined. In fact, it may have helped it, says Dubro. [17] [1], Maurice Boucher, future Quebec Nomad chapter president, did not share Cazzetta's concerns, and after finishing a 40-month sentence for armed sexual assault on a 16-year-old girl, he joined the Hells Angels in 1986 and began to rise through the ranks. Four people died. The Popeyes did the same, joining the Hells Angels that December. [4], Other Hells Angels soon regarded the North chapter as too wild and uncontrollable, often using drugs they were supposed to sell and allegedly skimming drug profits at least C$60,000 that were meant for other chapters. He is believed to have been one of the ringleaders in the murders, yet still claims his only role was pointing a gun at a member in order to keep him under control and the burning of a leather jacket owned by one of the victims. It was going against the new philosophy of the Hells Angels. In September 1979, as the Hells Angels continued to grow, the Montreal chapter was divided into two: Montreal North and Montreal South with Yves "Le Boss" Buteau as the national president. Testimony provided by Trudeau and two other informants, experts say, would lead directly to the conviction of some 19 Hells Angels, including four directly connected to the Lennoxville Massacre. During the main trial one of the jurors, Juror #8 Mario Hamel, informed the judge that he had been paid $25,000 by a stranger to convince the remaining jury members to acquit the accused. The Rolling Stones once had a free-entry Altamont concert, and they asked the Hells Angels to work as security for them. Salvatore Cazzetta found the event an unforgivable breach of the outlaw code and, rather than joining the Angels, he and his brother Giovanni formed their own smaller gang, the Rock Machine, in 1986. "These are programs that cost us millions of dollars. By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content. Trudeau successfully murdered one of the targets, but could not get to the other two. Trudeau, without a whole lot of options, agreed. "They talk about a brotherhood but when they find someone is no longer useful they just get rid of him.". They needed someone like Yves Trudeauand fortunately for them, they had him. Even though all riders ride a motorcycle, the real purpose of a club depends on the reasons behind its establishment. He pled guilty and was sentenced to four years in jail. 2004 30 August, 2004. As of 2020, all offenders are out of prison. He was sent back to prison in 2014 after he violated the terms of his parole by associating with Hells Angels. Many motorcycle clubs are based on traditions or beliefs of people of the area from where they originate, but many are found on the bike brands.

The five LavalChapter members are beaten and shot.