Biker Trials, The Read Free Page A

months for a weapons offence. He eventually became the Hells Angels’ national president, despitethe fact he does not fit the profile of a typical biker gang member. He stands only 5 foot 4 inches tall and is thin. When appearing in court he is soft-spoken, polite and quick to smile. But he is also a survivor.
    On September 8,1984, the first anniversary of Yves Buteau’s death, Stadnick and a group of about 20 other bikers were riding their motorcycles in a close formation along Highway 143 in Saint-Pie-de-Guire, a small town outside of Drummondville. Buteau was from Drummondville and had been buried in a cemetery there. Riding with Stadnick that day were other important members of the Hells Angels from both the Montreal chapter and what would become the Sherbrooke chapter. They were on their way to the cemetery to pay their respects. Denis Houle, a future member of the Nomads chapter was among the group, riding his red 1984 Harley. Michel (Sky) Langlois, who had just replaced Buteau as president of the Montreal chapter, was there too. Ronald Lauchlin MacDonald, the future president of the Halifax chapter, was also along for the ride.
    At the same time, a 57-year-old priest driving his car down Rural Road 13 was heading to an event planned as part of the pope’s visit to Quebec that year. The priest was apparently late. His car went through a stop sign and barreled into the Hells Angels and their motorcycles. The close formation the bikers were riding in caused a chain reaction as the priest’s car plowed through them. Thirteen motorcycles were involved in the accident and four of them caught fire. A Hells Angels’ prospect named Daniel Mathieu died shortly afterward in a Sherbrooke hospital. Stadnick was burned badly in the accident and ended up losing several fingers. He also suffered severe burns to his face that were still visible 20 years later.
    In 1996, while Boucher was busy with the war in Montreal, Stadnick spent time traveling across Canada making and maintaining important contacts for the gang as it prepared to spreadwestward. Stéphane Sirois, a member of the Rockers, traveled that year with Stadnick to Winnipeg where the Hells Angels planned to set up a Rockers chapter whose members would sell drugs supplied from Montreal. Stadnick had no way of knowing Sirois would later leave the Hells Angels’ organization on bad terms and agree to work for the police. Stadnick told Sirois that he already had drug dealers working for him in Manitoba so that setting up a puppet club in Winnipeg only made sense. It’s hard to know how good business was in Manitoba, but four years earlier, a bag the police suspected was Stadnick’s was seized at a Winnipeg airport. Inside it, they found $80,000. Stadnick was charged with possession of the proceeds of crime, but his criminal case ended with the Crown dropping the charges, possibly due to a lack of evidence. Sirois was also with Stadnick as they prepared to travel to Saskatchewan to visit members of the Rebels, a gang celebrating their anniversary. Stadnick talked of how his dream was to see the Hells Angels become the only biker gang in Canada. Two years later, the Rebels were made prospect members in the Hells Angels.
    On July 21, 2000, another part of Stadnick’s dream was fulfilled. The police in Winnipeg had been monitoring a clubhouse that belonged to a gang called Los Bravos. They were aware of what was about to happen. Every member of the gang was present that day and could be seen wearing their Los Bravos colors outside the clubhouse before they all walked inside. Stadnick arrived at the clubhouse carrying a large white bag that appeared to be full. Minutes after he walked in, the police could hear a loud cheer emerge from within. As they filed out of the clubhouse, the gangsters were sporting new patches on their backs revealing that they had become prospects in the Hells Angels.
    The following day, the Winnipeg police spotted