At 04:00 PM 2/14/02 -0500, you wrote:
>For maybe a decade, I've been reading Canadian
mysteries of various sorts
>that featured motorcycle gangs as villains and
saying, "How tired!" In
>Pennsylvania, we have cycle thugs who run meth
networks and every so often
>kill someone,
That's largely been the scene in Ontario, until now. Meth
labs, strippers and intimidators (mostly bombings) for
hire.
> but mostly we have parades of vets or
anti-helmet-law
>activists or whatever who try to get on TV to
proclaim, "I'm an accountant
>and I ride a motorcycle."
Retirees on Gold Wings, and they're right, of course. I often
wonder if they understand the PR cover they provide to the
gangsters.
> I don't think I've heard anybody say they
were
>afraid of motorcycle gangs since the 1950s, and I was
a little kid then and
>I might be mistaken. So I was embarrassed to read an
actual news item
>recently about how bad the motorcycle gang problem is
up north.
Kevin Burton Smith could probably give you the numbers more
accurately. Montreal's his turf, but I believe there are more
than 100 murders (and not all of them bikers by any stretch)
attributed to the Hells Angels vs. Rock Machine battle for
turf. Quebec was a final North American frontier, with
something similar anticipated in Ontario when things got
settled down river, as they were within the past year. After
that it took the Hells about a week to organize independent
Ontario clubs, thought that may not be complete yet.
Sure, we've all got stories about friendly bikers. Even Mel
Lastman has one. Just don't interfere with their business,
and hope they don't take an interest in yours.
Kerry, who's always been a bit leery of cops too, though
they've never been anything but nice to me.
------------------------------------------------------
Literary events Calendar (South Ont.) http://www.lit-electric.com
The evil men do lives after them http://www.murderoutthere.com
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