Canada - ~Last local Hells Angel fined for swapping VIN numbers

OFF THE WIRE
BY: Karena Walter
Source: stcatharinesstandard.ca
A founding member of the Niagara Hells Angels — which ceased operating this year due to declining membership — was given a $2,000 fine Monday for swapping VIN numbers.

Timothy Panetta, 41, of Wainfleet, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulently concealing the true identity of two vehicles that were the property of his business, Advantage Auto Sales and Leasing in Thorold.
Another 10 charges were withdrawn by the Crown Monday.

Panetta, the last remaining core member of Niagara's Hells Angels chapter, had no previous criminal record.

Assistant Crown attorney Dave King said red flags were raised at Panetta's business in May 2007 when an inspector from the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council did a routine inspection.

That led to an investigation by the province's joint-forces auto theft team, led by the OPP, which executed a warrant at the Allanport Rd. property in September 2008.

Investigators found a 2000 Chevrolet Silverado with a VIN number that identified it as a vehicle damaged in a fire and issued with a certificate of salvage in Pennsylvania in 2006.
But the Silverado's original VIN revealed it had actually suffered flood damage — something that would be more difficult to repair than fire damage.
A 1995 GMC Suburban was also found on the property with the wrong VIN number.
A joint submission with Panetta's lawyer Mark Evans asked for the $1,000 fine for each count.
Evans said both the Silverado and Suburban were found on Panetta's property and were not sold to the public.
He said neither truck was of significant value and Panetta said they were both for his personal use.

King said Panetta's licence to sell vehicles had expired since charges were laid. He said there are no concerns about Panetta selling vehicles in the future, as he likely wouldn't be able to obtain another licence.

The court was told Panetta is self-employed. He was given six months to pay the fine.

The Welland-based Niagara chapter of the Hells Angels was formed in 2001 but has since suffered a succession of blows.

The chapter was weakened by a series of police crackdowns and two members quit the group. In 2006, founding president Gerald Ward and his lieutenant Kenneth Wagner were swept up in the province-wide biker crackdown, Project Tandem.

Wagner was sentenced in 2008 to 11 years for trafficking cocaine.

Ward was sentenced to 14 years in March 2009, minus five years for pre-trial custody, for trafficking cocaine and instructing people to commit crimes for a criminal organization.

That left Panetta as the last original member standing. The chapter brought in members from other provincial chapters to bolster its numbers to six.

But police sources say the local gang's numbers recently fell below six members and the Niagara chapter's charter was frozen earlier this year.

Police say remaining members, including Panetta, became part of the Kitchener chapter of the Hells Angels.

The Darby Rd. clubhouse, of which Panetta is one of the owners, was seized June 1, 2009 by the Attorney General's office.
kwalter@stcatharinesstanadard.ca