Canada -Inside the Hells Angels

OFF THE WIRE
BY: SAM PAZZANO
Source: torontosun.com

No rips and no rats.

Those are two of the cardinal rules that govern the members of the outlaw Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC).
Federal Crown attorney Tanit Gilliam said club members are expected to never “rip off” fellow bikers or associates in drug deals or testify — in biker jargon, “rat” — against one another.
In 2005, Merhdad “Juicy” Bahman, a full-patch member received 600 litres of GHB — liquid ecstasy — from a B.C. resident known as “Moe” who was a friend of the local Haney chapter of Hells Angels, said federal Crown Tanit Gilliam in her opening to the jury.
Bahman, who was selling smaller quantities to a police agent had been storing it at a friend’s Toronto home. Police secretly seized 350 litres of the drug, making it appear as if it had been stolen, said Gilliam.
This caused quite a stir as the GHB was worth $100,000, court heard.
The seizure resulted in Bhaman “being unable or unwilling to pay ‘Moe’ for the drugs,” said Gilliam.
But several Toronto chapter executives — John Neal, Douglas Myles and Larry Pooler — intervened to resolve the outstanding debt.
They had to “protect the good name and brand image of Hells Angels in Toronto. Bahman had breached the cardinal rule,” said Gilliam.
John “Winner” Neal, the club president, was instrumental in negotiating a settlement with “Moe” as Neal travelled to B.C. with at least $20,000 payment towards that debt.
“Neal was prepared in his own words to throw Bahman to the wolves if the debt was not paid,” said Gilliam.
“Neal championed the rules of the HAMC, in particular, the no rips rule, the no-rats rule, the brotherhood rule of not testifying against a fellow member,” said Gilliam.
Neal stressed the need for extensive background checks and caution in speaking of illegal activities in order to avoid police detection.
Gilliam said the prosecution’s case against the bikers relies on the undercover police agent work of a full-patch member and former HAMC executive, David Atwell.