OFF THE WIRE
Tamara King
winnipegsun.com
A Manitoba man who police say once claimed to be the Canadian president of the Vagos never actually became a member, says a well-placed source within the biker gang.
Jamie Christopher Korne, 40, who was nabbed recently in a major drugs and gun trafficking bust, was going to head up a local chapter but failed to meet with Vagos brass in the U.S. to seal the deal and seemingly vanished for a year, the source tells the Winnipeg Sun.
"He never actually became one. He was supposed to fly out, but he never showed up," said the source.
The Vagos were speaking out after Korne's arrest in Project Deplete. In all, 16 people were swept up in the police operation.
Court documents related to the bust say that police were concerned about Korne's potential access to guns and associations with gangs.
"Korne told the agent during the course of Project Deplete that he is the national president of the Vagos gang," cops said in court documents unsealed in February.
Korne — a former Manitoba Bandidos member also linked to the reformed Rock Machine gang — is accused of selling hundreds of grams of cocaine to a police snitch.
The two drug transactions took place last October and Jan. 9, court documents state.
"I don't want my motorcycle club associated with that crap," said the source.
"We're in it for the biking and the brotherhood."
The source also denies the Vagos presence in Winnipeg "at all," he said.
Dubbed the "Green Nation", the Vagos have members in southern Ontario.
In the U.S., the Department of Justice alleges the Vagos have been implicated in assault, extortion, fraud, murder, witness intimidation and other crimes. Traditionally, they're arch rivals to the Hells Angels.
The allegations against Korne have not been proven and he is presumed innocent.
tamara.king@sunmedia.ca
