Source: torontosun.com
By QMI Agency
QUEBEC CITY – The mega-trial of 154 Hells Angels charged with murder, drug trafficking and gangsterism could cost taxpayers $11 million, a third of which is for defence lawyers.
The bikers were rounded up in Project SharQc, an April 2009 police operation that dealt a crippling blow to the Hells Angels in Eastern Canada. The suspects face charges including first-degree murder, gangsterism, drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit murder.
They’ll be tried en masse in Montreal, likely next spring, in a process that’s expected to last nine months.
About 30 of the bikers are eligible for legal aid and their bill could cost Quebec taxpayers $4 million, or $145,000 per defendant, for 23 lawyers. The bill could be much higher if the trial drags on.
What’s more, Quebecers will subsidize a portion of the legal costs for some bikers who are not eligible for legal aid, including Rene Pearson, former vice-president of the Hells Angels’ Quebec City chapter.
Annual costs for the 17 full-time Crown prosecutors are $1.7 million, and the lawyers will end up working for three years.
A north-end Montreal courthouse was reorganized at a cost of $3.9 million to accommodate the massive trial.
