Holland's Hells Angel Leader sent to prison - Encrypted Network Busted

A court in Alkmaar sentenced Lysander de R., president of the Haarlem chapter of the Hell’s Angels, to 2.5 years in prison on Friday. He was found guilty of illegal firearm possession and assault. De R.’s father-in-law, Frits P., was also sentenced to 2.5 years in prison on the same charges. The Public Prosecutor demanded three years against them. Their lawyers said they will appeal against the sentence. This case involves an arsenal of weapons found in P.’s shed in Haarlem in September 2014. The arsenal included a missile launcher, a grenade, a machine gun, a firearm, ammunition and stolen goods. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team had to be called in to defuse the grenade and rocket launcher.

The Hells Angels control much of the drug trade in the Netherlands, and are also involved in prostitution.

Uzi

On Tuesday, the Dutch police service announced the arrest of a man allegedly behind the sale of custom PGP smartphones and the seizure of the network allowing their use. The Dutch police claims in its statement the devices are used “extensively” by criminals. “Police today copied multiple servers in the Netherlands, The arrested suspect is the owner of a company in Nijmegen (a Dutch town near the German border). His company supplied customized smartphones and associated communications.” Toronto Police, which also worked on the investigation, additionally seized a server and mirrored information from it. PGP BlackBerrys have been identified. 19,000 registrants used the network.

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/dutch-and-canadian-police-seize-criminal-encrypted-smartphone-network

Ontario Nomad Hells Angel shot in Lachute - Update II

A 41-year-old member of the Hells Angels is in serious but stable condition after being shot while he was riding his motorcycle in Lachute. The man was riding about 10:30 a.m. when multiple gun shots were heard. He was shot in the back and is in serious but not life threatening condition. The Ontario Nomads Hells Angel was likely saved from execution when a second motorcyclist, who was riding with them, came and dragged the victim away to a ditch. At least one person was seen speeding away in an SUV.

Sources have identified him as Phil Boudreault, a 41-year-old Sudbury native and vice-president for the Hells Angels Ontario Nomads who had been living in Quebec. The Lachute area is north of Montreal and has a long history of biker gang activity.

Hells Angels brothel in Berlin raided by hundreds of German Police

German police, tax and customs investigators have raided Berlin’s biggest brothel, charging it is linked to the Hells Angels biker gang, and making six arrests. They detained the two managers of the so-called nude sauna club Artemis and four “madames” in the raid, in which they encountered 117 sex workers and more than 100 clients, said police and prosecutors. Prostitution is legal in Germany but police charge that the four-story brothel complex constituted a “brutal and illegal” system that severely exploited dependent women. Most of the women were from eastern Europe, Russia and several countries in the Middle East.

Those detained in the raid were accused of tax fraud and withholding social security contributions, said police, who added that they were also investigating possible human trafficking by the club. Police charge that while Artemis had officially engaged the women as “self-employed” sex workers, they were in fact regular employees with set work hours, price rates and instructions to perform specific sexual acts. By withholding social security payments, the club had cheated the state out of at least €17.5m Hells Angels bikers allegedly procured women for the club in return for favours including free admission. Police confiscated €6.4m euros in cash, cars and property, also including 12 apartments and other premises in Berlin and nationwide.

B.C. judge orders dirty lawyers to pay back legal fees

A B.C. judge has ordered an Ontario company to repay the federal government more than $800,000 in unnecessary and unreasonable legal fees and costs. The fees were billed in connection with an investigation into a law firm’s participation in a settlement agreement to compensate Indian residential school survivors.

Stephen J. Bronstein entering court.

In a ruling released in October last year, she ordered Bronstein and Company of Vancouver to reimburse the government in the amount of $1.25 million in what she deemed to be reasonable costs associated with the investigation. Bronstein has been named as the lawyer who allegedly worked with Ivon Johnny, a convicted murderer who extorted money from survivors he signed up for the Independent Assessment Process (IAP). The judge also found that Crawford Class Action Service, a company that assists in the administration of class action settlements, had charged the Canadian government unreasonable and unnecessary amounts. In a ruling released Monday, she ordered Crawford to repay a total of $874,700.

Michael Mooney, Crawford vice-president and general manager.

Howard Drabinsky

In the October ruling, the judge focused on the legal fees charged by Howard Drabinsky, a senior legal counsel for McMillan in Ontario. McMillan had charged a total of $1.77 million in connection with the Bronstein matter. In comparison, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin, another national law firm, charged $764,000. The judge noted that Drabinsky charged between $775 and $835 an hour, billing more than 1,500 hours for a total of $1,244,000. Drabinsky, a commercial solicitor, was not a litigator and did not have a speaking role in any of the court appearances. Nor did Drabinsky draft any court documents, conduct the examination of Bronstein or assist in obtaining evidence for the hearings. Despite this, Drabinsky attended the examination, interlocutory applications and substantive hearings.

David Blott

In 2014 Calgary lawyer David Blott, who misused his position to take financial advantage of Indian residential school abuse survivors, was prohibited from practicing law in Alberta. He represented more than 4,700 claimants and earned millions of dollars under the Independent Assessment Process (IAP) He was investigated and found guilty of misconduct regarding his representation of claimants. As of May 31, 2014 the Indian Residential Schools Adjudication Secretariat, which manages the IAP, had received 37,870 applications for compensation. Of this number, 27,941 cases have been resolved and more than $2.4 billion has been paid out. The last compensation hearings will take place in the spring of 2016 and the process will be completed by 2018.

Edmonton Hells Angels to take anger management courses

Three Edmonton members of the Hells Angels were ordered to take anger management courses Wednesday after pleading guilty to assault charges relating to a “dust-up” with rival bikers. The incident was captured on surveillance video. Eduardo Bartolozzi, 36, was handed a 60-day jail sentence to be served on weekends and placed on probation for a year after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm for a Feb. 21, 2014, attack on Warlocks Motorcycle Club member Jason Bryanton at a tattoo studio and laundromat in Drayton Valley. Bartolozzi punched Bryanton about 25 times and “cowardly” stomped on him while he was on the ground.

Darcy Lee, 40, was handed a 30-day jail sentence to be served on weekends and placed on probation for a year after pleading guilty to assault with a weapon for hitting Warlocks member Rocky Buzzell twice in the back with a broken table leg. Troy Pawluk, 45, was fined $2,000 and put on probation for a year after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm for punching Bryanton two or three times in the head. All three spent five days in custody after being arrested. They were ordered to take anger management counselling while on probation. Charges against the trio of robbery, intimidation and committing an offence in association with a criminal organization were withdrawn. Charges against Hells Angels members Dustin Lowry, 36, and Roy Radies, 52, were also withdrawn.

Court heard there had been an ongoing feud between members of the Warlocks and Hells Angels. At the time of the incident, 14 men, of which at least 10 were Hells Angels, entered Bad Boyz through the front door. The Warlocks involved refused to provide statements. Crown prosecutor Lawrence Van Dyke had sought jail terms of nine to 12 months and argued the group assault was like a “wolf pack kind of mentality.”

http://edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/timeouts-arent-just-for-kids-hells-angels-told-to-take-anger-management-courses-after-skirmish-with-rival-bikers

Oz Bikini model clueless about Hells Angels cash

Lauren Bryant, 27, of the Gold Coast, a bikini model who dated a Hells Angels drug king-pin has told the Crime and Corruption Commission she doesn't know how $178,690 came to be in her bank account. She did admit that her former boyfriend Vadim Victor Volkov, 33 would give her 'inch-thick' bundles of cash to deposit in a series of bank accounts. During Vadim Volkov's four-year relationship with the model more than $1M passed through her bank accounts.

When police raided Volkov's home in August 2015 they found $1m in cash and a variety of guns including two semi-automatic rifles.

Volkov has argued all his assets were legally acquired by gambling or inheritance. The state argues Volkov bought his properties with dirty money. Bryant claims she found out about her ex-boyfriend's connection with the Hells Angels only after their relationship ended. Bryant is now a 'life coach'.

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Australia. A member of the Hells Angels has allegedly been found with close to $500,000 in cash, with anti-bikie police also seizing drugs, vehicles and weapons parts in an overnight raid. Investigators found $180,000 of cash before finding a further $300,000 in a Gold Coast safety deposit box, Detective Acting Superintendent Brendan Smith said. On Wednesday afternoon, police announced they had found two automatic assault rifles and another $350,000 in cash in two more safety deposit boxes in Brisbane and Burleigh. The raids centred around the Hells Angels methamphetamines distribution network on the Gold Coast. The 33-year-old arrested man, Vadim Victor Volkov, is expected to make a bail application on Friday after briefly facing Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/hells-angels-member-arrested-in-drug-raid-20150804-girr52.htmlhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3511158/Model-bikie-drug-kingpin-ex-boyfriend-says-no-idea-180-000-ended-bank-account.html