Toronto Hells Angels could get back the keys to a clubhouse that was seized by police in a 2007 raid because members arrested during the operation have been found not guilty of belonging to a criminal organization, say lawyers involved with the case.
The building was seized during Project Develop, an undercover operation that involved sweeping raids of Hells Angels properties across Canada and saw more than 100 members arrested. After the April 2007 blitz, Toronto Police touted the seizure of the clubhouse as deeply symbolic. Hells Angels signage was removed from the outside of the building and replaced by that of the police, indicating the property had been appropriated by authorities.
“We are now the tenants of that clubhouse,” Staff Insp. Joe Tomei was quoted by media as saying at the time. “The Hells Angels are not welcome back.”
Four years later, the clubhouse is empty, its windows boarded up and doors locked.
The Attorney General filed an application last month for forfeiture of the property, located at 498 Eastern Ave., as proceeds of crime. However, on May 21, a jury had already found senior members of the biker gang’s Toronto chapter not to be members of a criminal organization. Lawyers on both sides said that verdict undermines the Crown’s attempt to seize the club permanently.
“The Crown case has been weakened by recent rulings,” said Faiyaz Alibhai, the prosecuting Crown attorney on the file. “But there is still a case to be made.”
The legal owner of the building remains the Old Navy Property Corporation, a company Hells Angels use to purchase real estate. If the Crown loses its case for forfeiture of the property, the clubhouse will be returned to the company.
“The Crown will have a much more difficult time advancing the argument that the clubhouse is proceeds of crime after the acquittals. I like my chances much better in light of the recent findings,” said Ryan Naimark, a lawyer representing Old Navy.
After a six-month trial that ended in May, a jury acquitted five men of belonging to a criminal organization: John Neal, 61, president of the Toronto chapter; vice presidents Douglas Myles, 54, and Larry Pooler, 61; and full-patch members Mehrdad Bahman, 48, and Lorne Campbell, 62.
Neal, Myles and Bahman were, however, found guilty of drug charges relating to trafficking the date-rape drug GHB; Campbell was found guilty of trafficking cocaine, and Pooler was found guilty of trafficking oxycodone and possessing a restricted weapon. The men have not yet been sentenced. In addition to those guilty verdicts, the Crown’s forfeiture application includes a plethora of evidence gathered by police at the clubhouse in 2007, including drugs, cash and weapons.
“The application for forfeiture is based not on whether the Hells Angels are a criminal organization, but whether the clubhouse is offence-related property,” Mr. Alibhai said.
Detective Sergeant Len Isnor of the Ontario Provincial Police’s Biker Enforcement Bureau does not believe the case for forfeiture is weakened by the jury’s recent findings.
“This is the first time they’ve been found not to be a criminal organization,” Det. Sgt. Isnor said. “But listen, that has nothing to do with the clubhouse. By no means are the Hells Angels getting that clubhouse back.”
The Hells Angels adhere to a strict set of rules and guidelines. No rape is one. No shooting firearms at clubhouse functions is another. And while biker clubhouses have been known to have hiding places to store money and drugs, Craig Bottomley, a lawyer representing Neal, said no drug deals are conducted on clubhouse property.
Mr. Alibhai said the Crown is seeking more than just the clubhouse. “We’re also asking for forfeiture of all Hells Angels-related property.”
A court date for the forfeiture proceeding will be set July 21.
