Walter Stadnick, 51, of Hamilton, and Donald Stockford, 42, of Ancaster, were convicted

Walter Stadnick, 51, of Hamilton, and Donald Stockford, 42, of Ancaster, were convicted in June 2004 on five charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, drug trafficking and gangsterism. Stadnick was earlier acquitted of 13 first-degree murder charges and three counts of attempted murder. The pair launched a request to appeal questioning language used in Crown disclosure and the consistency of statements provided by some witnesses at their trial.On Monday, the Court of Appeal of Quebec dismissed their request.In September 2004, the pair sat motionless as Quebec Superior Court Justice Jerry Zigman read his sentence for nearly 30 minutesHe called them "hardened criminals who show little or no hope of being able to straighten out their lives and cease participating in criminal activities. "They are violent people who are a danger to society. They have expressed no remorse for their acts."Stadnick and Stockford, who were tried in English, were among the last to face trial of those arrested during a massive Quebec police sweep in 2001.The men were founding members of the Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels in Montreal, which controlled the drug trade and led an eight-year bloody turf war with the rival Rock Machine.Stadnick and Stockford were heavily involved in biker activities in British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario. Stadnick served as national president of the Hells Angels for six years.

Terrence Tongolini to serve a minimum eight years jail.

A sex predator former Hells Angel who set fire to businesses as part of an extortion racket that left his victims fearing for their lives, has been jailed.Terrence Tognolini used his bikie status to threaten, bully and blackmail businesses who failed to meet his demands, the County Court in Melbourne heard today.
But Tognolini, already behind bars for eight years for offences including drug dealing and a sex attack on a young girl, will serve a concurrent sentence that adds only 18 months' jail time for his campaign of fear and violence.Tognolini ran a hydroponics business and, during his eight-year reign of terror, targeted five hydroponic businesses around Melbourne that were competitors.He threatened violence and arson if they did not stock his items or hand over thousands of dollars in cash.Some properties were set alight in arson attacks and Tognolini told one victim he would "cut his eyes out" and threatened to kill him and his family if he did not meet his demands for money.Many of his victims lived in fear, too scared to go to police for fear of retribution.In October 2009, a County Court jury found Tognolini guilty of nine counts of blackmail, three of arson, one of threatening to damage property and one of indecent assault over the racket.Tognolini - who has 19 prior convictions including for drugs, armed robbery, and carrying a loaded firearm - is already serving a minimum six-and-a-half year jail term for sex offences against teenage girls.The court heard the Hells Angels inked over Tognolini's club tattoos and expelled him when the child sex offences came to lightToday, Judge Lance Pilgrim jailed Tognolini for 12 years, which is to be served concurrently with his existing jail term.The judge set a minimum term of eight years before Tognolini is eligible to apply for parole.
A former member of the Hells Angels, who is also a person of interest in the murder investigation of a Bendigo woman, has been sentenced to 12 years jail for an extortion racket he ran in the mid 1990s.
A Victorian County Court judge ordered Terrence Tongolini to serve a minimum eight years jail.
Police believe the 45-year-old may be linked to the murder of single mother Vicki Jacobs.She was shot dead while sleeping beside her six-year-old son in their Long Gully home in 1999.

John Virgil Punko, a member of the East End chapter of the notorious motorcycle gang,

Full-patch member of the Hells Angels who pleaded guilty to trafficking in large quantities of drugs should walk free, his lawyer argued Wednesday.In December, John Virgil Punko, a member of the East End chapter of the notorious motorcycle gang, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in 50 kilograms of methamphetamines and five kilograms of cocaine.Prosecutors argued that Punko should be jailed for 16 years, reduced to 13 years, five months after calculating so-called dead time, or pre-sentencing custody.
But on Wednesday, Punko's lawyer told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Leask that a significant mitigating factor was that Punko was enticed into his drug dealing by the RCMP and their police agent Michael Plante.
Richard Cairns told the judge that even before Plante became a police agent who was offered up to $1 million to infiltrate the club, as a police informant Plante had been providing Punko with the narcotic painkiller Percocet, fuelling his drug addiction and making him delusional and paranoid.Cairns admitted that Punko was a willing participant and an equal partner to Plante."He took to it like a duck to water. He succumbed to his greed."Cairns said without the behaviour of Plante and the police, Punko should be sentenced to four and a half years in jail, leaving him with two years in prison after dead time.But he said considering the actions of Plante and the police,a lesser sentence is called for."What you're saying is that I should start with the four and a half years and subtract a number that reflects the court's weighing of the behaviour of Plante?" asked Leask."That's exactly right," said Cairns. "In our submission, that could amount to a significant reduction, such that Mr. Punko would walk out of the door."Prosecutor Martha Devlin disputed Cairns' characterization of the accused's state of mind and argued that the court should call Punko to testify.
Cairns said he was opposed to such a move and the judge adjourned the sentencing hearing until Monday to hear more arguments on the issue.John Virgil Punko, 43, pleaded guilty last month to conspiring to produce and traffic methamphetamine, trafficking five kilograms of cocaine in 2004 and possessing $387,140 cash that was the proceeds of crime, including $142,500 from the sale of cocaine.Prosecutor Martha Devlin told the court that Punko should be given 30 months of credit for 15 months served in pre-trial custody, which would reduce the Crown's requested sentence to slightly more than 13 years.The sentencing hearing before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Leask is set for all this week. The defence is scheduled to make its sentencing submissions WednesdayCo-accused Randy Potts, 49, who is also a member of the East End chapter of the Hells Angels, is set to be sentenced starting next Monday at the Vancouver Law Courts.The charges against the bikers stem from a $10-million police investigation known as Project E-Pandora that targeted the East End Hells Angels.The two-year investigation, which ended in 2005 with the arrest of more than six Hells Angels in B.C. and a dozen associates, utilized a police agent named Michael Plante, who was promised $1 million to infiltrate the biker club.Plante secretly tape recorded conversations between Punko, Potts and a meth lab cook named Ryan Renaud, whom Punko suspected was also working for the UN gang and its boss Clay Roueche.
The methamphetamine was sold for $13,000 a kilogram. Plante and Punko often had discussions about "cooking" meth and distributing it at a number of locations, Plante and Punko went to various locations in Punko's vehicle including a 7-11 store, Fitness Quest gym and a White Spot restaurant in New Westminster.Punko was earlier convicted of threatening a prosecutor in another Hells Angels case.
Last summer, a jury convicted Punko, Potts and two other Hells Angels members of weapons offences and extortion.In that case, Punko was convicted of the unauthorized possession of a loaded semi-automatic pistol and sentenced to 15 months in jail, plus a consecutive sentence of four years for counselling a police agent to do damage to a Surrey home where Punko was trying to collect a large sum of money from a man.It was effectively a sentence of time served but Punko was denied bail by Leask before sentencing.
Punko has been in custody since he was arrested in July 2005 during the RCMP's Project E-Pandora investigation into the East End chapter.Last year he was sentenced effectively to time served after a jury found him guilty of weapons offences. Randy Potts, one of his co-accused in the gun case, also pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. His sentencing hearing is expected to proceed on Tuesday

Eight suspected Hells Angels members allegedly involved in drug trafficking and intimidation have been arrested in eastern Ontario.

They are suspected of being connected to the Ontario Nomads branch of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, and were arrested between Jan. 14 and 18. One warrant remains outstanding.The arrests were the result of an investigation involving the Ontario Provincial Police, the RCMP and several local police forces in the region, said an OPP news release Wednesday. Investigators said the operation was launched in August 2007 after police in the area received complaints about drug trafficking and intimidation.The nine people, including one person who is not in custody, are facing a total of 302 charges related to drugs, weapons, assaults and gang activity.“We’ve got some fully automatic weapons with silencers, brass knuckles, a large amount of jewelry with the insignia of the Hells Angels,” said Det. Pat Benoit, of the Kingston Police, who worked on the case.As part of the investigation, police conducted searches and seized an estimated $249,000 worth of cocaine, cannabis resin and marijuana, and cash totalling $53,000. They also seized a sawed-off shotgun, a machine-gun with silencer and nine handguns.Investigators said they also impounded numerous vehicles, including cars, boats, ATVs and two Harley-Davidson motorcycles.An arrest warrant is still outstanding for Conklin.Those charged include eight men and one woman. The following people have been charged:

Tracy Anne O’Neil, 26, of Brockville.

Ian Conklin, 45, of North Augusta Township.

Blaine Donner, 37, of Brockville.

Craig Haines, 29, of Ottawa.

Jameson Murray, 22, of Ottawa.

Dwayne William Brugma, 26, of Brockville.

Lloyd Macdonald, 39, of Ottawa.

Ryan Albert Morton, 26, of Lansdowne.

Mario Sincennes, 45, of Ottawa.

An arrest warrant is still outstanding for Conklin.