Wolodumir “Walter” Stadnick

Wolodumir "Walter" Stadnick, also known as "Nurget" was born August 3, 1952, in Hamilton, Ontario.[1] was the third president of Hells Angels Canada.

The Wild Ones

Wolodumir Stadnik was born on the "upper side" of Hamilton atop of "the Mountain" as locals call the Niagara Escarpment to a family of Ukrainian immigrants.[2] His parents were Andriy and Valentina Stadnik, who lived at 98 East 16th Street, in a working class neighborhood known for its high rate of petty crime.[3] In elementary school, he changed the spelling of his surname to Stadnick and preferred to be called Walter rather than Wolodumir.[3] As a child, he regularly attended the local Uniate Catholic church and was described as quiet and well behaved.[3] One former teacher said about him: "He clearly had a great deal of natural intelligence, but he was impossible to motivate. It was almost like he didn't want to succeed".[3] As a teenager, Stadnick was known as the resident drug dealer at his high school, and by 1970, he was already known by his nickname "Nurget".[4] He was very ambitious; joining a biker gang as a teenager in Hamilton called the Cossacks, who were noted for their habit of growing their hair long and drilling holes in their bike helmets, into which they would run their hair through.[5] Stadnick named the gang the Cossacks as a reference to his Ukrainian heritage.[5] For a time Stadnick was friendly with his future archenemy, Mario "the Wop" Parente, who at that time belonged to the Satan's Choice gang, but the two reportedly fell out when Parente vetoed the 5'4 Stadnick's attempt to join Satan's Choice under the grounds that he was too short.[6] In 1977, Parente together with the rest of the Hamilton chapter of the Satan's Choice "patched over" to join the Outlaws.

In the late 1970s, Stadnick became the leader of an outlaw biker gang called the Wild Ones who worked for the Mafia, being used to bomb businesses that refused to pay extortion money.[5] A Hamilton police detective, Ken Roberston, who investigated the bombings stated: "It was quite a sophisticated operation".[5] Another Hamilton police officer, John Harris, said of Stadnick: "He was a little short guy. He certainly wasn't the most visible member of the gang. He was just a face in the crowd. He was almost invisible-but he did have a head on his shoulders".[5] In 1978, Stadnick went to Montreal to contact Yves Buteau, the president of Hells Angels Canada to discuss having the Wild Ones "patch over" to become the first Hells Angels chapter in Ontario.[7] During his trip to Montreal, Stadnick survived the Le Tourbillion massacre when the Outlaws stormed into the Le Tourbillion bar to shoot the Angels and Wild Ones who were meeting there, killing one of the Angels and two of the Wild Ones.[8] Stadnick survived by hiding under a table.[9] The Hamilton chapter of the Outlaws for their part started killing the Wild Ones and after 5 members of the Wild Ones were killed, the gang disbanded themselves.[10] When Stadnick returned from Montreal, he found his gang had voted to disband themselves, but Stadnick chose to continue as a Hells Angel, operating in Montreal and alone in Hamilton.[11]

Hells Angels

Despite not speaking any French, Stadnick joined the Montreal South chapter of the Hells Angels and quickly rose through the ranks. He received his full patch on May 26, 1982.[10] In December 1982, Stadnick returned to Hamilton after living in Montreal for a number of years together with another Hells Angel, Noel "Frenchy" Mailloux, who had served as Stadnick's translator during his Montreal years.[12] Despite orders from Stadnick not to attract attention, Mailloux together with his stripper girlfriend Connie Augustin went on a lengthy cocaine binge.[12] On 17 February 1983 in a moment of cocaine-induced paranoia, Mailloux attempted to murder Augustin, shooting her several times, while at the same time killing her four-year son Stewart Hawley and her best friend Cindy Lee Thompson.[13] Mailloux was found afterwards wandering the streets of Hamilton, high on cocaine, blabbing nonsense, and trying to fire his empty gun at anybody he met on the streets.[13] The incident badly damaged the image of the Hells Angels in Ontario, making them look to be out of control and dangerous, and Stadnick was forced to suspend his efforts at trying to set up a Hells Angels chapter in Ontario for some time.[13]

On 8 September 1983, Stadnick's patron Buteau was assassinated by an Outlaw, which many assumed at the time would be the end of Stadnick's career as he did not speak any French while being a member of what was then a predominately French-Canadian outlaw biker club.[14] However, Buteau's successor as national president, Michel "Sky" Langlois, together with his right-hand man Réjean "Zig Zag" Lessard, both decided that Stadnick offered their best hope of establishing the Hells Angels in Ontario.[14] It was around this time that Stadnick started wearing a "Filthy Few" patch that the police say is awarded to those who kill for the gang.[14] The underworld of Hamilton at that time was dominated by the three Mafia families, the Papalia crime family, the Musitano crime family and the Luppino crime family together with the local Outlaw chapter, which made Hamilton a dangerous place for Stadnick, requiring him to keep a low profile.[14] The leader of the Papalia family, Johnny "the Enforcer" Papalia, one of the most feared man in the Canadian Mafia was well known for his dislike of outlaw bikers, and made it clear he did not want a Hells Angels chapter in Hamilton.[14]

On 8 September 1984, Stadnick was badly injured in a traffic incident that saw him run his motorcycle into a car driven by a Catholic priest in Drummondville, Quebec.[15] Stadnick was on his way to attend a memorial service for Buteau who was killed on that day in 1983 when a Catholic priest who was speeding on his way to Montreal to see Pope John Paul II who was visiting Canada led to the traffic incident that left much of Stadnick's body covered with third degree burns.[16] Stadnick's face was badly burned, leaving him with what were described as "horrific" scars to his face.[17] As a result of the third degree burns to his body, Stadnick lost much of his nose and half of two of his fingers.[18] Initially, Stadnick went to a hospital in Montreal, but as none of the nurses spoke English, he transferred over to a hospital in his hometown.[18] Lessard arranged for members of the 13th Tribe biker gang from Halifax who were hoping to join the Hells Angels to guard Stadnick.[18] Stadnick went to St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton, and believing that his archenemy, Mario "the Wop" Parente, the president of the Hamilton chapter of the Outlaws, would try to kill him, asked the Hamilton police to guard him during his stay at St. Joseph's.[17] Stadnick had some doubts about the competence of the 13th Tribe who joined the Hells Angels on 5 December 1984 to guard him, and instead the Hamilton police protected him as he recovered.[19]

It remains a mystery why Stadnick's nickname is "Nurget"; one Hamilton police officer says it goes back to his high school days when as the neighborhood hash dealer, Stadnick always had a "nugget" of hash to sell.[10] In 1987, Stadnick went to Toronto to try to persuade an outlaw biker club, the Vagabonds, to "patch over" to become Hells Angels, but the club were unwilling to submit to the sort of self-discipline that Stadnick wanted.[20] From 1987 onward, Stadnick was closely associated with Maurice Boucher who had become a "full patch" Hells Angel on 3 May 1987.[21] In 1988, Stadnick become the national president of the Canadian Hells Angels.[22] In the spring of 1988, Langlois fled to Morocco to escape charges of first-degree murder in connection with his role in the Lennoxville massacre of 1985, and Stadnick was chosen to be his successor.[23] Stadnick immediately appointed Boucher his Quebec lieutenant and informed him that he would largely run Hells Angels operations in Quebec while Stadnick focused on expanding the Angels into the rest of Canada.[24] In one of his first acts as president, Stadnick together with Boucher went to Quebec City on 28 May 1988 to meet the leaders of an outlaw biker club called the Vikings.[21] The meeting went so well that the Vikings agreed to "patch over" to become Hells Angels' Quebec City chapter the same night.[24] On 23 August 1988, Stadnick was arrested at the home of Douglas Freeborn, a former Satan's Choice member and a prominent drug dealer in Hamilton.[24] Found with him were 11 ounces of hash, which led the police to charge him with intention to sell drugs, but the charges were dropped were Freeborn sworn in court that the hash belonged to him and Stadnick had nothing to do with his drug-dealing.[24]

Stadnick was very intelligent; he knew how to keep out of trouble. Since Stadnick had connections across the country he became the Hells Angels ambassador, traveling all over the country to recruit bikers and proceed with drug sales. The modern Hells Angels organization in Canada was largely Stadnick's work.[25] Jean-Pierre Lévesque of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said of Stadnick: "He travelled the country. He knew almost everybody. He had a country-wide vision. He knows it's good for business-the bigger the name, the better the business".[26]

On 26 June 1992, Stadnick was caught in at Winnipeg International Airport with over $80,000 worth of cash and charged with possession of proceeds of drug sales.[27] In August 1992, Stadnick and another Hells Angel Donald Rasmussen were involved in a brawl with two off-duty Winnipeg police officers that led them to be charged with assault, but the charges were dropped.[27] In July 1993, Stadnick went to Wasaga Beach to attend a convention of the Loners outlaw biker gang and to meet their leader, Frank "Ciso" Lenti, to discuss having the Loners "patch over" to become Hells Angels.[28] Stadnick disliked Lenti, but he felt the Loners were one of the strongest outlaw biker clubs in Ontario, making them the ideal candidates to become Hells Angels.[28] However, the meeting ended badly with Lenti rejecting Stadnick's offer.[29] Stadnick had more success with bringing the four Hells Angels chapters in British Columbia under the control of the Montreal "mother chapter", and by 1993 had ensured that all of the Angel chapters in Canada answered to Montreal.[30]

The Winnipeg years and the Quebec Biker War

Shortly before his trial for living off the proceeds of crime was due to start on 4 October 1993, the Winnipeg Sun ran an article on Stadnick, which led his lawyer to ask for the charges to be dropped, claiming the story by the journalist Melanie Verhaeghe had jeopardised his ability to get a fair trial.[27] Verhaeghe found that Rasmussen was following her around in an attempt to intimidate her while Stadnick's lawyer went to court to try to force her to reveal her sources.[27] Stadnick's lawyer told Verhaghe that he had a "file" on her, saying Stadnick had hired a private detective to investigate her.[31] Stadnick was unable to force Verhaege to reveal her sources and the judge rejected the attempt to stay the proceedings, but the effort had delayed his trial for 15 months.[31] Charges were dropped when he settled on forfeiting the money.[32] In January 1994, Stadnick founded a puppet club in Toronto called the Demon Keepers headed by Dany Kane while at the same time trying to persuade the Satan's Choice and Para-Dice Riders gangs to "patch over" to become Hells Angels.[33] In April 1994, the Demon Keepers puppet club collapsed ignominiously, an experience that so embittered Kane that he decided to become an RCMP informer.[34] Kane came to believe that Stadnick had engineered the failure of the Demon Keepers to humiliate him, but the journalist Jerry Langton argued against this theory, stating that Stadnick was desperate to have the Hells Angels enter Ontario, and the failure of the Demon Keepers set back his plans by a number of years.[34]

Stadnick spent much of the 1990s living in Winnipeg, where he courted and was courted by the two biggest outlaw biker clubs in Winnipeg, the Spartans under Darwin Sylvester and los Bravos under Ernie Dew.[35] In 1995, Stadnick had the Angels' puppet club in Montreal, the Rockers, set up a puppet club in Winnipeg called the Redliners.[36] A police officer, Ray Parry said of the Redliners: "They were the most polished. Their hair was well trimmed ... The way they conducted themselves was a carbon copy of the Hells Angels' thinking at the time and was completely foreign to the way things had operated in the West".[36] As a puppet club of a puppet club, the police reported the "triple insulation" made it difficult to tie Stadnick to the Redliners.[36] Kane, who was secretly a RCMP informer, told his handlers in April 1995 that Stadnick was frequently making trips to Winnipeg "in order to establish a corridor for drug sales from Thunder Bay, Ontario to Winnipeg".[37] By April 1996, Kane reported that drug couriers were regularly smuggling cocaine from Montreal to Winnipeg on behalf of Stadnick.[37] On 24 June 1995, Stadnick and close friend Maurice Boucher founded the Nomad chapter with 8 other members.[38] The Nomads, which had no geographical limit, were a "dream team" of the strongest Hells Angels, serving as an elite chapter that dominated Hells Angels operations across Canada.[39] Stadnick spent so much time in Winnipeg in the 1990s working to establish the Hells Angels on the Prairies that he rented an apartment in that city and fathered a son by his common-law wife, whom he named Damon, which is nomad spelled backwards.[40] Stadnick was also regularly seen in Ontario, attending biker events sponsored by both the Loners and the Satan's Choice gangs throughout the 1990s.[41]

Kane's reports mentioned that Stadnick was often in conflict with another Hells Angel, an American living in Montreal named Scott Steinert, and alleged that Stadnick wanted Steinert's bodyguard, Donald "Bam Bam" Magnussen, killed.[42] Magnussen had killed David Boyoko, a member of Los Brovos in a moment of drunken rage at party in Halifax in May 1996, an act which reportedly very much angered Stadnick as it set back his plans to have los Brovos "patch over" to the Hells Angels.[42] In October 1996, Kane reported to the RCMP that Stadnick had offered him $10, 000 to kill Magnussen.[42] In September 1997, it emerged that four Spartans had gang-raped a teenage girl in their clubhouse, and to avoid the infamy of associating with the Spartans, Stadnick threw his support behind los Bravos, granting them hang-around status with the Angels on 18 October 1997.[43] Shortly afterwards, the Redliners joined los Bravos, which increased Stadnick's influence in los Bravos.[44]

Officer Don Bell of the Ontario Provincial Police's Biker Enforcement Unit said of Stadnick:

He's been pretty good at eluding prosecution. Everyone knew who he was and what he was all about, but he was good at what he did. He was good at isolating himself. He worked in the depths of criminal activity and kept himself one step away, which made it difficult to collect the necessary evidence and charge him. To a biker investigator, he sort of epitomized-I hate to say this-the professionalism of the Hells Angels and the way they did business.[31]

Stadnick sued John Harris of the Hamilton police for $500 dollars, claiming mental distress at the damage that they were alleged to have caused to a golden belt buckle owned by Stadnick, which ended with the judge siding with Harris.[45] Despite owning a home in Hamilton and his rivalry with his archenemy Parente, Stadnick never tried to create a Hells Angel chapter in Hamilton, apparently out of a desire not to attract police and media attention in his hometown.[46] One Hamilton police detective, Steve Pacey, said: "Stadnick did not want a chapter here because it would result in more heat. Walter has been able to carry out his business for a long time. Why would he want a chapter? He doesn't need it".[46] Stadnick had no job, but owned a house on the Cloverhill Road in Hamilton that was valued at $156, 000.[47] Stadnick's right-hand man, a film stuntman and Hells Angel who served as the Nomad vice-president, Donald "Pup" Stockford, lived in neighboring Anaster.[48] Stadnick did not own, but was described as running the Rebel Roadhouse bar in Hamilton.[49] One Hamilton police officer stated: "He had an office in the back, through the kitchen. It was good place to entertain visiting Angels".[49] Stephan Frankel, the Hamilton lawyer who has represented Stadnick since 1979 replied when being asked about was Stadnick's job: "What does Walter do for a living? I don't know. I really don't know".[49] Harris called Stadnick "a hard guy to nail. You start to realize this guy is smart. He does know his way around they system, and he's got the money to afford decent lawyers".[49]

In October 1997, Stadnick granted los Bravos gang in Winnipeg headed by Ernie Dew hang-around status with the Hells Angels and on 21 July 2000 granted them prospect status.[50] On 22 December 2000, Stadnick arranged for Dew and los Bravos gang to join the Hells Angels as "full patch" members after only five months of waiting as prospects instead of the normal year.[51] On 29 December 2000, Stadnick arranged for a mass "patch over" in Montreal where various Ontario biker gangs such as the Satan's Choice, the Para-Dice Riders, the Last Chance and the Lobos all joined the Hells Angels.[52] Unlike the rival Bandidos who required that new members join as "prospects", Stadnick allowed the Ontario gangs to all join the Hells Angels "patch for patch", giving the new members Hells Angels patches that were equivalent to their former patches.[51] Stadnick asked and received permission from the Hells Angels American leaders for the mass "patch over" as only once before, in Germany in 1999, had the Hells Angels accepted on mass a number of outlaw bikers from other clubs as "full patch" members.[53] Stadnick still refused to open a Hells Angel chapter in Hamilton even through the city had 11 Angels living within it who all belonged to the chapters in Montreal, Toronto and Kitchener.[54] Pacey stated: "Hells Angels influence is subtle, behind the scenes. It isn't so much in your face. I think that's the way Walter does business".[54]

Operation Springtime

On 28 March 2001, as part of Operation Springtime, a warrant was issued for Stadnick's arrest for 13 charges of first-degree murder.[55] During the police raid on Stadnick's house in Hamilton, Pacey was surprised to find that Stadnick had a photograph of him in his bedroom.[56] It turned out that Stadnick was in Jamaica where he was arrested by the officers of the Jamaica Constabulary Force at the resort he was staying in Montego Bay following an extradition request from Canada.[56] Stadnick's common-law wife accused the Jamaican police of putting him in a "hellhole" jail cell, and he did not contest his extradition to Canada, returning on 10 April 2001.[57] The jail that Stadnick was held in Jamaica was badly overcrowded and had one bucket that served as a toilet for the entire cell block.[58] Langton dismissed the theory that Stadnick had advance knowledge of Operation Springtime, stating if Stadnick did know then he would have gone to a country with no extradition treaty with Canada like Brazil rather than Jamaica, which does.[58]

After his return to Canada, Stadnick told a RCMP officer Tom O'Neill: "I don't drink much and I don't do drugs. I'm kind of a quiet guy".[59] When O'Neill noticed that Stadnick had a "Filthy Few" tattoo-reportedly awarded to those who killed for the Hells Angels-Stadnick claimed the tattoo was because: "Oh, that's because I like to party when I stay out with the boys".[59] When O'Neill pointed out the contradiction, Stadnick fell silent.[59] When O'Neill asked Stadnick if he remembered Dany Kane of the Rockers, Stadnick stated he knew him, but not very well as he does not speak French; when O'Neill told him that Kane had been a police informer, he reported that Stadnick looked worried.[59]

In 2003, Stadnick was brought to trial for "13 counts of murder, 3 counts of attempted murder, 1 count of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of narcotics trafficking and two counts of attempting to smuggle narcotics".[60] Besides for Stadnick, Donald "Pup" Stockford and another Hells Angel Michel Rose were also tried.[61] In his trial in Montreal, Stadnick opted for his constitutional right to have the trial in English and hired Edward Greenspan and Alan B. Gold as his defense lawyers while the Crown Attorney prosecuting Stadnick was Randall Richmond.[62] Greenspan and Gold were able to delay the trial by demanding the Crown translate all 500, 000 papers of documents and ten CD-ROMs worth of evidence into English, a request that the Quebec government refused as it would cost more than $23 million.[63] Greenspan and Gold appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, which refused their request in January 2003 to have all the evidence translated into English given that both Greenspan and Gold were fluent in French and Stadnick's trial started afterwards.[63]

Conviction

"On September 13, 2004, Stadnik was sentenced to 20 years' jail for a collection of convictions including conspiracy to murder, drug trafficking involvement in gang activities."[64] In sentencing Stadnick and Stockford, Justice Jerry Zigman stated: "They are 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 the acts."[65] Stadnick was "transferred from a medium to a maximum-security prison in 2006 and 2009 for illegal trafficking activities and large-scale loansharking"[66] in the Kingston area prison.

Stadnick was paroled in June 2014, lasting less than a month due to suspicion that he was associating with people with criminal records as well as the biker club. He was able to convince the board to reinstate his freedom in December 2014. "He will have unrestricted freedom beginning April 12, 2019. Until then, Stadnick is under extremely strict conditions, including: avoid people in street and motorcycle gangs (any person known to be a hang around or wannabe of any outlaw motorcycle gang), barred from owning more than one cellphone and must show his parole officers detailed billing statements for it, including documentation of who he texts and emails and what social media sites he visits. He also can't consume alcohol or go to bars or own or operate a motorcycle or work in motorcycle repair. He must also obey a curfew that runs between 9 p.m and 6 a.m. Given his past criminal spending habits, and amounts of money within drug trafficking the Board will monitor his revenues and expenses."[67]

Notes

  1. "Wolodumyr "Nurget" Stadnik".
  2. Langton 2010, p. 70.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Langton 2006, p. 45.
  4. Langton 2006, p. 46.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 25.
  6. Langton 2010, p. 2.
  7. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 25-26.
  8. Langton 2010, p. 61-62.
  9. Langton 2010, p. 62.
  10. 1 2 3 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 26.
  11. Langton 2010, p. 73.
  12. 1 2 Langton 2010, p. 80.
  13. 1 2 3 Langton 2010, p. 81.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Langton 2010, p. 82.
  15. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 26-27.
  16. Langton 2010, p. 82-83.
  17. 1 2 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 27.
  18. 1 2 3 Langton 2006, p. 79.
  19. Langton 2006, p. 79-80.
  20. Langton 2010, p. 105.
  21. 1 2 Langton 2006, p. 89.
  22. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 28.
  23. Langton 2010, p. 91.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Langton 2006, p. 90.
  25. Langton, Jerry (2013). Fallen Angel: The Unlikely Rise of Walter Stadnick and the Canadian Hells Angels. HarperCollins Publisher.
  26. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 24.
  27. 1 2 3 4 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 37.
  28. 1 2 Langton 2010, p. 116.
  29. Langton 2010, p. 116-117.
  30. Langton 2010, p. 99.
  31. 1 2 3 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 38.
  32. Tu, Thanh Ha. "Part III".
  33. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 45.
  34. 1 2 Langton 2010, p. 101.
  35. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 32-33.
  36. 1 2 3 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 33.
  37. 1 2 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 34.
  38. "Wolodumyr "Nurget" Stadnik".
  39. Langton 2010, p. 102.
  40. Langton 2010, p. 104.
  41. Langton 2010, p. 120.
  42. 1 2 3 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 78.
  43. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 35.
  44. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 35-36.
  45. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 39.
  46. 1 2 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 171.
  47. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 172.
  48. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 170-171.
  49. 1 2 3 4 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 173.
  50. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 158.
  51. 1 2 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 270.
  52. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 269-271.
  53. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 269.
  54. 1 2 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 275.
  55. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 259.
  56. 1 2 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 261.
  57. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 261-262.
  58. 1 2 Langton 2010, p. 134.
  59. 1 2 3 4 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 263.
  60. Langton, Jerry (2013). Fallen Angel: The Unlikely Rise of Walter Stadnick and the Canadian Hells Angels. HarperCollins Publisher.
  61. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 356.
  62. Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 356-357.
  63. 1 2 Sher & Marsden 2003, p. 357.
  64. "Top Hells Angels' appeals dismissed". ctvnewsmontreal.ca.
  65. Marowits, Ross (14 September 2004). "Two biker bosses get 20-year sentences". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
  66. Edwards, Peter. "No happy trails for paroled Hells Angel Walter Stadnick".
  67. "Hamilton Hells Angel member Walter Stadnick back on the streets". Toronto News Services. January 21, 2015.

References

  • Langton, Jerry Showdown: How the Outlaws, Hells Angels and Cops Fought for Control of the Streets, Toronto: John Wiley, 2010, ISBN 047067878X.
  • Sher, Julian & Marsden, William The Road To Hell How the Biker Gangs Are Conquering Canada, Toronto: Alfred Knopf, 2003, ISBN 0-676-97598-4.
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