Category: Gangs in the news…

Hells Angels member sentenced for attack on three Black men in Ocean Beach

Prosecutors said the victims — ages 19, 20 and 21 — were chased by the defendants on Newport Avenue after one of them apparently spoke to another Hells Angels member’s girlfriend.

By City News Service • Published June 6, 2025 • Updated on June 6, 2025
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/hells-angels-member-sentenced-ocean-beach-attack/3842545/
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A San Diego Superior Court judge handed a leader of the biker gang a long prison sentence.

A member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang was sentenced Friday to 21 years to life in state prison for stabbing a young Black man in the chest, in what prosecutors described as a racially motivated attack on the victim and two other Black men in Ocean Beach.

Troy Andrew Scholder, 44, described by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office as a longtime leader of an active San Diego County Hells Angels chapter, was one of 17 people indicted by a grand jury for various roles in the June 6, 2023, attack.

A San Diego jury convicted him earlier this year of attempted murder, assault, and a hate crime allegation.

Prosecutors said the victims — ages 19, 20 and 21 — were chased by the defendants on Newport Avenue after one of them apparently spoke to another Hells Angels member’s girlfriend.

One of the victims fled, but the other two were severely beaten by numerous defendants, who hurled racial slurs and told the victims they didn’t belong in that neighborhood.

While one of the beaten victims was on the ground, Scholder pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest. Deputy District Attorney Miriam Hemming said the knife fractured the victim’s sternum, pierced his lung, and severed an artery, nearly causing the man to bleed out
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Scholder’s prison sentence was doubled due to a prior strike conviction, in which Scholder pleaded guilty to robbing a former Hells Angels member who had sought to leave the gang.

Defense attorney Marc Kohnen argued against imposing the strike conviction because he said Scholder had been living crime free between that incident — which occurred in 2007 — and the Ocean Beach incident.

Kohnen also argued that despite jurors finding the hate crime allegation true, there wasn’t evidence that Scholder’s actions were hate motivated or that Scholder used any racial slurs during the incident.

Hemming argued that during the crime, Scholder was “leading a pack of men” who were shouting racial slurs and that he had long associated with co-defendants who espoused white supremacist views. She also said Scholder had white supremacist tattoos and had used racial slurs on prior occasions.

One of those incidents led to a misdemeanor conviction in 2003, which included a hate crime allegation, Hemming said. In that incident, the prosecutor said Scholder got into a fight with a Black man at a Pacific Beach bar after the victim asked Scholder to stop smoking a cigarette next to him.

When police came to arrest Scholder, he called the victim the N-word multiple times, said he “knows people who would hang them from trees,” and told one of the arresting officers to “remember the Fatherland,” according to Hemming.

In the Ocean Beach incident, the prosecutor said the victims were “just walking down the street” before they were attacked. She said one witness described the victims being “beaten within an inch of their lives.”

After the stabbing, other co-defendants spirited Scholder from the crime scene to the gang’s clubhouse in El Cajon, prosecutors said.

Scholder and his co-defendants were arrested nearly three months later.

Copyright City News Service

Bandidos gang member back in custody after leaving country

By KCBD Fox 34 Staff June 4, 2025
https://www.fox34.com/2025/06/04/bandidos-gang-member-back-custody-after-leaving-country/

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A Bandidos gang member, who was arrested by Lamesa PD earlier this year, is back in custody after leaving the country.

Andrew Moore was arrested in Bogota, Colombia, after the 106th Judicial District along with the help of the U.S. Marshals and Lubbock TAG Unit secured an arrest warrant for Moore.

He was apprehended and is being held on a $1-million bond.

Copyright 2025 KCBD. All rights reserved.

It was never about paying the tab’: Witness recounts Pike’s Pub beating

by: Marcus Truscio WANE 15 Fort Wayne Indiana June 2, 2025
https://www.wane.com/top-stories/it-was-never-about-paying-the-tab-witness-recounts-pikes-pub-beating/

ALLEN CO., Ind. (WANE)— A man who was at Pike’s Pub Friday night, when another man was beaten spoke, to WANE 15 about what he saw and heard after a video of the brawl went viral and made national headlines.

The man spoke with WANE 15 under the condition that his identity would remain anonymous. He said he feared retaliation against him and his family from the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

The witness said he wasn’t there long before chaos broke out. One narrative that has spread on social media was that the man who eventually fell victim to punches, kicks, chairs being thrown at him and racial slurs, was skipping out on paying his tab after being cut off. The witness said that was not the case.

The bartender told him he could have another drink,” the witness said. “The owner’s boyfriend told him he was cut off. And the owner’s boyfriend was way more drunk than he was.”

The witness said it seemed to him that the owner’s boyfriend was trying to “abuse his authority,” and kick the man out. The man was a regular, according to this witness.

“He planned on paying,” the witness said. “He wasn’t trying to leave without paying. It was never about paying the tab, because he always pays his tab.”

According to the witness, the victim has his card out ready to pay at one point. That’s when he says men wearing vests labeled ‘Outlaw’ began to show up.

“Three or more other of them walk in before [the victim] even got to reply,” The witness said. “They were telling him that he needed to leave. He went to leave. And that’s when the [owner’s boyfriend] grabbed his arm and said you’re going to pay your tab [expletive]. And that’s when the Outlaws tightened up and squeezed around him.”

The witness said one of the men dressed in Outlaw gear hit the victim in the face and that was when several other man began to attack the victim, who was Black. In the video, at least one person can be heard yelling out a racial slur.

The witness said police weren’t called until after the victim had been hit, punched and kicked repeatedly. Once police arrived, officers located the victim and spoke with him, according to the Allen County Sheriff’s Department. They said the victim did not want to provide information on individuals responsible for his injuries. He was taken to a hospital in fair condition.

WANE 15 asked the Sheriff’s Department if federal authorities might be brought into the ongoing criminal investigation and whether this could be a federal hate crime due to the language used in that was heard in the viral video.

The Sheriff’s Department said the case has been assigned to a detective.

“It is very early in the investigation and he is still getting the case together,” a Public Information Officer with the department said.

The witness said he would like to see those seen beating the man held accountable for their actions.

Former bikie reveals what it was really like to be in the Rebels

A former Australian bikie member has revealed some of his most terrifying moments while in a notorious motorcycle club.

Bek Day News.Com.au June 2, 2025
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/former-bikie-reveals-what-it-was-really-like-to-be-in-the-rebels/news-story/007f8336745b31732c355345371823b5

Shannon Althouse, by his own admission, looks like a pretty scary guy.

With tattoos covering much of his neck and face, he told Gary Jubelin’s I Catch Killers podcast that his fascination with ink began when he started using drugs.

“I started getting ‘em when I got addicted to methamphetamine,” he explained.

“I never had any face tattoos, head tattoos or anything till I started using heavy drugs. And then once I started using heavy drugs, I was just like, I want this face tattoo. I want that head tattoo, you know.”

“This is a true story, I’m not even lying about this,” he continued, when asked if he ever woke up with a new tattoo he didn’t remember getting.

“I woke up in prison once, and as soon as I actually sobered up in prison, I did look in the mirror and I was thinking – wow. What happened? What have I done?,” he continued.

“I was shocked. I shocked myself.”

Growing up in Darwin amid a culture of domestic violence and alcohol, Shannon says his introduction into the criminal world began slowly,
with he and his group of young friends and family heading out to cause trouble as a way to escape what was going on at home when their parents would throw parties.

“We used to just jump on our push bikes and take off, especially when all the parents and all the adults were drinking,” he recalled.
It wasn’t just the drinking and violence they were trying to escape, either.

Althouse discloses he was sexually abused by a friend of the family from a young age, with the abuse often taking place at these parties.

“When the families are all drinking and having a laugh and partying and stuff like that, you know, by the end of the night there are predators.”

Fast-forward a few years and Althouse found himself having served time in prison, and not only addicted to methamphetamine, but also holding the position of sergeant-at-arms in the Darwin chapter of the Rebels bikie club.

“It’s just pretty much like you’re the enforcer,” Althouse explained.

“You make sure that you enforce all the club policies, and protect the president. You’re the president’s right hand man, anything happens to him, you are the one that’s getting done for it.”

“It’s always seemed like a poisoned chalice, the sergeant-at-arms position,” observed Jubelin, “you’re gonna be at the forefront of anything that goes down.”

“Yeah, you’re in the front of the line,” Althouse agreed.

“If anything goes down, any dramas, any wars – anything.

“It puts you in a bit of a position, like I said, the anxiety and paranoia that comes with all that too.

“When you’re pulling up at the petrol station and a car pulls up and the windows are tinted, you know, like you’re wondering – you don’t know if you should grab a weapon or not, in case there’s somebody … your enemy or an enemy of your mate. You know what I mean?”

In fact, it was a lesson Althouse would learn all too well when he was attacked in the street and run over in 2016, leaving him fighting for his life.

Althouse, giving context to the attack that left him in a coma, explained there had been an issue involving a member of another club.
“I knew him for years and we were mates at one stage, and he ended up owing me a bit of money, so I went there to go get the money,” he said.

Althouse explained that after a few failed debt collection attempts, he “punched him around, you know, I gave him a hiding.”

After escalating conflict between the pair, Althouse says he had gone with his housemate to find the other member.

“As I’ve walked in to walk down to his work shed, ‘cause he lived in an industrial area, he wasn’t in there,” he recalled.

“I thought, oh, that’s weird. But then I saw his headlights coming. I couldn’t hear the car moving, but I could see headlights coming up, it was a big, big road, you know?

“And I looked, I walked down and looked down and I saw his Hilux just sitting there in the middle of the road facing me”

“I started walking towards him and did a twirl, showed him that I had no weapons, you know, and told him to get outta the car,” the former bikie continued.

“And then: first gear, second gear, third gear, and he just hit me and just ran me over, clean over.”

Althouse described hitting the ground and immediately going into shock.

“I couldn’t move, couldn’t hear – everything was ringing, but I could see what was going on,” he continued.

“My vision slowly started coming back again, and he was looking at me through the window, you know, and I thought, no, he’s gonna double back and come and run me over to finish me off.”

Althouse managed to push himself up off the ground but knew immediately something was wrong.

“I just felt jelly,” he said.

“Like my whole left side of my body was just smashed. I coughed up a heap of blood on the road and I thought, wow, that’s my lung, something’s happened to my lung, I’ve punctured my lung.

“My housemate came over to me and as I started talking to him, I was spitting blood into his face. I said ‘I’m dying. I gotta get to the hospital. I’m dying.’”

Althouse was right. He had broken both shoulder blades and seven ribs, three of which had punctured his lung.

He ended up losing over four litres of blood, and nearly dying on the operating table.

Shortly after, he went back to prison for 10 years, for his involvement in a retaliatory attack (Althouse purchased the weapons used but was not present at the time of the assault).

But while inside, Althouse made a decision.

He began reading up on Buddhism and mindfulness, and realised he was meant for bigger things than spending his life locked up
While incarcerated in Darwin, and then Alice Springs, he began helping some of the younger inmates.

There was a Royal Commission into [the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory], and all the young fellas, they started turning 18 and started coming into the maximum security prison,” he explained.

“Some of ‘em couldn’t read or write or anything like that. So I was grabbing their briefs and reading them for them and helping them out.
“And some of the stuff I read, it was pretty disgusting. So I thought, no, I’ve gotta help these young lads, and I started sitting there and helping ‘em with their court proceedings helping ‘em get through their compensation payouts and just guiding ‘em as best as I can through the system, through the adult system.

“I knew it was different to the juvie as well. And then I just got a real passion for it.”

These days, Althouse is not only clean and sober (he’ll have 10 years this October), but he has stayed true to the commitment he made in prison, and hasn’t returned to a life of crime.

He’s no longer a member of the Rebels motorcycle club, and has dedicated his life to mentoring First Nations kids in the Northern Territory through boxing and other community initiatives.

Find out more about Shannon’s redemption story by listening to I Catch Killers.

Tennessee biker arrested after shooting at family on I-65 in Alabama

A Tennessee biker wearing body armor was arrested after allegedly firing into a family’s car on I-65 in north Alabama.

By: Breaking Local News Report June 1, 2025
https://www.shorenewsnetwork.com/2025/06/01/tennessee-biker-arrested-after-shooting-at-family-on-i-65-in-alabama/

LIMESTONE COUNTY, AL — A Tennessee man was arrested Saturday after allegedly opening fire on a family’s vehicle while riding a motorcycle along Interstate 65, according to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to the scene near Mile Marker 347 after a 911 caller reported that a motorcyclist had fired multiple shots at his vehicle as he traveled northbound with his family. The gunfire struck the victim’s vehicle but did not cause any reported injuries.

A detailed suspect description was issued, and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) troopers located the individual roughly 10 miles from the scene. Limestone County deputies joined the traffic stop and identified the suspect as 30-year-old Jason Jermain Johnson of Centerville, Tennessee.

Authorities said Johnson was found with a loaded pistol, two additional loaded magazines, and a bullet-resistant vest beneath an Outcast Motorcycle Club vest. He was taken into custody without incident.

Johnson was charged with shooting into an occupied vehicle and three counts of attempted murder. Officials confirmed that no bond has been set as of Sunday and that an Aniah’s Law hearing will be scheduled.

“This reckless violence has no place on our highways,” said Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin. “We are thankful no innocent lives were lost, and we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure the public’s safety.”

The Sheriff’s Office credited ALEA troopers for their rapid response and cooperation during the apprehension.

The investigation remains ongoing as authorities review forensic evidence and witness accounts

Shocking video captures white men in biker-gang gear spewing racial slurs, beating black man in Indiana bar

By Zoe Hussain New York Post Published June 1, 2025
https://nypost.com/2025/06/01/us-news/video-captures-white-men-in-biker-gang-gear-spewing-racial-slurs-beating-black-man-in-indiana-bar/

Viral video captured a group of white men in matching biker-gang vests spewing racial slurs as they violently attacked a black man at an Indiana bar, according to authorities and reports.

The attackers, whose vests said, “Outlaw” — the title of an infamous biker gang — launched the brutal beatdown Friday night at Pike’s Pub in Waynedale, according to the footage and outlets.

Screams erupted from patrons as the brawlers knocked over drinks on tables, the clip shows.

Police responded to the bar around 11 p.m. in response to a call about a potentially intoxicated person who needed to be removed from the bar, the Allen County Sheriff’s Department said in a press release

When cops arrived, the victim did not want to provide information on the men who attacked him, authorities said
The victim was then taken to an area hospital in fair condition, police said.

The owner of Pike’s Pub, Kelley Rost, who was not at the bar when the altercation occurred, said the man had refused to pay his bill, which provoked the attack, WANE 15 reported.

“There are two sides to every story,” Rost told the outlet.

The attackers appeared to be affiliated with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club, a notorious biker group in Fort Wayne.

A 2013 Federal Case convicted two members of the Fort Wayne chapter for engaging in “extortion and the distribution of prescription drugs,” amongst other crimes, as part of club operations, according to an FBI press release.

The bar has since taken down its Facebook and Instagram pages and has remained closed since Saturday, the outlet said.

The incident has since sparked an outpouring of outrage from local politicians and social-media users.

“I must say, it was very disturbing to watch. I am seeking answers as I am sure many of you are, too,” Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker said in a comment under a social media post, the outlet reported.

“I am in communication with our team and will continue to gather information as it becomes available,” Tucker said

Several protesters at one point lined up in a nearby nursing-home parking lot to demonstrate against the bar, the outlet reported.

Officers returned to the bar Saturday to continue the investigation, and the case will be handed off to the Criminal Investigations Division, cops said.

Motorcycle gang member pleads guilty to helping club president steal firearm

Sarah Motter KCTV 5 May 30, 2025
https://www.kctv5.com/2025/05/30/motorcycle-gang-member-pleads-guilty-helping-club-president-steal-firearm/

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A St. Joseph area motorcycle gang member could spend the next decade behind bars after he pleaded guilty to helping the club president steal a firearm.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri announced on Friday, May 30, that Michael R. Browell, a.k.a. “Dirtbag,” 35, of Savannah, pleaded guilty to his role in the armed theft of a gun from a member of a rival motorcycle gang.

Court documents noted that Browell pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting in the possession of a stolen firearm. On April 25, 2023, a member of the Border Saints Motorcycle Gang was chased down and confronted by the Saint Joseph Chapter President of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club, Jeremiah Z. Hahn, a.k.a. “Pass Out.”

Law enforcement officials noted that the victim had previously been requested by Hoahn and other members of the Pagan’s to set up a meeting with the Outlaws Motorcycle Gang over their possible presence in St. Joseph. The Border Saints supported the Outlaws.

Investigators indicated that the Pagan’s attempted to have the victim arrange the meeting; however, when he refused, Browell got an axe handle from his motorcycle and threatened him. As the victim gave up his support shirt, Hahn took his gun from him.

Court records revealed that Hahn and Browell left with the victim’s gun and shirt. During Hahn’s May 3, 2023, arrest by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, he was found to be in possession of the stolen firearm.

Judicial officials noted that Hahn pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and attempting to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering on May 20, 2025.

Now, federal statutes dictate that Browell could be sentenced to up to a decade in prison with parole. A sentencing hearing will be set at the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

Hahn and Browell join a slew of other members of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club who have either already been convicted or await their next court appearance. No further information has been released.

Prosecutors drop all charges in Iron Range Hells Angels case

Defense attorneys had asserted that witness statements and forensic evidence indicated the claims of a rape and kidnapping were false.
By Tom Olsen Duluth News Tribune May 29, 2025

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/prosecutors-drop-all-charges-in-iron-range-hells-angels-case

VIRGINIA — Prosecutors have dismissed the cases against four members of the Iron Range Hells Angels motorcycle club accused of serious crimes including rape, kidnapping and assault.

Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Chris Florey said the alleged victims “are either unwilling or unable to testify at trial and the state cannot prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt” without their cooperation.

The notices of dismissal were filed late Wednesday, less than two weeks before the first defendant, Paul Anthony Debelak, 39, of Eveleth, was set to face a Virginia jury.

Also charged in the case were Jerand Paul French, 40, of Eveleth; Jake Douglas Novaczyk, 47, of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota; and Eric Anthony Newman, 50, of Gilman, Wisconsin.

Defense attorneys had aggressively challenged the allegations, arguing that witness accounts and physical evidence did not support the claims. They contended investigators were eager to bring charges against the club and also accused agents of intimidating witnesses and eavesdropping on privileged communications between jailed defendants and their attorneys

The cases stemmed from allegations that a woman was sexually assaulted and a man was abducted and beaten at the Hells Angels’ downtown Eveleth clubhouse.

Authorities previously reported that the man escaped from the group on crutches Nov. 28, 2023, and ran to the safety of police, expressing fear that members could find him.

Investigators said they went on to learn that both victims were visiting an Eveleth residence Nov. 27 when club members arrived. It was reported that the woman was raped there by Debelak and Newman.

The man, meanwhile, was allegedly taken to the clubhouse in a van driven by Novaczyk. He said he continued to be beaten by French, the chapter’s president, as other members recorded video.

Authorities released few details about the alleged motive or relationships between parties, other than to say that French was allegedly upset about the man’s association with the woman.

Defense attorneys, however, alleged that investigators were looking to implicate the club in serious crimes to justify a Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigation that had been ongoing since at least June 2023.

The attorneys asserted that the alleged victims had been using drugs, a practice that is not tolerated by the Hells Angels, and that they concocted the narrative. They said other witnesses in the house told agents the rape and kidnapping did not occur, and that there was no DNA evidence to support it.

Judge Robert Friday last month upheld charges against Debelak and Newman, ruling there was no attorney-client breach when Debelak subjected his communications to law enforcement monitoring after failing to use the proper channels to contact his lawyer from jail.

The judge also said interview recordings failed to substantiate claims from three defense witnesses that they were threatened with prosecution if they did not comply with orders of BCA agents.

A similar challenge was still pending from French and Novaczyk before Judge Andrew Peterson
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Testimony at a November hearing centered on authorities learning that Novaczyk planned to surprise the state by demanding a speedy trial — a fact Florey promptly disclosed to defense counsel after learning it from a BCA agent who was privy to the jail communication.

Also highlighted by the defense was a statement from Gilbert Police Chief Ty Techar that he believed BCA Special Agent Cory Skorczewski was “going off the deep end.” Techar later clarified he was advised Skorczewski was “stressed and overworked from this case.” Skorczewski testified that he was on medical leave but denied it had to do with the Hells Angels case.

Three of the defendants had been free on bond while awaiting trial. Newman is still in custody as he faces a probation violation stemming from an earlier offense.

Rider caught after 100 mph chase on motorcycle on Route 422 in Berks

Former Birdsboro man among group of motorcyclists, wearing Pagans attire, that rumbled through Reading on Saturday afternoon.

By STEVEN HENSHAW | shenshaw@readingeagle.com | Reading Eagle May 27, 2025

Rider caught after 100 mph chase on motorcycle on Route 422 in Berks

A former Birdsboro man with a recent criminal conviction is back in Berks County Jail after Reading police said he led an officer on a high-speed chase on Route 422 over the weekend while wearing a jacket with the Pagans’ logo.

John E. Lutz IV, 34, was jailed in lieu of $25,000 bail after arraignment Saturday night before District Judge Eric J. Taylor in Reading Central Court. Lutz, who has no permanent address, faces charges of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, flight to avoid apprehension or punishment, driving under a suspended license and driving an unregistered vehicle.

According to court records:
Officer William Fursin III received an alert for a wanted person heading east on Route 422 from Sinking Spring. The information was that he was riding a red Harley-Davidson with a license plate that expired in 2020 and was assigned to a Kawasaki.

Fursin took a position on a West Shore Bypass grass patch just east of the Lancaster Avenue exit.

About 10 minutes later, a group of about 10 motorcyclists wearing Pagans’ jackets went past.

Fursin pulled out and began to catch up to the group. He saw the red Harley described in the alert near the head of the pack.

The officer turned on his emergency lights and siren, but the group did not stop, instead continuing to travel east into Cumru Township. There the bikes started to coast to a stop, with members signaling to each other to pull over.

Everyone but the rider of the red Harley, later identified as Lutz, came to a stop along the shoulder. Lutz sped off.

Fursin swerved past the group and pursued Lutz at speeds approaching 100 mph. Lutz continued into Exeter Township.
He pulled onto the exit ramp for East Neversink Road. As the motorcycle slowed, the rear tire began to bounce and Lutz lost control, hitting the small barrier at the end of the ramp.

Lutz fell off the bike and began to pick it up.

Fursin exited his vehicle and ran up to Lutz. Ordering Lutz to the ground, he threw the suspect onto his stomach when he didn’t immediately comply.

A criminal check on Lutz showed he was wanted on a probation violation for making terrorist threats and fighting. In February, he pleaded guilty to those charges, which were filed in 2022 by state police in Reading.

He was sentenced by Berks County Judge Thomas G. Parisi to three to 12 months in the county jail and was ordered to undergo anger management counseling among other probation conditions.

The license plate on his motorcycle — the one that drew the attention of police in the first place — belonged to another motorcycle owner who was wanted for failing to appear for court in a DUI case.

Originally Published: May 27, 2025

‘Guilt by association’: Attempts to send Hells Angels gambling probe player back to Italy, halted

A man sentenced as part of a Hells Angels’ gambling den investigation, which uncovered alleged ties to the Figliomeni crime family, has been granted a judicial review as the government attempts to send him back to Italy.

By Jeremy Grimaldi Vaughan Citizen , May 26, 2025
https://www.yorkregion.com/news/guilt-by-association-attempts-to-send-hells-angels-gambling-probe-player-back-to-italy-halted/article_3bd564d9-3219-5cae-9456-2f5461c5c5a7.html

A man sentenced as part of a Hells Angels’ gambling den investigation, which uncovered alleged ties to the Figliomeni crime family, has been granted a judicial review as the government attempts to send him back to Italy.

The decision comes more than a year after the Minister of Public Safety decided Giorgio Campagna, 62, a permanent resident in Canada, should be referred for an admissibility hearing with the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

“(It was) found that the severity of the applicant’s actions and their impact on public safety outweighed the concerns the applicant had raised about the adverse consequences of his removal from Canada,” read court documents, referring to the 2023 decision

Now though, federal court Justice John Norris ruled a judge needs to look into the matter after discovering some potential flaws.
“This application for judicial review will be allowed, (the former) decision will be set aside and the matter will be remitted for redetermination by a different decision-maker,” he wrote in his findings.

Campagna pleaded guilty to keeping a common gaming house in March 2021 after he was arrested in December 2019.
The arrest came as part of an OPP probe, dubbed Project Hobart, into the Hells Angels alleged online sports gambling ring and gambling den at 680 Silver Creek Blvd., in Mississauga.

The investigation has been in the news lately after Craig “Truck” McIIquham, a Hells Angel charged in the operation, was gunned down in a targeted shooting outside a Burlington Mandarin at the end of April.

As part of Campagna’s plea, three counts of bookmaking and the commission of a crime of an offence for a criminal organization charge were withdrawn.

For his crimes he received a conditional discharge, which essentially equates to probation.

Project Hobart resulted in 28 arrests and alleged the group made $131 million over five years in the illegal gambling space.

The probe used intercepted private communications and surveillance to allege the Mississauga unit was owned and operated by Raffaele Simonelli, Serafino Barone, Ralph Elammar and Dimitris Kellsis.

All charges against the four, including firearm, betting house and bookmaking allegations, were stayed.

When police searched the café in December 2019, seven video gaming machines were seized.

For months Campagna went to collect cash from the machines and discussed their maintenance, the investigation showed.

One conversation indicated that one week the proceeds amounted to $7,440, of which he retained about 20 per cent, court documents allege.
When search warrants were executed at Campagna’s home and car, investigators found $79,020 of which Campagna agreed, of this amount all but $3,235 was obtained by crime.

Court documents pointed to a 2023 report prepared by the CBSA suggesting there were reasonable grounds to believe that Campagna is inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which refers to “organized criminality” and “engaging in an illegal gaming enterprise.”

The inland enforcement officer alleged Campagna was a member of an illegal gaming enterprise with ties to both the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and the Figliomeni crime group.

“The officer found that the applicant was a ‘midtier’ and trusted member of the criminal organization …(and) had direct contact with senior members of the illegal gaming operation,” court documents read. “The officer also found that (Campagna) had … jeopardized the safety and security of Canadian society.”

However Norris ruled the CBSA went “well beyond” anything mentioned in Campagna’s guilty plea or agreed statement of facts.

“I agree with the applicant that the delegate’s decision is unreasonable in two key respects: the assessment of the applicant’s criminality and the assessment of the applicant’s personal circumstances,” it reads. “The reasoning process appears to be nothing but guilt by association.”

The court heard how a delegate of the Minister of Public Safety used the weapons seized from a separate mafia probe into the Figliomeni crime group, called Project Sindicato, to conclude Campagna’s actions warranted a referral for an admissibility hearing, despite him never being charged as a part of Sindicato, Norris also found Campagna’s ability to communicate in Italy and receive treatment were not properly considered.

For his part, Campagna said he’s been in Canada since age five, but has never sought full citizenship.
The court also heard his claims that he’s remorseful and called his involvement in the crimes a “relatively minor offence.”

His family, including his mother, who is suffering from dementia, his common-law partner, siblings, children and grandchildren all live in Canada.

The court also heard from Campagna that he has a litany of illnesses, no friends in Italy and does not speak the language