Fortifications of Niagara's Hells Angels clubhouse its strict membership rules

Fortifications at Niagara's Hells Angels clubhouse and its strict membership rules helped a judge determine the national motorcycle gang is a criminal organization. The Darby Road clubhouse in Welland was protected by surveillance equipment and physical barriers, such as barbed wire and a steel door filled with cement. "One wonders why, if the purpose of the organization is legal, there has to be such extraordinary security precautions?" Judge John McMahon said Tuesday in Toronto.
The judge studied eight characteristics of the club submitted by Det. Sgt. Kenneth Davis of the province's Biker Enforcement Unit before he came to his conclusion.
The club's use of the winged death head skull logo, conformity to national rules and intelligence gathering all helped facilitate criminal activities, the judge determined. "The patch itself demands respect from criminal elements and allows members to intimidate and extort," he said. McMahon said the structure of the Hells Angels would be "the envy of many international organizations." Run by a governing body and executives, chapters take minutes, hold weekly "church meetings" for full-patch members, and have to report nationally. Membership excludes anyone who's been a police officer, prison guard or "man of colour." A lengthy probation period is required so police can't infiltrate the organization, McMahon said.