$1.8 million in the past 18 months for Hells Angels bikers charged with murder

Taxpayers foot $1.8M legal aid bill for Hells Angels | Canada | News | Toronto Sun: "Quebec taxpayers have dished out $1.8 million in the past 18 months for Hells Angels bikers charged with murder, drug trafficking and gangsterism.
The province’s legal services agency released the numbers in its annual report this week. It shows that Quebecers paid the amounts for lawyers in private practice, mainly to defend bikers arrested in Project SharcQc.
The April 2009 police operation dealt a crippling blow to the Hells Angels in Eastern Canada. A total of 133 suspects face charges, including first-degree murder, gangsterism, drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit murder. They’ll be tried en masse to cut down on the number of legal proceedings.
Others who hired defence lawyers on the public purse included drug traffickers on Quebec’s north shore who were eventually convicted in a two-year-long mega-trial in Quebec City. The defence lawyers in that case billed the government for extra hours given the length and complexity of the case."