The new recruit of the Hells Angels is… 82 years old

A notorious 82-year-old criminal revealed himself as the new recruit of the Hells Angels at the end of last week, at a time when bikers are the targets of repeated attacks by young gangsters who challenge their control over the drug market in Quebec.

Jack Simpson proudly displayed his jacket hangaround of the Hells from the Trois-Rivières chapter, Saturday, in their hideout in Hérouxville, where the bikers gathered after their last group motorcycle ride of the year, our Bureau of Investigation learned.

Simpson, who wore what bikers call a “bottom patch” – a jacket on the back of which we saw the inscription “Trois-Rivières”, without the name or logo of the Hells – thus acquired official status in the hierarchy of the Hells Angels.

Simpson is known as a close friend of kingpin Raynald Desjardins, with whom he plotted the assassination of aspiring godfather Salvatore Montagna in 2011.

He could, under the internal regulations of the Hells, become a prospect next year before being promoted to member in good standing.

The identification of the octogenarian caused some surprise within the organized crime division of the Sûreté du Québec and the Mauricie Regional Mixed Squad, whose troops were on site to monitor the gathering, according to our sources.

Aging organization

For almost a year, the most powerful criminal organization in the country has lost its luster in Quebec due to the “narcotics war” waged against it by certain gangs of recalcitrant young traffickers.

This conflict erupted in the National Capital Region, where the gang of kingpin Dave “Pic” Turmel, the BFM (for Blood Family Mafia), makes life difficult for the Hells of the Quebec chapter.

These young rebels refuse to pay the Hells a “tax” on their sales, the equivalent of 10% royalties, as has been the rule in this market for years.

In addition, they are banking on the fact that the Hells are an aging organization in the province.

According to our information, the average age of the Quebec chapter of the Hells, which has 16 members in good standing, is 61 years old.

Torture

Since last winter, BFM commandos armed with pistols, knives and even blowtorches have kidnapped, sequestered and tortured several traffickers in the pay of the Hells to force them to change allegiance.

They notably attempted to kidnap a veteran member of the Hells, Mario “Banana” Auger, last February.

“It’s Banane Auger’s fault!” chanted one of the attackers of a man linked to the bikers whose ear they cut off on a bloody video recording obtained by our Bureau of Investigation.

The BFM is also suspected of having fired firearm projectiles at the residence of another member of the Quebec Hells, Mathieu Pelletier, as well as at the Hells hideouts in Frampton, in Beauce, and in Hérouxville, in over the last ten months.

The police have made around fifty arrests linked to this war since the winter, notably during Operation Scandaleux.

However, the conflict has started again in recent weeks, but this time with the involvement of new gangs and even minors.

The lifeless body of a 14-year-old teenager, from the Saint-Léonard district of Montreal, was found on the grounds of the Hells’ hideout in Frampton, on the night of September 16.

He and another teenager of the same age, who would be members of the Everybody Gets Killed (EGK) street gang, were armed with AK-47 type rifles and charged with attacking the den, according to the police thesis.

The EGK would act under the authority of another Montreal gang, even more violent, called Arab Power.