So joe, u say the UN is Wonderful? a wonder of the modern age? maybe u aren’t braindead afer all. why did you burn out the LED in Electronics class? u think u are tom cruise in top gun? that LED was valuable…not as valuable as the stealth plane maverick destroyed in Top Gun 2, but valuable.
Alliance with the Hells Angels
After establishing themselves against the Hells Angels, the two gangs reached a modus vivendi in 2005.[48] In 2004, the police informer Michael Plante recorded the Hells Angel Johnny Punko saying that another Hells Angel, Gino Zumpano, “took a walk” with Roueche.[49] Plante reported that his understanding was that Punko was saying a meeting had taken place.[49] One of its biggest rivals was the Hells Angels but recently the two groups have been working together as some of the UN’s high-ranking members became Hells Angels and also shown by the arrest of Omid Bayani, a mid-level member of the Hells Angels, who was arrested as part of an investigation looking at criminal actions of the Hells Angels.[50] After Roueche’s arrest in the United States in 2008, leadership was assumed by Barzan Tilli-Choli.[51]
Typical of the gang’s members was Omid Bayani, who was born in Iran as a member of the Baha’i faith.[13] The Baha’i face savage persecution by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which views them as apostates from Islam.[13] Bayani’s father was killed in Iran, causing the family to flee via Turkey to Canada, where Bayani arrived in at the age of 16.[13] At the age of five, Baynai witnessed his father being lynched by a mob, who carved the word “Baha’i” into his chest before killing him.[52] After arriving in Canada, Bayani grew up in Red Deer, Alberta.[13] Through the Baha’i are pacifists who are opposed to violence even in self-defense, Bayani turned to robbing convenience stores for cigarettes and cash as a teenager.[13] An unhappy ex-girlfriend reported him to the police, leading to Bayani being arrested, convicted, and sentenced to five years in prison.[53] His lawyer argued that his crimes were due to his troubled youth, but the judge felt the violence of his robberies warranted five years in prison.[53] Bayani was known to be a violent prisoner at the medium security Bowden Institution who attacked other prisoners with a club that had the words “goof beater” written on it.[54] Bayani was transferred to the maximum security Kent Institution in Abbotsford, where a report declared about him: “While incarcerated he has on a number of occasions tried to provoke staff members into fights with him. It was noted that Bayani’s actions during one of his offences caused a female victim to suffer serious psychological trauma. It appears that Bayani does not have a full understanding of this”.[54]
Through Bayani was ordered deported to Iran upon his release, he instead stayed in the Lower Mainland and joined the United Nations gang.[54] Bayani was part of a Canada-wide drug smuggling network, selling 600 pounds of GHB, the so-called “date rape” drug, to a fellow Iranian, Mehrdad “Juicy” Bahman, of the Hell Angels downtown Toronto chapter, for him to sell in the greater Toronto area.[55] The informer Steven Gault, who served as the treasurer of the Angels’ Oshawa chapter told the police about the business relationship between Bahman and Bayani, leading to the police to seize the GHB that Bahman had stored in his garage.[55] The seizure put Bahman into a $100,000 debt to the UN gang and the Haney chapter of the Hell Angels, forcing other members of the Toronto chapter to step in to help him pay off the debt that he could not manage on his own.[56] The information provided by Gault led to the arrest of Bayani in 2007.[55] Upon his arrest in Abbotsford on 4 April 2007, Bayani was found to be with a “full patch” Hells Angel, Vincenzo Sansalone, of the Haney chapter in his car.[54] The police found in Bayani’s car a loaded .38 handgun, a hunting knife, part of the leg of a wooden chair to use as a club, a machete, and 600 liters of GHB.[54] Inspector Gary Shinkaruk of the RCMP stated: “Mr. Bayani, although he is an UN gang member, was known to work and associate criminally with other gangs. The fact that he is charged jointly with a member of the Hells Angels is not a surprise to us and it is really indicative of the networking and the relationships that now exist in the Lower Mainland and throughout Canada where these criminal organizations are working cooperatively with each other”.[57] Bayani together with Sansalone were convicted of trafficking in GHB in July 2011.[58]
At the trial of Bahman in Toronto, Bayani attended the trial, watching from the public benches.[52] One of the accused alongside Bahman, Lorne Edgar Campbell, described Bayani as “solid” (biker slang for someone dependable and trustworthy), saying “I liked his style”.[59] Bayani disappeared in September 2011 and has not been seen since.[58] On 20 December 2011, Bayani was sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison.[58] Bayani is believed to have fled Canada for Mexico.[56]
The journalist Jerry Langton wrote that the United Nations gang “which had actually been incorporated in opposition to the Hells Angels-were now working for them”.[3] The United Nations gang soon into conflict with the Independent Soldiers gang.[13] The conflict with the Independent Soldiers led to the alliance with the Hells Angels.[13] The professional wrestler Ion Croitoru tried to join the Hells Angels’ Vancouver chapter, and was instead directed to join the United Nations gang instead.[60] On 24 February 2007, a double shooting occurred in Vancouver with two UN gang members being wounded.[31] Both Roueche and Jing Bon Chan arrived at the shooting scene and the police believed that Roueche and Chan were “…were there to ‘interview the victims’ in order to determine the gang’s response to the shooting”.[31]
On May 8, 2008, former Hells Angels head hunter and UN gang member Duane Harvey Meyer, 41, and nicknamed D.W., was killed, with the funeral held on May 15, 2008. Full members of the Hells Angels and UN gang members were at the funeral, with news stations and police agencies on hand to videotape all visitors. Whenever a United Nations member dies, he gets a special tombstone featuring the letters “UN” across it.[61]
Arrests
Before a number of its leaders were arrested, the police estimated the gang had 50-100 core members in the Lower Mainland area of BC. The alleged leader of the United Nations Gang is Clayton Roueche.[19] Roueche grew up in Chilliwack, BC. He later moved out to Abbotsford, BC and then on to Vancouver. Roueche had an obsession with martial arts and became involved in the drug scene at an early age.
As part of an American investigation into drug trafficking on a stopover in Texas on a flight from Mexico City on May 17, 2008, Roueche was arrested for conspiring to possess cocaine, conspiring to export cocaine, conspiring to import marijuana, and conspiring to launder money and was subsequently deported to the United States. Roueche faced up to a maximum of 220 years in prison, but he was sentenced to 30 years and $8 million in fines. He was flown to Seattle to answer to the charges.[62] Other members arrested as part of the international investigation were UN members Kris Neri, Daryl Johnson, and Douglas Vanalstine.[11]
Jong Ca John Lee is believed to have supplied the gang with guns. On June 9, 2007, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) was called to his residence due to an unanswered 911 call. Lee answered the door, and the police saw what looked like firearms inside the apartment. A subsequent search revealed a dozen guns (some loaded, and some with defaced serial numbers), including automatic and semi-automatic rifles, and almost two dozen magazines of ammunition. Lee, who had no criminal record, pleaded guilty in September 2007 to all 10 charges. Lee also pleaded guilty to possession of 3.5 kilograms of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking, 900 grams of marijuana, a Panther stun gun, a silencer, and three stolen Canadian passports obtained through a home invasion. He was sentenced to five years each on two of the weapons charges and two years on each of the other charges, to be served concurrently.
The former de facto leader of the United Nations gang was Barzan Tilli-Choli, an Iraqi immigrant responsible for a myriad of crimes, none more infamous than his conspiracy to murder the notorious Bacon brothers (the Bacon brothers are believed to be high-ranking members of the rival Red Scorpions Gang). Tilli-Choli’s elaborate plot to murder the Bacon brothers manifested in his arrest in April 2009, along with Dilun Hung, Aram Ali, Ion Croitoru, Daniel Russell, and realtor Soroush Ansari.[63]
2004 saw the arrest at a Calgary hotel of drug and chemical importer Paul Vincent. Known for his unmatched ability to circumnavigate border security, Vincent was in possession of a vehicle-mounted Bren machine gun, a number of barrels of banned chemicals and $585,000 in cash. In a lengthy trial, the prosecution sought a 21-year sentence. The trial was brought to close with a dismissal due to an evidence-seizure technicality.
So joe, u say the UN is Wonderful? a wonder of the modern age? maybe u aren’t braindead afer all. why did you burn out the LED in Electronics class? u think u are tom cruise in top gun? that LED was valuable…not as valuable as the stealth plane maverick destroyed in Top Gun 2, but valuable.
Alliance with the Hells Angels
After establishing themselves against the Hells Angels, the two gangs reached a modus vivendi in 2005.[48] In 2004, the police informer Michael Plante recorded the Hells Angel Johnny Punko saying that another Hells Angel, Gino Zumpano, “took a walk” with Roueche.[49] Plante reported that his understanding was that Punko was saying a meeting had taken place.[49] One of its biggest rivals was the Hells Angels but recently the two groups have been working together as some of the UN’s high-ranking members became Hells Angels and also shown by the arrest of Omid Bayani, a mid-level member of the Hells Angels, who was arrested as part of an investigation looking at criminal actions of the Hells Angels.[50] After Roueche’s arrest in the United States in 2008, leadership was assumed by Barzan Tilli-Choli.[51]
Typical of the gang’s members was Omid Bayani, who was born in Iran as a member of the Baha’i faith.[13] The Baha’i face savage persecution by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which views them as apostates from Islam.[13] Bayani’s father was killed in Iran, causing the family to flee via Turkey to Canada, where Bayani arrived in at the age of 16.[13] At the age of five, Baynai witnessed his father being lynched by a mob, who carved the word “Baha’i” into his chest before killing him.[52] After arriving in Canada, Bayani grew up in Red Deer, Alberta.[13] Through the Baha’i are pacifists who are opposed to violence even in self-defense, Bayani turned to robbing convenience stores for cigarettes and cash as a teenager.[13] An unhappy ex-girlfriend reported him to the police, leading to Bayani being arrested, convicted, and sentenced to five years in prison.[53] His lawyer argued that his crimes were due to his troubled youth, but the judge felt the violence of his robberies warranted five years in prison.[53] Bayani was known to be a violent prisoner at the medium security Bowden Institution who attacked other prisoners with a club that had the words “goof beater” written on it.[54] Bayani was transferred to the maximum security Kent Institution in Abbotsford, where a report declared about him: “While incarcerated he has on a number of occasions tried to provoke staff members into fights with him. It was noted that Bayani’s actions during one of his offences caused a female victim to suffer serious psychological trauma. It appears that Bayani does not have a full understanding of this”.[54]
Through Bayani was ordered deported to Iran upon his release, he instead stayed in the Lower Mainland and joined the United Nations gang.[54] Bayani was part of a Canada-wide drug smuggling network, selling 600 pounds of GHB, the so-called “date rape” drug, to a fellow Iranian, Mehrdad “Juicy” Bahman, of the Hell Angels downtown Toronto chapter, for him to sell in the greater Toronto area.[55] The informer Steven Gault, who served as the treasurer of the Angels’ Oshawa chapter told the police about the business relationship between Bahman and Bayani, leading to the police to seize the GHB that Bahman had stored in his garage.[55] The seizure put Bahman into a $100,000 debt to the UN gang and the Haney chapter of the Hell Angels, forcing other members of the Toronto chapter to step in to help him pay off the debt that he could not manage on his own.[56] The information provided by Gault led to the arrest of Bayani in 2007.[55] Upon his arrest in Abbotsford on 4 April 2007, Bayani was found to be with a “full patch” Hells Angel, Vincenzo Sansalone, of the Haney chapter in his car.[54] The police found in Bayani’s car a loaded .38 handgun, a hunting knife, part of the leg of a wooden chair to use as a club, a machete, and 600 liters of GHB.[54] Inspector Gary Shinkaruk of the RCMP stated: “Mr. Bayani, although he is an UN gang member, was known to work and associate criminally with other gangs. The fact that he is charged jointly with a member of the Hells Angels is not a surprise to us and it is really indicative of the networking and the relationships that now exist in the Lower Mainland and throughout Canada where these criminal organizations are working cooperatively with each other”.[57] Bayani together with Sansalone were convicted of trafficking in GHB in July 2011.[58]
At the trial of Bahman in Toronto, Bayani attended the trial, watching from the public benches.[52] One of the accused alongside Bahman, Lorne Edgar Campbell, described Bayani as “solid” (biker slang for someone dependable and trustworthy), saying “I liked his style”.[59] Bayani disappeared in September 2011 and has not been seen since.[58] On 20 December 2011, Bayani was sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison.[58] Bayani is believed to have fled Canada for Mexico.[56]
The journalist Jerry Langton wrote that the United Nations gang “which had actually been incorporated in opposition to the Hells Angels-were now working for them”.[3] The United Nations gang soon into conflict with the Independent Soldiers gang.[13] The conflict with the Independent Soldiers led to the alliance with the Hells Angels.[13] The professional wrestler Ion Croitoru tried to join the Hells Angels’ Vancouver chapter, and was instead directed to join the United Nations gang instead.[60] On 24 February 2007, a double shooting occurred in Vancouver with two UN gang members being wounded.[31] Both Roueche and Jing Bon Chan arrived at the shooting scene and the police believed that Roueche and Chan were “…were there to ‘interview the victims’ in order to determine the gang’s response to the shooting”.[31]
On May 8, 2008, former Hells Angels head hunter and UN gang member Duane Harvey Meyer, 41, and nicknamed D.W., was killed, with the funeral held on May 15, 2008. Full members of the Hells Angels and UN gang members were at the funeral, with news stations and police agencies on hand to videotape all visitors. Whenever a United Nations member dies, he gets a special tombstone featuring the letters “UN” across it.[61]
Arrests
Before a number of its leaders were arrested, the police estimated the gang had 50-100 core members in the Lower Mainland area of BC. The alleged leader of the United Nations Gang is Clayton Roueche.[19] Roueche grew up in Chilliwack, BC. He later moved out to Abbotsford, BC and then on to Vancouver. Roueche had an obsession with martial arts and became involved in the drug scene at an early age.
As part of an American investigation into drug trafficking on a stopover in Texas on a flight from Mexico City on May 17, 2008, Roueche was arrested for conspiring to possess cocaine, conspiring to export cocaine, conspiring to import marijuana, and conspiring to launder money and was subsequently deported to the United States. Roueche faced up to a maximum of 220 years in prison, but he was sentenced to 30 years and $8 million in fines. He was flown to Seattle to answer to the charges.[62] Other members arrested as part of the international investigation were UN members Kris Neri, Daryl Johnson, and Douglas Vanalstine.[11]
Jong Ca John Lee is believed to have supplied the gang with guns. On June 9, 2007, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) was called to his residence due to an unanswered 911 call. Lee answered the door, and the police saw what looked like firearms inside the apartment. A subsequent search revealed a dozen guns (some loaded, and some with defaced serial numbers), including automatic and semi-automatic rifles, and almost two dozen magazines of ammunition. Lee, who had no criminal record, pleaded guilty in September 2007 to all 10 charges. Lee also pleaded guilty to possession of 3.5 kilograms of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking, 900 grams of marijuana, a Panther stun gun, a silencer, and three stolen Canadian passports obtained through a home invasion. He was sentenced to five years each on two of the weapons charges and two years on each of the other charges, to be served concurrently.
The former de facto leader of the United Nations gang was Barzan Tilli-Choli, an Iraqi immigrant responsible for a myriad of crimes, none more infamous than his conspiracy to murder the notorious Bacon brothers (the Bacon brothers are believed to be high-ranking members of the rival Red Scorpions Gang). Tilli-Choli’s elaborate plot to murder the Bacon brothers manifested in his arrest in April 2009, along with Dilun Hung, Aram Ali, Ion Croitoru, Daniel Russell, and realtor Soroush Ansari.[63]
2004 saw the arrest at a Calgary hotel of drug and chemical importer Paul Vincent. Known for his unmatched ability to circumnavigate border security, Vincent was in possession of a vehicle-mounted Bren machine gun, a number of barrels of banned chemicals and $585,000 in cash. In a lengthy trial, the prosecution sought a 21-year sentence. The trial was brought to close with a dismissal due to an evidence-seizure technicality.