| Claude "Burger" Berger |
 |
| Claude Berger was born on May 8, 1949 and grew up in Sherbrooke. He began to associate with bikers as a teenager and, as he became older, he earned the respect of the city's criminal element. He was soon a full-patch member of the Gitans biker gang and in 1984, when the club was absorbed by the Hells Angels, Berger became a member of the notorious motorcycle gang. Besides being a hardcore biker, Berger has another passion: music. He held the position of third trumpet with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra for more than 10 years before he was replaced in April, 1998. He is also a part of the Rock BB Blues, a popular Sherbrooke band, and taught music on a part time basis at the local college for over 20 years. |
Police raided a bar owned by Berger and Hells Angel Gilles Dumas in 1995 and seized illegal video pocker machines, cocaine and marijuana, and a shotgun. For people were arrested in the bust but no charges were laid against the two owners. Surprisingly, and to public outrage, Berger and Dumas would receive a $71,000 municipal grant for renovations on the bar two years later. Berger was charged with illegal possession of a firearm on April 222, 1997, after police raided a bar. Officers saw him fleeing the bar and trying to hide a gun. He was arrested and released on $5,000 bail. He was acquitted but prosecutors contested the decision and a new trial was set. Police arrested Berger at his house next door to the Hells Angels' Lennoxville clubhouse on November 5, 1998, and charged him with producing and conspiring to produce marijuana and of nine counts of living off the profits of crime. 21 others, including Gilles Dumas and Marc Bordage, members of the Hells Angels Quebec chapter, were also picked up and charged with crimes ranging from drug trafficking to attempted murder. Berger was released two weeks later, after he posted bail. Police seized more than $3 million in drugs, $45 million in counterfeit American currency, six guns, two stolen vehicles, and aa seaplane believed to have been used to transport drugs. Berger's problems with the law continued. A motorist unknowingly parked his car in Berger's space in front of the Hells clubhouse on September 18, 2001. When the civilian returned to his car, he was confronted by a man, who told him he was not allowed to park there. The motorist was then escorted into the clubhouse where, he claimed, Berger complained he had gotten a parking ticket because the man had taken his spot. Berger and three other bikers then allegedly surrounded the man and forced him to sign a $50 cheque, to cover the cost of the ticket. The victim's son quickly alerted police, who arrested Berger. He appeared before a judge the next day and was released on $1,000 bail. Reports in early 2002 claimed that Berger and three other Hells Angels retired in good standing from the Sherbrooke chapter. But Berger, who commands a lot of respect within the organization, was since seen wearing his Hells Angels colours and is most likely still active within the club. |