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| Peter "Buddy" Paradis |
| Peter Paradis, nicknamed "Buddy", was born in 1965 and began dancing in Montreal strip clubs at the age of 16. By age 18, Paradis had entered a far more profitable career: drug trafficking. In 1994, Paradis was approached by Renaud Jomphe, who was often called the "King of Verdun". Jomphe, one of the Rock Machine's founding members, wanted Paradis to start working for him. Sensing the potential for big profits, the former stripper turned drug trafficker agreed. |
On October 18, 1996, as the war between the Rock Machine and the Hells Angels raged on, Renaud Jomphe was assassinated. Jomphe, accompanied with fellow Rock Machine Christian Deschesnes and associate Raymond Laureau, were dining at the Kim Hoa restaurant in Verdun when a Hells Angels hitman approached their table and blasted away. Deschesnes was also killed in the attack and Laureau was struck in the shoulder. Upon Jomphe's death, Paradis took his drug disribution network. This enabled him to quickly move up through the ranks of the organization and, in early 1997, Paradis became a member of the Rock Machine. As a member, Paradis had to pay $1000 a month for the gang's lawyer's fees but he could easily afford it. As the head of the organization's Verdun operations, his salary had skyrocketed from $2000 a week to $7000 a week. |
On April 11, 1997, while Paradis drove along Montreal with associates Mario "Marteau" Filion and Simon "Chiki" Lambert, the trio noticed Hells Angels sympathizer and drug dealer Raymond Vincent walking along the street. Lambert, wearing a ski mask, exited the automobile and fired three shots at Vincent, who later died from the wounds. Yan Bastieri, one of Paradis' pushers, approached him with the complaint that Angels sympathizer Éric Perfechino was stealing his business. The Rock Machine advised him to "do what you have to do" and furnished him with a gun. Perfechino was murdered on January 3, 1998. |
| On August 10, 1998, after being dropped off in front of his Lasalle home by bodyguard Daniel "Poutine" Leclerc, Paradis was shot four times by Hells Angels associates. He barely escaped the frigid grip of death but spent eight days in the hospital. Things got worse in March 1999 for Paradis, as he, along with eight associates, were arrested on drug trafficking charges. In early 2000, while out on bail, Paradis decided to collect about $100 thousand of drug debts. He sent his brother Robert and Jimmy Larivée to collect a $15 thousand debt from reluctant jewel thief Gilles Nolet. Two days later, while watching television, Paradis learned that Nolet, along with another man, had been assassinated in a Cote-Saint-Paul bar. In July of 2000, Paradis became the first Rock Machine to turn Government witness and testified against his eight co-defendants. All were found guilty, four on Canada's first Anti-gang prosecution. Paradis was a confident witness and was sentenced to twelve years for his years as a criminal. |