| Stéphane "Godasse" Gagné |
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| Stéphane "Godasse" Gagné, whose nickname means old dirty shoe in English, is probably the most well known informant to testify against the Hells Angels. Gagné reportedly started selling drugs in school when he was only 13 years old. A few years later, to support a cocaine and PCP habit, he began breaking into homes and businesses. By the 1990s, Gagné was selling large quantities of drugs in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve area. In 1994, the Rockers, a Hells Angels puppet club, began to pressure Gagné to purchase his drugs from them. That's when he first met Hells Angels leader Maurice "Mom" Boucher and, as the biker war broke out with the rival Rock Machine, alligned himself with the Hells Angels. |
Gagné was arrested for selling a kilogram of cocaine to an informant and sentenced to two years less a day. He was placed in the C Wing of Bordeaux prison, then a Rock Machine stronghold. He was approached by rivals, Gagné later said, who asked him to stomp on a photograph of "Mom" Boucher. Gagné refused and was viciously beaten. From then on he was a marked man and fought regularly with Rock Machine supporters. Authorities refused to transfer him out of the wing at first, because he wasn't on their list of Hells Angels associates, but finally realized that the violence would not stop and shipped him to Sorel prison in early 1995. At Sorel, Gagné and Boucher, who was serving time there for gun possession, began to spend time together. Gagné said that Boucher was very happy with the support Gagné showed at Bordeaux. In early 1996, after both men were released from prison, Gagné met with Boucher at a restaurant. Gagné had just became a hangaround with the Rockers and Boucher handed him $1,000 to "stay accessible." Later that year, Gagné came up with the idea of parking a stolen van loaded with dynamite in front of the Rock Machine's clubhouse and blowing the place up. He was arrested though and convicted of stealing a van and sentenced to six months. He was released in the spring of 1997. After his release, Boucher placed Gagné under the leadership of André "Toots" Tousignant and Paul "Fon Fon" Fontaine, two Rockers who controlled the distribution of narcotics in Montreal's gay neighbourhood. Boucher, Gagné would later recall, planned to murder lawyers, judges, and police officers to destabilize the justice system. Tousignant, Fontaine, and Gagné were assigned to kill prison guards and began to perform surveillance at the area's prisons. Gagné knew better than to discuss business in the open. He often drove to remote locations to talk and used codes. At home, he used a blackboard to communicate with associates. On June 26, 1997, Gagné and André "Toots" Tousignant followed prison guard Diane Lavigne as she drove home after a shift. Dressed in black jogging suits and riding a Japanese motorcycle, the two pulled up beside Lavigne's van and Gagné opened fire. Lavigne, 42, was killed. Gagné and Tousignant dumped their motorcycle in the parking lot of a shopping mall and fled in a green Ford Escort. Gagné met with Mom Boucher the next day. The Hells Angels leader was reportedly very happy with him, saying "it doesn't matter that she had tits." On September 8, 1997, the bikers struck again. This time, it was Paul "Fon Fon" Fontaine who participated in the hit with Gagné. The two ambushed an inmate transport bus. According to Gagné, Fontaine jumped on the vehicle's hood and pumped three shots into prison guard Pierre Rondeau, killing him. Gagné shot another guard, Robert Corriveau, twice but he survived. The bikers fled the scene in a stolen van, which they abandoned and set on fire in a parking lot, before driving away in a Mazda 323. Gagné and Fontaine then went to Saint-Luc hospital to stand guard for Hells Angels Nomads member Louis "Mélou" Roy, who was recovering from an attempted murder. A Hells Angel gave Gagné $5,000 to get out of town for a vacation. He took his wife and son to the Dominican Republic. Gagné was rewarded for participation in the murders by becoming a prospect for the Rockers. Fontaine and Tousignant were made prospects with the Hells Angels elite Nomads chapter. Boucher also used Gagné to spy on members of the Montreal Mafia. Gagné said he was given a gray Chrysler to park in front of the funeral service of a Cotroni family member. A miniature camera was hidden in a tissue box and recorded the people who came and went. Among those at the service, Gagné remembered seeing Michael Cotroni, the son of mob boss Frank Cotroni. Gagné said he gave the videotape to Boucher the next day. Police arrested drug dealer Steve Boies December 4, 1997. Boies flipped and told police that Gagné was behind the murders of prison guards Diane Lavigne and Pierre Rondeau. Authorities picked up Gagné two days later and decided to spill his guts and come clean. In exchange for his testimony, he received a 25 year sentence. With the information provided by Gagné, police were able to obtain a warrant for the arrests of Boucher, Fontaine, and Tousignant. Boucher was picked up on December 18, while Fontaine and Tousignant, sensing the bust was near, went into hiding. The government's case against Boucher rested mainly on Gagné's testimony. On the stand, he testified that Boucher ordered the killings but the jury was not convinced that the convicted drug dealer was being truthful and the prosecutor had no other witnesses to corroborate the testimony. To make matters worse, defense lawyer Jacques Larochelle hammered away at Gagné's credibility and showed evidence that witness was jailed eleven times between 1990 and 1997. Mom Boucher was found not guilty on November 27, 1998 and spent the night the Molson Centre, watching the boxing match of Davey Hilton and Stephane Ouellet. The 18,000 fights fans there welcomed Boucher and gave him a standing ovation. The Quebec Court of Appeals dismissed Boucher's acquittal and a new trial was set for the murder of the prison guards. Once again, the government's case depended mostly upon Gagné's shoulders. Boucher's lawyer Jacques Larochelle again tried to discredit Gagné's credibility by calling him a "hitman" and a "liar" but prosecutors were ready this time around. They showed evidence that Gagné did in fact know Boucher, including Boucher's address book, where Gagne's name and phone number were listed. They also played a tape showing Gagné getting into a truck with the Hells Angels leader. In May 2002, after 11 days of deliberation, the jury reached its decision: guilty. Boucher was sentenced to life in a federal penitentiary without the possibility of parole before 25 years. The ruling shocked many, who expected the Hells Angels to be acquitted yet again. The conviction would of been impossible without the testimony of Godasse Gagné, who is expected to take the stand in future cases against the Hells Angels biker gang. |