Five men charged in gangland shooting of 8; termed “internal cleansing” by police

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This article was published 10/04/2006 (7482 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LONDON, Ont. (CP) – Five people have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the gangland-style shooting of eight men who were associated with or full-fledged members of the notorious Bandidos motorcycle gang, police said Monday.

The eight victims, found stuffed Saturday inside several vehicles abandoned near a southwestern Ontario farmer’s field, were all victims of gunshot wounds, although the cause of death has not been confirmed, said Ontario police Det.-Supt. Ross Bingley.

“The victims of this crime have been positively identified and are associated (with), or belong to, the Bandidos motorcycle gang,” Bingley told a news conference, a pair of Bandidos motorcycle vests on display behind him like hunting trophies.

“This is an isolated incident with ties to the Bandidos.”

Timeline Saturday, April 8: 8:30 a.m. — Farmer spots eight dead bodies in three abandoned vehicles and a tow truck on his property. Phones police. 11:30 p.m. — The vehicles, with bodies in tow, are transported under cloak of darkness to Toronto coroner’s office. Sunday, April 9: 10 a.m. — Ontario police say all of the victims were known to each other and all came from the Greater Toronto Area. 1 p.m. — Police descend on the farmhouse of Wayne Kellestine, former leader of the St. Thomas Annihilators and now-defunct St. Thomas Loners biker gangs. 7 p.m. — Police take five people into custody and conduct a search of Kellestine’s property. Later that evening, police lay first-degree charges against five people. Monday, April 10: —Toronto coroner begins autopsies on the eight dead men. 4 p.m. — Police announce five members of the Bandidos have been charged with eight counts each of first-degree murder. They also say the eight victims, all shot, are Bandidos members or associates. Officer calls it an “internal cleansing.” — Canadian Press

Bingley confirmed that Wayne Kellestine, 56, a “full-patch” member of the gang whose home near the scene where the bodies were found was raided Sunday by provincial police, was among those arrested and charged.

Ontario police Det.-Insp. Don Bell described the shootings as an “internal cleansing” within the gang and insisted there’s little reason for public fear.

“I think this is an isolated incident and I wouldn’t expect to see any significant fallout from it,” Bell said.

“It should be noted that these men are criminals. They are not the motorcycle enthusiasts they portray themselves to be.”

Also arrested Sunday were Eric Niessen, 45, and Kerry Morris, 56, both of Monkton, Ont., Frank Mather, 32, of Dutton-Dunwich Township, and Brett Gardiner, 21, of no fixed address.

Police identified the full-patch Bandidos who were among the dead as George Jesso, 52, George Kriarakis, 28, and Luis Manny Raposo, 41, of Toronto; Francesco Salerajno, 43, of Oakville, Ont.; John Muscedere, 48, of Chatham, Ont.; and Paul Sinopoli, 30, of Sutton, Ont.

Muscedere was believed to be the president of the Bandidos in Canada.

Also killed were Jamie Flanz, 37, of Keswick, Ont., described as a “prospect” member of the gang, and Michael Trotta, 31, of Milton, Ont., an associate member.

The details come the day after witnesses spotted police marching a group of people, their hands in the air, out of the home of Kellestine, a former leader of the now-defunct St. Thomas Loners biker gang.

The eight bodies were all found Saturday stuffed in several abandoned vehicles, including a tow truck, on the outskirts of a farmer’s field some 10 kilometres away from Kellestine’s home.

The tow truck driver is one of the dead.

Elgin County, west of London, has a history of violent confrontation between rival motorcycle clubs. Several organizations, including the Loners, the Bandidos and the Hells Angels, have been known to populate the area.

In separate incidents in 1994 and 1998, the bodies of a man and a woman were found dumped in county field. Both had been beaten to death, and neither of the murders were ever solved.

In October 1999, Kellestine himself was wounded in a shootout near Highway 401, apparently the result of a rift inside one of the gangs.

The bodies, still ensconced in the vehicles they were found in, were transported Saturday under cloak of darkness to the coroner’s office in Toronto, where they were undergoing autopsies Monday.

A neighbour said he commonly saw motorcycles driving up and down the street to Kellestine’s home, although he experienced no problems as a result.

Eight men found dead on a remote southwestern Ontario farm were either members of the Bandidos biker gang or linked to it.

A look at the victims:

-George Jesso, 52, Toronto, full patch member

-George Kriarakis, 28, Toronto, full-patch member

-John Muscedere, 48, Chatham, Ont., full-patch member

-Luis Manny Raposo, 41, Toronto, full-patch member

-Francesco Salerajno, 43, Toronto, full-patch member

-Paul Sinopoli, 30, Sutton, Ont., full-patch member

-Jamie Flanz, 37, Keswick, Ont., prospect member

-Michael Trotta, 31, Milton, Ont., associate member