28 - Wednesday, November 30, 1988 - North Shore News a DA a I De CANADA’S CRIMINAL CONTINGENT EXPOSED THERE IS a side to this country that most Canadians do not suspect, let alone see: it is the savage and brutal world of three criminal empires that claim Canada as part of their fiefdoms. This week, BOOKS NOW looks at three non-fiction titles, each detailing the inside story of a powerful, dangerous group that, directly or indirectly, affects every man, woman and child who lives here: the Triads, the Mafia and the Hell's Angels. Globe and Mail reporter Yves Lavigne’s Heli’s Angels - Taking Care Of Business is the hardest- hitting expose of criminal activity ever published in Canada. It is also a clear indictment of the Canadian public’s naivety and our news media’s gullibility. MIKE STEELE book reviewer The Heil’s Angels of this book’s title are of course the infamous outlaw biker gang that Lavigne describes as Darwin's ‘missing link” and “gonad-driven greaseballs on wheels.” They are also one of the deadliest criminal organizations in North America. in Hell’s Angels, Lavigne pro- vides the most thorough an alarming description of the bikers written on either side of the Canada-U.S. border. Beginning with the 1940's origins of the gang, Lavigne traces the Angels’ transi- tion from a group of ragtag non- conformists with a penchant for violence into a sophisticated, paramilitary organization with in- ternational connections and un- limited ambitions. In his tough, no-holds-barred, New Journalism style, Lavigne tears apart the Angels’ self- ” promoted image of a bunch of ir- reverent guys and gals who just like to party hard, and lays bare the devastating, disturbing activi- - ties of criminals so violent that they have supplanted the Mafia as North America’s killing elite. While the media and public fig- ures gush over the Angels’ high- profile Tots for Toys annual cam- paigns, the bikers continue to ex- pand a criminal empire that in- volves hard drugs, prostitution, ar- son, hijackings, protection rackets and contract killings. Their arsenals (in stark contrast with the sight of teddy bears on chopper handlebars) include: M-16s, Uzis,, grenades, plastic explosives, TNT demolition blocks, hand-held Light Anti-Tank Weapons (LAW Rockets), Claymere mines, MAC- 10s, AR-15s and even Cruise Missile blast simulators. Hell’s Angels (Deneau; 344 pp.; $24.95 in hardcover), is a bloody yet true story that is guaranteed to shock and perhaps repel but | guarantee you won't want to put it down. ee & Question: What criminal organization has an annual cash- flow that exceeds the GNPs (Gross National Product) of all but 12 of the world’s countries? Answer: The Chinese Triads. tn Warlords of Crime: Chinese Secret Societies - The New Mafia, investigative journalist Gerald L. Posner reveals the scope and power of the largest and richest criminal enterprise on the globe. Warlords of Crime follows the Triads from their beginnings as pa- triotic secret societies fighting to overthrow the corrupt Manchu dynasty in China to their mod- ern-day position as the most per- vasive and wealthiest criminal organization of all time. Enroute, Posner explores: the heroin and vice wars fought by the CiA and the French intelligence service in Vietnam; the policies of British and French governments that created millions of drug ad- dicts; and the subversion of coun- tries by the Triad leaders known as ‘dragons.’ The information revealed in Warlords of Crime (McGraw-Hill Ryerson; 289 pp.; $27.50) is stag- gering in its implications. Posner discusses the impact on world economies of the Triads’ $150 billion heroin trade and the in- ability of police organizations to interdict more than 3 per cent of the deadly drug produced each year. Perhaps more alarming are the details of Triad membership — 300,000 in Hong Kong alone where one resident in 20 is believed to have Triad connec- tions — and the dramatic increase in Triad drug profits invested in real estate (with specific references to Vancouver and Toronto) as the colony’s reversion to China rapidly approaches. Posner sounds the alarm for North American immigration of- ficials who are singularly ill-equip- ped to identify let alone prevent the infiltration of the Chinese gangs and, by numerous foreign HARRISON GALLERIES “February Sun” Quebec City. 18x24 Exhibition of New Works y = DANIEL IZZARD at 2022 Park Royal South West Vancouver 926-2615 December Ist - December 7th This exhibition will include recent paintings of Quebec, England (Devon, Cornwall), Wales and Vermont. examples, graphically demon- . strates the price that we will pay for our failure to halt the Triads’ incursions. aene Whenever we think in terms of organized crime the word ‘Mafia’ is uppermost in our minds (although the first two books reviewed this week prove the folly of this limited vision). While the mob’s power and resources pale in comparison with the growing network of outlaw bikers and the staggering Triad financial muscle, the Mafia is still a criminal force that cannot be lightly dismissed although that might not be the conclusion readers would draw from James Dubro’s latest crime book, Mob Mistress. Mob Mistress, subtitled How A Canadian Housewife Became A Mafia Playgirl, is a lightweight ef- fort in many respects despite the writer's credentials as one of - Canada’s foremost literary authorities on the Mafia. Mob Mistress (Macmillan of Canada; 200 pp.; $24.95) is the kiss-and-squeal story of Shirley Rice, a Hamilton, Ontario, woman who warmed the beds of Papalia crime family members for two de- cades. Tricked by police into believing that her life depended on turning informant (mental prowess seems not to have been one of Rice’s strong points; her main assets pre- sumably lay somewhat further south), Rice agreed to cooperate with the Crown in return for pro- tection and relocation as a pro- secution witness. Mob Mistress really does not live up to its salacious promise. While one might expect a fairly hefty dose of smutty details and an insider's fantastic revelations of mob life, in truth the overall im- pression is one of blandness. stmas Carols arriving at your doorstep in the Dec. 7 issue of the North Shore News. Az this year, we will be publishing a special pull- out section with the lyrics to seme of your favourite carols. Church and other groups wishing extra copies — at no charge — please place your order in advance by calling Callay Fowler at 980-0511 ORDER NOW DEADLINE NOV. 30 THE VOICE OF NORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER north shore SUNDAY + WEDNESDAY *» FRIDAY