For a bunch of guys who don't want to live by the rules of society, the Bandidos have a lot of rules.
It's not just a motorcycle club for enthusiasts, but a way of life and a religion of sorts that requires strict adherence and reverence.
The tenets of that organized faith were reviewed yesterday by a police officer with expertise in motorcycle clubs and a special interest in the Bandidos.
Lists of bylaws and a Bandidos creed that identifies a Bandido as someone "who has given up on society and politicians' one-way laws" were introduced to the jury at the Bandidos trial by OPP Det. Const. Craig Pulfrey from the provincial biker enforcement unit.
"All members are your brothers and your family," one line of the creed reads.
Pulfrey was testifying at the trial of six men -- Wayne Kellestine, 60, and Frank Mather, 35, of Dutton-Dunwich; Brett Gardiner, 24, of no fixed address; and Michael Sandham, 39, Marcelo Aravena, 33, and Dwight Mushey, 41, of Winnipeg -- who have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of eight Bandido bikers found shot to death along an Elgin County Road April 8, 2006.
The shooting victims were George Jessome, also known as Jesso, 52, George Kriarakis, 28, John Muscedere, 48, Luis Raposo, 41, Frank Salerno, 43, Paul Sinopoli, 30, Jamie Flanz, 37, and Michael Trotta, 31.
Pulfrey, a member of the biker enforcement unit since 1998, guided the jury through a course on the rules of the club -- expertise he collected after immersing himself in biker culture and watching their activities.
He has been to more than 30 "1%er" or outlaw motorcycle club functions.
He described attending several "runs" -- where bikers ride together in a show of strength -- funerals and other parties in Canada and the United States. He has checked attendees at parties as they arrive, handled police agents providing information, had covert meetings with confidential sources, done surveillance and undercover work and given instruction to other police officers.
And he identified some of the victims he had watched or spoken to.
"It's like a religion," he told the jury.
Some of the terms Pulfrey reviewed were:
-- The "patch," or "colours," the name given to a fully patched vest of a full member that is considered "the most important item in the world." The patch is not available to the public and can only be purchased through national headquarters in Texas. There are strict guidelines on placing a patch on a leather vest.
-- A 1%er, a moniker adopted by members of motorcycle clubs to signify they are the 1% of the population that lives outside the law, a term coined after the Second World War at a American Motorcycle Association rally.
BANDIDO RULES
- Prospect members are not full-patch members but are trying to attain full membership. They are at the entry level for one year and are at "the beck and call" of full-patch members. "The expectation is that he is to complete any task given to him," said OPP Det. Const. Craig Pulfrey.
- Probationary members are not full members who are either brought up from prospect or have been busted down from full patch and must earn their way back.
- Hangarounds and associates are men trusted by members and allowed to hang around the clubhouse. "Not just anyone is allowed in the Bandido circle," Pulfrey said.
- Support or puppet clubs are overseen by the chapter and are "completely subservient to the Bandidos," Pulfrey said. They do business for the club and are used to draw future members.
- "No colours in a cage" means a Bandido can't wear the full patch inside a closed vehicle.
- BFFB means Bandidos Forever Forever Bandidos.
- "Red and Gold," the Bandido colours.
- Chapters have their own president, vice-president, secretary-treasurer, sergeant-at-arms and road captain. Toronto had a chapter that was under Canadian national chapter. Canada reported to the United States in Texas.
- Church is a weekly meeting to discuss club business. A Bandido faces fines for missing them.
