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Soon after, Couillard accompanied Bernier to a meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. She was introduced to and photographed with American President George W. Bush. Things were going well for the couple until Bernier took her to Paris in December 2007, where Couillard claimed to have caught him making out with an old girlfriend of his at the Canadian ambassador's residence. At that point, she said, she ended their romantic relationship, but agreed to continue to appear in public with him for the rest of their one-year agreement.

What happened next is not entirely clear, with only Couillard's often-contradictory recollections to go by because nobody else involved will comment. In April 2008, Couillard said she discovered a file with Bernier's name on it in her house. Too afraid, she said, to open it, let alone read it, she instead took it to a lawyer she knew.

“Maxime came to my house,” she told reporters at the time, “and the document in question was left at my house. For now, what I can tell you is that the document made me feel very uncomfortable. I was panicked by the fact that I had it.”

But a year later, she told a different story in her book, saying that Bernier directed her as follows: “Can you put this in the garbage for me? I would prefer that you wait for garbage day to do it, after all they are confidential documents.”

Couillard went on to add: “I can't help but smile when I think that, in the eyes of some observers, I supposedly constituted a threat to national security and state secrets! I could have wallpapered my house in confidential documents.”

The lawyer then returned the file in question (which happened to be his notes from a NATO briefing) to Bernier. I'm not sure what the lawyer said to him, but Bernier resigned from his cabinet post immediately. Only then did the media finally dig into Couillard's past, making an instant celebrity of her and pointing out how closely entwined she was not just with the federal government, but the Hells Angels as well.

Bernier was cleared of any wrongdoing and won his re-election bid in Beauce. Harper did not assign him a cabinet post.

Of course, neither Couillard nor Bernier were proven to have done anything against the law. He obviously could have been much more responsible with his documents and could have picked his friends in the real estate business better, and she could have at least worked less hard at drawing attention to herself and stayed away from married men. But what drew the attention of the nation was the fact that one of the most powerful members of the federal government had left classified documents at the house of someone who had been married to one notorious Hells Angels associate and had had an earlier common-law relationship with yet another. Perhaps she did not look at the documents, and perhaps she no longer had ties with the Hells Angels, but it could just as easily gone another way. If, for example, she owed a great deal of money to a member or associate, such documents could easily have been used in an extortion attempt. Keep in mind that Boucher had indicated that intimidating the members of government that opposed him were an active part of his master plan.

The close call that was the Couillard-Bernier Affair is a chilling reminder of the amazing reach and infiltration the Hells Angels have in all parts of Canadian society.

To get an accurate perspective on the outlaw biker scene in Ontario now, consider that virtually every single one of the Hells Angels mentioned in this book is dead, in prison, on the run from the law or handcuffed by legal restrictions. The most notable exceptions are former Para-Dice Rider Donny Petersen and Satan's Choice founder Bernie Guindon.

Petersen still works at Heavy-Duty Cycles in Toronto where he is described as a “master builder.” The business is now officially owned by a friend who goes by the name Tattoo Tony. Petersen also writes articles and books about Harley-Davidsons and even appears on TV to share his extensive expertise on motorcycle mechanics. But, much to the chagrin of many reporters, doesn't act as a spokesman for Hells Angels anymore.

Guindon â despite his lofty position in the history of biker gangs in Canada â has escaped prosecution for decades. His son, Harley Davidson Guindon, wasn't so lucky. He was one of 65 people arrested in November 2005's Project Superman. He was charged with sexual assault with a weapon, forcible confinement, extortion using a firearm, assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm and aggravated assault.

Bernie Guindon has since founded and is still the honorary chairman of the Ontario Confederation of Clubs (OCC), an advocacy group for motorcycle enthusiast organizations. All of the member organizations are â with the possible exception of the famously neutral Red Devils â decidely pro-Hells Angels. The Outlaws, Bandidos, the Mongols, Black Pistons and other anti-Hells Angels groups don't belong. In January 2010, the OCC announced the addition of the 55 V-Twin Cruisers, Cinco Chagas, Iron Dragons, Iron Horse and Messiahs Creed as new members. Of course, that doesn't mean they are puppet clubs. In fact, the Cinco Chagas (Spanish for “five wounds,” a reference to Jesus Christ's suffering) and the Messiahs Creed profess to be nonviolent, Christian-based clubs. But it does indicate that there are lots of clubs out there who wouldn't mind getting a little closer to Hells Angels.

And Guindon, like Parente and Johnny K-9, is trying to get somebody to write his life story. And he, too, has a title picked out:
From Satan to an Angel, Your Side, My Side and the Truth
. Knowing what I know about bikers, I'm sure Guindon's book would reflect “his side” as the unalloyed “truth.”

But bikers like Petersen and Guindon are very rare.

Over the last decade Hells Angels have suffered more arrests and about as many casualties as the other biker gangs in Canada. But while the Outlaws had been essentially reduced to a disparate band of gray-bearded men waiting for their court-ordered restrictions to expire and the amorphous Loners/Rock Machine/Bandidos entity seems to be a club on the Internet only, Hells Angels continue to groom new members and employ gangs of many different stripes all over the country.

It's all about the branding. It comes down to the logo. As Isnor told me: “Nobody makes movies about the Outlaws.”

But the Outlaws are still there. I'd finished the book. Had sent it off to the editor and thought I was done with it when I got a call from a well-placed biker cop I trust. “You know Parente's back with the Outlaws; back in charge,” he said. I told him that I had heard that, but not from a reliable source. And that despite all his assurances of the opposite, I had a feeling Parente couldn't stay away. “Looks like there could be some violence ahead for the HA,” the cop added. I told him I wouldn't be too surprised.

I asked another biker cop what he thought. “There's a chance Stadnick could be out next year,” he told me. “If he wants to re-establish himself, he'll have to do something big ... and if the other side wants to establish themselves, they're going to have to do something big.”

So while both sides have been weakened by arrests, court-ordered restrictions, internal dissent and age, it would appear that Hells Angels and the Outlaws are once again sizing each other up and preparing to do whatever they have to to come out on top of the organized crime world in Ontario.

And if they can settle a few old scores in the process, I'm sure that would be just part of doing business.

Acknowledgments

Like all books,
Showdown
was a truly collaborative effort. My name might be on it, but the work of many is in it. Many people deserve to be thanked.

First and foremost is Don Loney, the greatest editor on the face of the earth. That's not just my opinion, it's a well-known fact.

I am equally indebted to my outstanding illustrator, Tonia Cowan. Her work is always spot-on. Readers who want to see more of her talent can visit
squeakymarker.blogspot.com
.

I also have to thank Don's team at John Wiley & Sons, especially production editor Pauline Ricablanca, marketing whiz Robin Dutta-Roy, publicity specialist Erika Zupko, do-everything-guy Brian Will, designers Michael Chan and Diana Sullada, copy editor Andrew Borkowski and proofreader Eleanor Gasparik.

And, of course, I have to thank the sources, especially Mario Parente. We didn't talk that much and, in the end, didn't really accomplish what he wanted, but I have to commend him on his honesty and courage. I also have to thank Luther, who brought us together. My other sources â notably John Harris and Len Isnor â were excellent, providing wit and wisdom along with information.

As always, I have to thank Leta Potter because I'd be in trouble if I forgot; and I have to thank my wife and children for their nearly infinite patience and kindness.

Copyright

Showdown: How the Outlaws, Hells Angels and Cops Fought for Control of the Streets
Copyright Â© 2010 by Jerry Langton

Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Originally published by John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. in both print and EPub editions: 2010

First published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd in this EPub edition: 2013

First HarperCollins Publishers Ltd EPub Edition JUNE 2013 ISBN: 9781443427494

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Illustrations: Tonia Cowan