74-летний лидер байкеров Hells Angels Уолтер Стадник получил условно-досрочное освобождение и вернется к общению с членами банды

There was a time when Hells Angel Walter (Nurget) Stadnick was a spectacle to behold, with bodyguards standing watch as he strutted into Toronto’s finest restaurants dressed in a full-length wolf coat, sporting a snakeskin moneybelt with a solid gold belt buckle bearing the Angels’ death-head logo. “Angels, they would order $2,000 bottles of wine, the best, without even thinking,” said Guy Ouellette, a biker investigator with la Surete du Quebec, at the time. “The Angels eat at the best places and stay at the best hotels,” Ouellette said. “You know why? Because they know that police, with their little budgets, can’t afford to stay in such places. Smart, no?” ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Stadnick, 74, brought the world’s largest outlaw biker gang to the GTA a quarter century ago, but is now a relic of a bygone era. He’s far less visible now, as the Angels have moved from clubhouses into cyberspace. Despite the lowered visibility, there’s still plenty of drama, and business, inside Stadnick’s longtime club. In Quebec, there’s the vanishing act of senior Hells Angel Stephane (Fesse) Plouffe, 57, who dropped out of sight in early August, amidst reports he might have flipped to the government side on the eve of a major underworld trial. Plouffe and Stadnick are considered part of the old guard, who have spent their entire adult lives as bikers.  In southern Ontario, there’s the unsolved killing of Craig (Truck) McIlquham (aka Craig Brown), who was gunned down in front of his family outside an Oakville restaurant in April 2025. Stadnick once counted McIlquham among his bodyguards. The murder comes as the Hells Angels splinters along generational lines — pitting old-school members loyal to the club’s outlaw code against a younger generation chasing fast money in restaurants, car dealerships and drugs, according to a former associate. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Gone are the days when Hells Angels were content to sip beer as they worked on a Harley in a garage, a former associate member said in an interview. “You didn’t see Hells Angels rolling about in Lamborghinis in 2006,” he said. “It’s just different times.” The former B.C. Hells Angels associate, who became a co-operating witness with police, is not being identified by the Star for security reasons. “It was about the club and riding bikes but the whole landscape’s changed,” the former associate said. “Now it’s about money and drugs and what people can do for you. That’s where the disconnect comes in. The old school guys don’t like the new school ways. I think being a 20 or 30-year member is a thing of the past. Guys are leaving and getting kicked out like crazy. A brother today, out bad tomorrow.” Since he vanished three weeks ago, Stéphane Plouffe’s luxury home has been firebombed. Since he vanished three weeks ago, Stéphane Plouffe’s luxury home has been firebombed. Stadnick did not agree to be interviewed for this story. Stadnick also declined, through his lawyer, Stephan Frankel of Hamilton, to explain the origin of his nickname “Nurget.” One theory is that he likes to eat nougat. Another is that it’s short for “nugget.” The true origin remains a mystery. “Couldn’t tell,” Frankel said. An outlaw biker since he was a teen Stadnick has been an outlaw biker since his early teens at Hill Park Secondary School in Hamilton, when he helped form a teenager gang called the Cossacks, who were notable for the tufts of hair that stuck out of the top of their helmets. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW He didn’t grow past five-foot-four, meaning he was considered too small to be an outlaw biker by many established members. He did so anyway. He spent time in the The Wild Ones, an adult gang, then he made a pilgrimage to Montreal and impressed Hells Angels there enough for them to make him Ontario’s first member in 1982. There was an early brush with death on Sept. 8, 1984, when his Harley was struck by a car driven by a priest near Drummondville, Que. He was in a convoy of bikers returning from a funeral while the priest was en route to the Papal visit. The priest escaped unscathed while Stadnick lost two fingers and suffered horrible burns to his arms and face. The priest was ruled to be at fault in the crash. An entire club of bikers from Halifax, the 13th Tribe, came to Hamilton to oversee Stadnick’s recovery at St. Joseph’s Hospital. Rise to national president He recovered enough to be elected national president in 1988, assuming the top spot in an organization that was gutted by the testimony of former member Yves (The Mad Bumper, Apache) Trudeau in a series of biker trials. Trudeau turned on his old club after hearing from police that the Hells Angels had put out a contract on his life.  ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Not long after that, American-born Hells Angels Scott Steinert was reportedly jealous of Stadnick’s position as head of the club. That conflict ended by Nov. 4, 1997, when Steinert’s body was found in the St. Lawrence River in Ontario with his head caved in. That murder remains unsolved. Police said Stadnick was the driving force behind the mass expansion of the Hells Angels into Ontario in 2000. He spent a good deal of time tightening ties with Quebec Hells Angels and forging ties with existing Ontario clubs who were part of the outlaw biker world.  Suddenly, there were 110 Hells Angels within an hour’s drive of the CN Tower. From wolf coats to webmasters Stadnick also oversaw the Angels move from heavily guarded clubhouses into cyberspace. A newly created top job of webmaster sprung up, overseeing the gang’s banking and communications with other chapters. “They don’t like to meet in clubhouses anymore, it’s too easy to get caught,” Ouellette said. “But with computers, they can encrypt all their operations and meet when they want. The Hells are digital now.” ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Craig McIlquham was one of many Hells Angels who learned that there’s money to be made if you’re low-key, skilled on the computer — and feared. Craig McIlquham was one of many Hells Angels who learned that there’s money to be made if you’re low-key, skilled on the computer — and feared. They also had an interest in police and government computers. Court heard that copies of confidential police files, stolen from an OPP computer, were found in police raids on the homes of Stadnick and his associate Donald (Pup) Stockford. The gang used those files to hunt down rival drug dealers and murder them, court later heard. Stadnick had no criminal convictions for his first two decades as a Hells Angels. He was conspicuous for not using drugs, drinking moderately and taking his parents to church on Sundays. That all changed in 2001, when he was hit with 13 first-degree-murder charges and a string of gangsterism and drug offences. He was sentenced in September 2004 to 20 years (reduced to 14 years, seven months for previous time served) for convictions including conspiracy to commit murder. While in custody in the Kingston area, Stadnick showed no inclination to change his ways, his parole file states. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW “You have never expressed any remorse for your actions,” it said, adding he helped found the elite Nomads chapter in 1995. “As a founding member of the Nomads, you are among the leaders of the Hells Angels organization,” his parole file stated. His parole conditions included orders to avoid people in motorcycle and street gangs, including “any person known to be a hang around or wannabe of any outlaw motorcycle gang.” He was also barred from owning more than one cellphone and ordered to account for whom he texted and emailed and what social media sites he visited. Things relaxed with full parole granted in April 2019, meaning he could finally openly associate with old club members. That includes being allowed to attend a mandatory national get-together in Windsor this summer. Through it all, he has maintained a connection to a property in Hamilton for decades. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The former club associate marvels that he has lasted so long and declines to predict his future. “Think about biker life when he got into this. Compared to now. “Stadnick’s had a legendary run… Tough to say how much time he’s got left.”