Richard Daniel Wolfe (1975-27 May 2016) was a Canadian gangster who co-founded the Indian Posse gang along with his younger brother Danny Wolfe in 1988, which he later left in 1997. Convicted of attempted murder in 1995, he was released on parole in 2010. On parole he raped a woman in 2014 and died in prison.
131-656: Wolfe was born on the Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan, the son of Richard Wolfe Senior and Susan Creely. Both of his parents were Cree. In 1979, his parents moved to the North End of Winnipeg, where he grew up. His father abandoned his family while his mother was an alcoholic. In sentencing Richard Wolfe Jr. in 2015 following his convictions for rape and assault, the judge stated: "He was raised in an environment where substance abuse and domestic violence
262-457: A "disinformation campaign." Between January 2019 and March 2020, the RCMP spent $ 13 million policing and periodically enforcing injunctions against Indigenous protesters blocking the construction of a pipeline across what the protesters asserted was unceded Wet'suwet'en territory. Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs Na'moks and Woos complained about the armed RCMP presence, as the police moved down
393-458: A "shady" couple whom he believed would turn Crown's evidence, leading to Danny to ask why did he use their phone to order the pizza if he did not trust them. Detective James Jewell of the Winnipeg police was assigned to the case at 4:00 am on the same night. Because the call had placed from the apartment of Christa and Darryl, the police went there first. The couple quickly named Richard Wolfe as
524-549: A $ 100 million fund to compensate these victims. Over 20,000 current and past female employees who were employed after 1974 are eligible. On March 10, 2020, Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation was arrested by two RCMP officers in Fort McMurray , Alberta. After several minutes of Chief Adam yelling and posturing at officers, the officers tackled him and punched him in
655-764: A café with your fellow intellectuals. Listen, I was there at the time — Richard Wolfe was no Malcolm X and the Indian Posse weren't the Black Panthers...Wolfe and his brother were smarter than those idiots, but the idea of the Wolfes as either a fulsome expression of the alienation of indigenous peoples and/or criminal masterminds is an intellectual dishonesty of the highest order. The Wolfes were just thugs, and not particularly sophisticated ones at that". Okanese First Nation The Okanese First Nation ( Cree : ᐅᑭᓃᐢ , okinîs , literal meaning: Little Rose-hip )
786-402: A case of 24 bottles of beer, which made her into Richard's girl. Detective James Jewell of the Winnipeg police said: "They had almost a Bonnie-and-Clyde reputation. Not a lot of women were trusted in the gang, but Colleen was Richard's right-hand girl. She participated in a lot of the crimes, which was unusual". Richard would meet with the leaders of other gangs to negotiate agreements to push up
917-567: A class assignment about his future ambitions, he wrote "Richard-Wealthy and Powerful". Richard was placed "in care" at foster homes a number of times, and to escape the abuse always ran away. The journalist Jon Friesen wrote about the Wolfe brothers: "By the time they were about ten or eleven years old, Danny and Richard were quite accustomed to raising themselves. They had no regard for conventional rules or morality. They saw themselves as survivors and were prepared to do whatever it took to make it". In
1048-411: A deadly weapon. Owing to the dangers of attacks from rival gang members and for being a rapist, Wolfe was held in solitary confinement, causing him to suffer from severe depression, which contributed to his death from a heart-attack at the age of 40 on 27 May 2016. Wolfe asked a number of times to be taken out of solitary confinement, saying that being alone in his cell nearly all the time for months on end
1179-417: A gang but rather in a "surrogate family." Their drug trafficking was simply the manifestation of generations of resentment towards a country that had marginalized their people. And the pimping? Residential schools, I guess. It is the worst kind of historical revisionism. It is an insult to aboriginal people everywhere. But it is also exactly the kind of stuff that sounds good over a chilled glass of Chardonnay in
1310-499: A man who acted rashly. None of Richard's family was present during his trial. His mother was so drinking so heavily that she was not even aware that her son was on trial for attempted murder and first learned of his conviction five years later in 2001; his father was in Prince Albert living on the streets; and Danny was in prison following his conviction for obstruction of justice for threatening to kill Darryl and Christa. Wolfe
1441-678: A message that the jailhouse contract would be cancelled and he could rejoin the Indian Posse if he murdered another prisoner, an offer he refused. In late 1997, Wolfe was sent to the Drumheller Institution, which had no Indian Posse members serving their sentences at the time, for his own safety. However, the Drumheller prison had a chapter of the Aryan Brotherhood who were keen to kill such a well known First Nations prisoner. Wolfe continued to live in fear, always on
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#17327870070131572-614: A new unit called Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2). The JTF2 inherited some equipment and the SERT's former training base near Ottawa . In 1995 the Personal Protection Group (PPG) of the RCMP was created at the behest of Jean Chrétien after the break-in by André Dallaire at the Prime Minister's official Ottawa residence, 24 Sussex Drive . The PPG is a 180-member group responsible for VIP security details, chiefly
1703-432: A prison term in 1993. Richard recalled that his girlfriend Colleen wanted him to blame Danny to keep him out of prison while "I looked at Danny and he wasn't saying nothing". Richard decided to take the fall for his brother and confessed to the police that the marijuana was his as he raised out his hands to be handcuffed. As Richard was marched out, Colleen became hysterical and screamed at the officers "They're mine! I'll take
1834-743: A relatively positive relationship with the Indigenous peoples of Canada , buoyed by their role in restoring order to the Canadian west , which had been disrupted by immigrant settlement, and the stark contrast between Canadian policy and the ongoing American Indian Wars in the late 19th century. After the signing of the Numbered Treaties between 1871 and 1899, however, the service generally failed to provide Indigenous communities with police services equal to those provided to non-Indigenous communities. American historian Andrew Graybill argued
1965-601: A result of the RCMP's involvement in its installation. In 1995, the RCMP intervened in the Gustafsen Lake standoff between the armed Ts'peten Defenders, occupying what they claimed was unceded Indigenous land, and armed ranchers, who owned the land and had previously allowed Indigenous people to use part of it on the condition they not erect permanent structures. The RCMP's response included 400 tactical assault team members, five helicopters, two surveillance planes, and nine Bison armoured personnel carriers on loan from
2096-530: A ride, He bit on the bait, sure enough". On Halloween 1993, the leaders of the War Party drove out to meet the Indian Posse leaders in a forest where they were ambushed and ordered to dig their own graves. Richard had seen how effective this tactic was from his experiences with the outlaw biker gangs, and as the leaders of the War Party begged for their lives as they went digging into the earth, Richard told them he would spare their lives in exchange for them joining
2227-585: A senior RCMP officer in the Criminal Intelligence Service (CISC) was on the payroll of a Montreal-based organized crime group, and in 1992, aired an episode identifying Inspector Claude Savoie , then the assistant director of the CISC, as the leak, citing evidence that connected him to Allan Ronald Ross , an Irish-Canadian drug lord , and Sidney Leithman , a prominent lawyer associated with Montreal's organized crime network. Shortly after
2358-412: A shotgun, but Danny was angry when he learned that shotgun was jammed. Danny berated his brother for not keeping his shotgun in working order. One day in 1993 when he was firing off his AK-47 at targets at a farm outside of Winnipeg, Richard asked Danny if he was would kill him for the sake of the Indian Posse. Richard recalled Danny's response: "Danny looked me right in the eyes and said, 'Yes I would. For
2489-590: A tattoo of the maple leaf upside down inked onto his arm, and always mailed his letters with his stamps upside down. In Ontario, Wolfe became an ally of the Mafia, associating with imprisoned Mafiosi who taught him Italian cooking and placed him under their "protection" (meaning that anyone who killed Wolfe would be in turn killed by the Mafia). Wolfe was respected by the Mafiosi for founding the Indian Posse, which had become
2620-550: Is a Cree - Saulteaux First Nation band government in Balcarres, Saskatchewan , Canada. The Okanese First Nation was a signatory to Treaty number four . It is named after a leader named Okanis, who signed the treaty on their behalf, on September 9, 1875. The Nation's population was 104 in 1879. 225 of the 459 members lived on the Nation's Reserve in 1999. In June 2008 Canwest reported Marie-Anne Day Walker-Pelletier
2751-728: Is an agency of the Government of Canada ; it also provides police services under contract to 11 provinces and territories , over 150 municipalities, and 600 Indigenous communities. The RCMP is commonly known as the Mounties in English (and colloquially in French as la police montée ). The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was established in 1920 with the amalgamation of the Royal North-West Mounted Police and
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#17327870070132882-407: Is going down, then it's going down. I ain't going anywhere'". Wolfe lived in fear, keeping two "shanks" (homemade knives) on his person at all time, refused to go into the exercise area and always ate his meals with his back to the wall. He said: "I wasn't going to make it easy for them". Wolfe received a photograph of the North End along with the message of "You must be homesick. Here's a picture of
3013-681: Is statutorily independent of the RCMP. In the late 1970s, revelations surfaced that the RCMP Security Service had in the course of their intelligence duties engaged in crimes such as burning a barn and stealing documents from the separatist Parti Québécois . This led to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Certain Activities of the RCMP , better known as the "McDonald Commission", named for the presiding judge, Justice David Cargill McDonald. The commission recommended that
3144-570: The C8 rifle at their disposal, where in the past they had been limited to sidearms. One of the main conclusions from the fatality inquiry that led to this result was the fact that the officers who were involved in the events did not have the appropriate weapons to face someone with a semi-automatic rifle. In 2006, the United States Coast Guard 's Ninth District and the RCMP began a program called "Shiprider", in which 12 Mounties from
3275-608: The Canada convoy protest . On September 19, 2022, the RCMP led the procession through London, England, following the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II due to the long-standing special relationship with the Queen. In 2023, the Mass Casualty Commission recommended that the RCMP replace its Depot-based training regime with a more intensive university-style program and that the federal public safety minister review
3406-580: The Canadian Army and sparked international controversy over the RCMP's use of unusually broad press exclusion zones. One of the members of the Ts'peten Defenders was later granted political asylum in the United States after an Oregon judge found that the RCMP's reporting of the incident—marked by an RCMP member's off-hand comment to media that "smear campaigns are [the RCMP's] specialty"—amounted to
3537-516: The Chinese community , which was targeted because of disproportionate links to opium dens . Historians estimate that Canada deported two per cent of its Chinese community between 1923 and 1932, largely under the provisions of the Opium and Narcotics Drugs Act . The first Mountie to go undercover was Frank Zaneth who under the code name Operative Number 1 infiltrated various "radical" groups along with
3668-691: The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission . In the wake of the 2007 Robert Dziekański taser incident at the Vancouver International Airport , two officers were found guilty of perjury to the Braidwood Inquiry and sentenced to jail for their actions. They appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada but were unsuccessful. In July 2007, two RCMP officers were shot and succumbed to their injuries in
3799-741: The Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar . In the aftermath of the Arar affair, the commission of inquiry recommended that the RCMP be subject to greater oversight from a review board with investigative and information-sharing capacities. Following the commission of inquiry's recommendations, the Harper government tabled amendments to the RCMP Act to create
3930-756: The Criminal Investigation Branch to the new Special Branch, formed in 1950. The branch changed names twice: in 1962, to the Directorate of Security and Intelligence; and in 1970 to the Security Service. On April 1, 1949, Newfoundland and Labrador joined in Confederation with Canada, and the Newfoundland Ranger Force amalgamated with the RCMP. In June 1953, the RCMP became a full member of
4061-601: The Dominion Police . Sworn members of the RCMP have jurisdiction as a peace officer in all provinces and territories of Canada. Under its federal mandate, the RCMP is responsible for enforcing federal legislation; investigating inter-provincial and international crime; border integrity; overseeing Canadian peacekeeping missions involving police; managing the Canadian Firearms Program , which licenses and registers firearms and their owners; and
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4192-638: The Germantown neighbourhood 's market square by kettling around 300 rally-goers, sparking the Regina Riot . One city police officer and one protester were killed. The trek, which had been organized to call attention to conditions in relief camps , consequently failed to reach Ottawa, but nevertheless had political reverberations. That same year, three RCMP members, acting under contract as provincial police officers, were killed in Saskatchewan and Alberta during an arrest and subsequent pursuit. During
4323-521: The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). In 1969, the RCMP hired its first Black police officer, Hartley Gosline. On July 4, 1973, during a visit to Regina, Saskatchewan , Queen Elizabeth II approved a new badge for the RCMP. The force subsequently presented the sovereign with a tapestry rendering of the new design. In 1978, the RCMP formed 31 part-time emergency response teams across
4454-771: The Mayerthorpe tragedy in Alberta in March 2005. It was the single largest multiple killing of RCMP officers since the killing of three officers in Kamloops, British Columbia, by a mentally ill assailant in June 1962. Before that, the RCMP had not incurred such a loss since the North-West Rebellion . One result was that on 21 October 2011 Commissioner William J. S. Elliott announced that RCMP officers would have
4585-648: The Moncton shooting . A review from retired assistant commissioner Alphonse MacNeil in May 2015 issued 64 recommendations, while the RCMP was charged with violating the Canada Labour Code (CLC) for the slow roll-out of the C8 carbine, which had been recommended by the 2011 Elliott inquiry. The RCMP issued the first carbines in 2013, and with 12,000 members across the country had, as of May 2015, only purchased 2,200. At
4716-639: The Spiritwood Incident near Mildred, Saskatchewan . By the end of 2007, the RCMP was named Newsmaker of the Year by The Canadian Press . The RCMP mounted the Queen's Life Guard in May 2012 during celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee . On June 3, 2013, the RCMP's A Division was renamed the "National Division" and tasked with handling corruption cases "at home and abroad". In June 2014, three RCMP officers were murdered during
4847-470: The Winnipeg Free Press which made the Indian Posse infamous throughout western Canada, and hence drew more police attention. In addition, some prisoners confused Richard Wolfe Jr. with Richard Wolfe Sr. who had two convictions for rape. In Canadian prisons, rapists are considered to be the lowest of the low, and are hated by the other prisoners. Wolfe had to assure the Indian Posse inmates that
4978-707: The Wortman killing spree that left 23 dead in Nova Scotia in April 2020. The political furor that followed engulfed Commissioner Brenda Lucki and her minister, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair . The RCMP was strongly criticized for its response to the attacks, the deadliest rampage in Canadian history, as well as their lack of transparency in the criminal investigation. CBC News ' television program The Fifth Estate and online newspaper Halifax Examiner analyzed
5109-412: The "shank" into Wolfe's body five times, into his side, in the back, in the arm and in the chest. Wolfe collapsed into a pool of his blood when the attack was abandoned when one of the guards entered the cell when he noticed that a blanket had placed over the glass wall via a security camera, leading him to suspect that something illegal was happening. Though Wolfe was a "spluttering, bloodied mess", none of
5240-609: The CLC trial the Crown argued that the then newly-retired head of the RCMP Bob Paulson had "played the odds" with officer safety and it proved fatal. One result of the CLC trial was the conviction of the organization that had been led by Paulson for close to seven years. In October 2016, the RCMP issued an apology for harassment, discrimination, and sexual abuse of female officers and civilian members. Additionally, they set aside
5371-751: The Canadian Police College, which provides police training to Canadian and international police services. Policing in Canada is considered to be a constitutional responsibility of provinces; however, the RCMP provides local police services under contract in all provinces and territories except Ontario and Quebec . Despite its name, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are no longer an actual mounted police service, and horses are used only at ceremonial events and certain other occasions. The Government of Canada considers
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5502-511: The Chief of the Okanese since 1981, was the longest-serving female Chief in Saskatchewan. 50°55′38″N 103°22′00″W / 50.92722°N 103.36667°W / 50.92722; -103.36667 Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police ( RCMP ; French : Gendarmerie royale du Canada ; GRC ) is the national police service of Canada. The RCMP
5633-678: The Customs Preventive Service (CPS), a branch of the Department of National Revenue, was folded into the RCMP at the request of RCMP leadership. In 1935, the RCMP, acting as the provincial police service for Saskatchewan (but against the wishes of the Saskatchewan government) and in collaboration with the Regina Police Service , attempted to arrest organizers of the On-to-Ottawa Trek in
5764-553: The Great Spirit in the sky/Call us what you will, but it is your racist blood we will spill/Brothers Forever Indian Posse". The interview caused a media sensation with Richard's threat of the Indian Posse mobilizing the First Nations underclass of Winnipeg into a revolutionary force against Canada being highlighted along with the line from his poem "it is your racist blood we will spill". For bringing unwanted attention onto
5895-427: The IP. He just wanted to fit in. Just saying Indian Posse ended up getting him blasted in the back with a 12-gauge [shotgun]. It was really a turning point. That was when I actually started thinking about leaving the gang a lot". At his trial in 1996, he was found guilty of attempted murder and was sentenced to 19 years on prison. Despite the threats of Danny, both Darryl and Christa testified that Richard had Colleen make
6026-406: The Indian Posse at first was as a thief who specialized in stealing car stereos. Wolfe would brazenly break into garages, use a screwdriver to smash in one of the car windows, and then use the same screwdriver to remove the stereos. He sold the stolen stereos for $ 100 per system to the Triads in Winnipeg's Chinatown. Richard Wolfe started carrying a handgun to school at the age of 13, and after his gun
6157-436: The Indian Posse forced girls as young as 10 and 11 to work as prostitutes, but insisted that he was appalled by the child prostitution even though he did nothing to stop it. Despite his position as the pimp-in-chief, he insisted that it was not his fault that his gang catered to the most depraved of sexual tastes. Wolfe stated in an interview: "I remember seeing little girls, one ten years old, working around Little Chicago, and I
6288-402: The Indian Posse outweighed his loyalty to his brother. Despite Danny's statement in a letter that "get over it, man, you're fucking paranoid", Richard continued to fear his younger brother would kill him. For his protection, Wolfe was moved to a prison in Ontario in 1999, where Indian Posse prisoners were rare. Reflecting his hatred of Canada, Wolfe hung a Canadian flag upside down in his cell, had
6419-451: The Indian Posse, Richard was beaten by his fellow Indian Posse gangsters. In November 1994, Richard was released from Headingley and was placed in charge of the Indian Posse's prostitution racket. Richard argued that he was a kind pimp who allowed his prostitutes to keep 40% of their earnings instead of the normal 25%, and stated about his work as a pimp: "I treated them with respect. I didn't look down on them or anything". Richard admits that
6550-480: The Indian Posse. As the leaders of the War Party starred at their own graves, they capitulated. Along with Danny, Richard rented an apartment on Redwood Avenue and set up a clubhouse on Pritchard Avenue. The Indian Posse came into conflict with another gang, the North End Brotherhood, over drug sales at the Merchant's Hotel, leading for Richard to tell them: "We make good money here. Either you guys go with us or we can go to war". The North End Brotherhood folded and joined
6681-448: The Indian Posse. On 9 February 1994, a member of a rival gang, the Overlords, shot at the house of an Indian Posse member, leading to a drive-by shooting in revenge later that night. The outbreak of gang violence with drive-by shootings led for the media to give more attention to the Indian Posse. In early 1994, Richard was convicted of drug charges and sent to Headingley Correctional Centre, where his main task to smuggle in drugs to sell to
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#17327870070136812-470: The Lord Selkirk Park Housing Development as his drug couriers. The principal area for drug sales was around the Merchant's Hotel, known locally as "the Merch", where the Indian Posse set up an open air drug market in 1991. An youth pastor at the Manitoba Youth Remand Centre who knew both Wolfe brothers stated that in the early 1990s Richard was the leader of the gang while Danny was his lackey. The pastor stated: "Richard always had that ability to be honest. Danny
6943-399: The Mafia. In 1932, RCMP members killed Albert Johnson, the Mad Trapper of Rat River , after a shoot-out. Johnson had been the subject of a dispute with local Indigenous trappers—he had reportedly destroyed their traps, harassed them verbally, and on one occasion, pointed a firearm at them—and, when confronted with a search warrant, opened fire on RCMP officers, wounding one. Also in 1932,
7074-414: The North End". Thinking that the man who gave him the photograph was a friend, Wolfe played cards with him one evening. Wolfe briefly departed his cell to the use the washroom and when he returned he found his friend had taken his place with his back to the wall, forcing Wolfe to sit with his back to the doorway. As Wolfe resumed the card game, an Indian Posse member rushed in to strangle him from behind while
7205-400: The RCMP at the time. During the federal government's imposition of municipal-style elected councils on First Nations, the RCMP raided the government buildings of particularly resistant traditional hereditary chiefs' councils and oversaw the subsequent council elections – the Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Council was originally referred to as the "Mounties Council" as
7336-408: The RCMP detachment at Windsor and 16 U.S. Coast Guard boarding officers from stations in Michigan ride in each other's vessels. The intent was to allow for seamless enforcement of the international border. On December 6, 2006, RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli resigned after admitting that his earlier testimony about the Maher Arar case was inaccurate. The RCMP's actions were scrutinized by
7467-416: The RCMP historically resembled the Texas Rangers in many ways: each protected the established order by confining and removing Indigenous peoples; tightly controlling the mixed-blood peoples (the African Americans in Texas and the Métis in Canada); assisting the large-scale ranchers against the small-scale ranchers and farmers who fenced the land; and breaking the power of labour unions that tried to organize
7598-404: The RCMP in their investigations. She helped establish the first RCMP forensic laboratory in 1937, and later was its director for several years. In addition to her forensic work, McGill also provided training to new RCMP and police recruits in forensic detection methods. Upon her retirement in 1946, McGill was appointed honorary surgeon to the RCMP and continued to act as a dedicated consultant for
7729-427: The RCMP infiltrated ethnic or political groups considered to be dangerous to Canada. These included the Communist Party of Canada (founded in 1921) and a variety of Indigenous, minority cultural, and nationalist groups. The service was also deeply involved in immigration matters, and was responsible for deporting suspected radicals. The RCMP paid particular attention to nationalist and socialist Ukrainian groups and
7860-417: The RCMP to be an unofficial national symbol, and in 2013, 87 per cent of Canadians interviewed by Statistics Canada said that the RCMP was important to their national identity. However, the service has faced criticism for its broad mandate, and its public perception in Canada has gradually soured since the 1990s, worn down by workplace culture lawsuits, several high-profile scandals, staffing shortages, and
7991-435: The RCMP was learning how to better manage transitions to local policing from contract policing. Similar transitions have been proposed, debated, or approved in some Alberta First Nations, rural Manitoba , and rural New Brunswick . As the federal police service, the RCMP has had an expansive and controversial role in colonization. One of the RCMP's two preceding agencies—the Royal Northwest Mounted Police (RNWMP)—had enjoyed
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#17327870070138122-487: The RCMP's contract policing program. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino was mandated to conduct a review of RCMP contract policing when he took office in 2022. In June 2021, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Daniel Therrien found that the RCMP had broken Canadian privacy law through hundreds of illegal searches using Clearview AI . In February 2022, four men were arrested near Coutts, Alberta , for their roles in an alleged conspiracy to kill RCMP officers during
8253-406: The RCMP's involvement in contract policing. Later that year, the force established a new direct-entry program for federal policing candidates. Those recruited for the program will be required to complete a shorter, more focussed 14-week training curriculum in Ottawa before being posted to a federal policing position. As of 2024, the implementation is suspended due to concerns raised by unions. In
8384-438: The Triads. The brothers Wolfe resented the position of the Indian Posse as street dealers who had to buy drugs from either Winnipeg's outlaw biker gangs, the Spartans or los Bravos or the Asian crime syndicates, usually the Triads, as street dealing was the least profitable and most dangerous position to be in the drug business. However, the lack of international connections left the Indian Posse no choice, but to purchase drugs from
8515-446: The Wolfe brothers along with five other members of Scammers Inc decided to break away to found their own gang, which they named the Indian Posse. Richard said of the gang he founded: "We just wanted to make sure we stuck with each other and watched other's backs". One of the rules that Richard developed for his gang was that membership was for life, and that the penalty for leaving the Indian Posse would be death. Richard's primary role in
8646-428: The Wolfe brothers were involved in a shoot-out with a rival gang, the Crips (no connection to the gang of the same name in Los Angeles), leading for Richard to take cover behind a tree while the more aggressive Danny stayed in the open while returning fire. Richard recalled: "I screamed 'take cover!' and he wouldn't take cover. Danny's just standing up, letting 'em go. Pow! Pow! Pow! The Crips fled when Richard pulled out
8777-441: The apparent prospect of his demise. In October 1993, the Indian Posse had its major gang war with another gang, the War Party. Richard made a ruse of an offer of surrender as he recalled in an interview: "We told him [the leader of the War Party] we wanted to sit down and make a deal with him, talk to him. We showed him two pounds of weed. We told him we're got more of this for you and your crew, but we need to talk about it. Come for
8908-513: The bulk of the profits with the Indian Posse serving as the flunkies for the bikers. The main sources of income for the Indian Posse in the 1990s were prostitution and selling drugs with robberies being a sideline activity. The Wolfe brothers liked to dress in the style of the Afro-American gangs of Los Angeles who along with the West Coast gangsta rappers he idolized, wearing Nike shoes, baseball caps, and red jackets. Richard liked to show off his wallet full of hundreds of dollars to illustrate that he
9039-636: The butt of his shotgun and was uncertain if his fingerprints were on it. Danny told Richard: "You fucking guy! You should've got somebody else to do that. We don't have to do that stuff no more". Richard burned his clothing and took a bath to wash away the gunpower residue. Richard was highly stressed that night as he expected to be arrested at any moment and paced his apartment obsessively as he brooded over any mistakes that he might had made that would incriminate him. Richard told Danny: "If I don't see you again, keep your head up and be strong". Richard also told Danny that he distrusted Darryl and Christa, whom he called
9170-410: The cardplayer began to punch him in the face and chest, saying it was time to die for leaving the Indian Posse. As Wolfe struggled to reach his "shanks", another inmate closed the door and put a blanket over the glass wall that severed his cell from the hallway. The fury of the blows to his face forced him to his knees and then one of the attackers pulled out a "shank". Despite his screams, the man plunged
9301-444: The charge!" Richard was able to make bail and was released again. The possibility that Richard might go to prison for a number of years as he had several prior drug convictions weakened his hold on the Indian Posse, and led him to decide on a dramatic gesture meant to underscore his authority. Spencer LaPorte, an Indian Posse member, had died of a drug overdose in November 1994, and Richard had inherited his drug debt worth $ 60, 000 that
9432-699: The country to respond to serious incidents requiring a tactical police response. In 1986, in the wake of the 1985 Turkish embassy attack in Ottawa and the bombing of Air India Flight 182 , the Canadian government directed the RCMP to form the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT), a full-time counter-terrorism unit. In the early 1990s, journalists at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 's The Fifth Estate opened an investigation into rumours that
9563-550: The couple and warned them that he would kill them if they testified against his brother. Richard was denied bail and held at the Remand Centre. On 23 July 1995, a 13-year old associated with the Indian Posse, Joseph "Beeper" Spence, was killed by members of the Nine-Deuces gang merely for being friends with the Indian Posse. Wolfe felt much guilt about Spence's murder, saying in a 2016 interview: "Beeper wasn't down with
9694-432: The early 2020s, the cities of Surrey, British Columbia , and Grande Prairie , Alberta, both established independent municipal police forces to replace the RCMP. In the wake of these decisions, and similar moves by the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan to establish supplementary provincial police services to support (and, according to some critics, eventually replace) the RCMP, Commissioner Mike Duheme indicated that
9825-403: The end we will learn our true native ways/We don't mean to disrespect our elders, but we want to stand proud like they did in our hearts/We are warriors and in ourselves we will survive the war path/In the days of old, our people used to fight and kill each other and as they did we will if there is no other way/We hold our heads high because we are not scared to die for one another, for we will join
9956-477: The episode aired, and minutes before being interviewed by detectives with the RCMP's professional standards unit, Savoie committed suicide in his Ottawa office. One of Savoie's subordinates, Portuguese-Canadian constable Jorge Leite , was found guilty of corruption and breach of trust by a Portuguese court about his work with Savoie. In 1993, the SERT was transferred to the Canadian Forces , creating
10087-399: The family'. We made this family and no matter what happened we would do what was right". In the Indian Posse, "taking a van ride" was a euphemism for an execution. Once, a group of Indian Posse gangsters arrived at Richard's house to tell him to board a van, leading Richard to calmly say "I'll get my coat, let's do this", leading him to be congratulated for his willingness to obey orders despite
10218-509: The federal government authorized the RCMP to enter into heavily subsidized contracts with provinces and municipalities, enabling the service to return to its roots in local policing. The federal government paid 60 per cent of the policing costs, while provinces and municipalities paid the remaining 40 per cent. By 1950, eight of the ten Canadian provinces had disbanded their provincial police services in favour of subsidized RCMP policing. As part of its national security and intelligence functions,
10349-616: The gangs that did have the international connections. To make his appointments on time with his probation officer, Richard would steal automobiles and would leave the stolen vehicle in the parking lot while he rushed to see his probation officer to assure him that he was not breaking any laws. The area around the Lord Selkirk Park Housing Development, known locally as "Little Chicago", was the primary area for Richard and other Indian Posse dealers to sell marijuana, LSD and cocaine. He usually used children from
10480-645: The head whilst struggling with him on the ground. Chief Adam was later charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a peace officer, but the charges were subsequently dropped. After watching the video of the arrest, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, "[w]e have all now seen the shocking video of Chief Adam's arrest and we must get to the bottom of this". Following the revelation of Chief Adam's arrest—as well as several other recent instances in which RCMP officers had assaulted or killed Indigenous people —RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki stated, after initially demurring on
10611-520: The hopes that they could be definitively refused entry to the service as "their colour would raise the question of policy." Both men ultimately passed the requisite tests, but neither was given an offer of employment. In the wake of the 1945 defection of Soviet cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko , who revealed that the Soviet Union was spying on Western nations, the RCMP separated its units responsible for domestic intelligence and counter-espionage from
10742-502: The interwar period, the RCMP employed special constables to assist with strikebreaking . For a brief period in the late 1930s, a volunteer militia group, the Legion of Frontiersmen , was affiliated with the RCMP. Many members of the RCMP belonged to this organization, which was prepared to serve as an auxiliary police service. In 1940, the RCMP schooner St. Roch facilitated the first effective patrol of Canada's Arctic territory. It
10873-431: The knife blows had stuck any vital organs. As Wolfe was recovering in the prison hospital, one of the co-founders of the Indian Posse, a man known only as Lawrence, approached him by his bedside to seek assurances that Wolfe would follow the underworld code and never turn Crown's evidence. Lawrence told Wolfe that he heard rumors that Wolfe would testify against the men who tried to kill him Lawrence added that he knew Wolfe
11004-451: The largest street gang in Canada, and he was allowed to live in the Mafia wing of the prison. In January 2010, Wolfe learned that Danny had been killed in prison. He had last seen Danny in 1996, and his request to attend his funeral was denied. Richard Wolfe was released on parole in 2010. Wolfe vowed to "go straight", but in 2013, he broke up with his girlfriend and started to abuse alcohol and drugs again. The catalyst for his downward spiral
11135-573: The man who placed the call and a warrant was issued for his arrest at about 6:30 am. Jewell searched the Micheal, but both of the Wolfe brothers had already fled. Jewell suspected that Richard had gone to the house of his girlfriend, where he was indeed found and arrested. Under interrogation, Collen named Richard as the man who had shot Slawik. Jewell told Colleen that her boyfriend had been charged with attempted murder, telling her "that's no joke. That's about as serious as it gets". Jewell told Colleen that
11266-553: The man's cell while he was asleep and attacked him in his bed with his shank, stabbing him repeatedly in the chest. The guards saved the young man's life, and Wolfe was convicted of attempted murder again, receiving an extra two years to his 19 year old sentence. It turned out that the man whom Wolfe had almost killed was not an Indian Posse member nor was he an assassin. Danny in a letter offered to himself transferred over to Drumheller to protect his older brother, but Richard declined as he believed that Danny would kill him as his loyalty to
11397-534: The murder attempt as he decided that the man could not trusted to not turn Crown's evidence as he stated: "I'm glad I didn't do. My anger was getting the better of me". Unlike his womanizing younger brother, Richard had a stable long-term relationship with his girlfriend Colleen who passed his "beer test". Richard would invite girls to parties, saying they could bring just themselves or bring themselves along with beer. The girls who arrived without beer were considered by Richard to be snooty and self-centered. Colleen brought
11528-445: The newspaper stories about a Richard Wolfe who had been convicted of rape twice were about his father, not him. Wolfe tried to hide his disenchantment with his gang, saying: "I had to try and hide it. Especially making decisions on things that were happening in prison. I couldn't show any weakness because then red flags would go up on me....I wanted out. That Beeper thing was laying heavy on my head". Wolfe met with three other members of
11659-434: The other inmates. In September 1994, Richard gave a jailhouse interview with the journalist Paul Wiecek of the Winnipeg Free Press . Richard read out to Wiecek a poem he had written that read: "Our color is red and it's here to stay, some of us have something to prove and some of us already have/But all in all we are the Indian Posse and together we stand tall/We are a breed that has seen it all and had its better days, but in
11790-439: The people who were not violent criminals like himself. Wolfe found Edmonton Institution to be far more harsher prison than Stony Mountain along with being a more violent prison where the prisoners constantly killing each other via the "shanks" (homemade knives) that they fashioned out of whatever metal they could find. Even the other Indian Posse prisoners made it clear to Wolfe that they disapproved of him for his 1994 interview with
11921-427: The pizza order from their apartment and had told them later the same night that he had shot Slawik. The attempted murder ruined Richard's underworld reputation as he done a task that crime bosses normally assigned to subordinates. Furthermore, Richard had expected Slawik to have $ 60, 000 on his person, but had shot him without even giving him a chance to hand over the expected money, which added to his reputation for being
12052-432: The prices of drugs. Richard recalled in an interview: "We'd say to them, we know you're selling over here. How much for? They'd say $ 15. We'd say, okay, we're going to go over here and do the same fucking thing. That way we're on the same page...As long as everybody was making money, everyone was happy". Richard's cool temperament and his ability to "talk to the room" as he phrased it marked him out as an excellent diplomat who
12183-599: The prime minister and the governor general. The RCMP Security Service (RCMPSS) was a specialized political intelligence and counterintelligence branch with national security responsibilities following revelations of illegal covert operations relating to the Quebec separatist movement . As a result, the RCMPSS was replaced by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in 1984, and
12314-455: The question, that systemic racism exists in the RCMP: "I do know that systemic racism is part of every institution, the RCMP included", she said. One day earlier, Trudeau had also stated that "[s]ystemic racism is an issue right across the country, in all our institutions, including in all our police services, including in the RCMP." RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson was killed while responding to
12445-433: The road, kilometre-by-kilometre, over days, dismantling fortified checkpoints and making arrests. The RCMP's enforcement of a court injunction against the occupiers in 2020 sparked international controversy and protests and, as of 2022, sporadic occupations and protests—some violent—have continued at the site. In the 1920s, Saskatchewan provincial pathologist Frances Gertrude McGill began providing forensic assistance to
12576-488: The ruling "circle" (council) where he asked for permission to leave the Indian Posse, saying the gang was becoming too violent. The three members of the "circle" were unhappy with his decision as they noted that Wolfe's own rules stated that Indian Posse membership was for life and that any members who attempted to leave would be killed. As the trio discussed the fate of Wolfe outside of his cell, he read books on First Nations history and culture while anxiously keeping his eyes on
12707-460: The schools, sometimes by force, as per the Indian Act and as was common for truant non-Indigenous children through the same period. Marcel-Eugène LeBeuf stated in his report for the RCMP that records and oral histories indicate the force "was responding, in its most traditional police role, to a request to protect children" and that abuses within the school system were largely unreported to
12838-463: The service's handling of incidents like the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks . The treatment of First Nations people by the RCMP has also been criticized. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was formed in 1920 by the amalgamation of two separate federal police services: the Royal North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP), which had been responsible for colonial policing in the Canadian West , but by 1920
12969-575: The service's intelligence duties be removed in favour of the creation of a separate intelligence agency, the CSIS. The RCMP and the CSIS nonetheless continue to share responsibility for some law enforcement activities in the contemporary era, particularly in the anti-terrorism context. Due to 9/11 , the RCMP Sky Marshals , which is charged with security on passenger aircraft, was inaugurated in 2002. Four RCMP officers were fatally shot during
13100-408: The summer of 1988, Creely rented a house on Beverley Avenue in Winnipeg. Moving in with her were the two Wolfe brothers and their younger half-brother, Preston Buffalocalf. The Wolfe brothers lived in the basement of the house, and the Indian Posse still speaks of "the basement" to refer to the gang's origins. The Wolfe brothers belonged to a youth gang who called themselves Scammers Inc. In August 1988,
13231-438: The teenager who served as the get-away driver had been charged with attempted murder, leading her to blurt out "attempted murder? He didn't do it!" Colleen told Jewell: "I don't want him going to jail. I'll take the rap for him. I'll take the charge". Jewell told her: "Look, Colleen, we just want the truth." Colleen confessed: "Okay, I made the call, but I wasn't there for it". Richard said nothing during his interrogation, but as he
13362-460: The three men who held his life in balance. The three returned to tell Wolfe that he had to submit to a beating to punish him for leaving the gang, but that he would not be killed. Shortly afterwards, a friend of Wolfe told him that a jailhouse contract had been placed on his life by the ruling "circle" who were determined to uphold the rules that the Wolfe brothers had devised themselves. Wolfe told his friend: "I said, 'alright. Step aside brother. If it
13493-422: The timeline of events, and both observed a myriad of failures and shortcomings in the RCMP response. A criminologist criticized the RCMP's response as "a mess" and called for an overhaul in how the agency responds to active shooter situations, after they had failed to properly respond to other such incidents in the past. In the early 2020s, several governments, politicians, and scholars recommended terminating
13624-591: The two boxes of pizza. Richard threw away his shotgun, ran down a dark alley and walked over to his apartment in The Micheal building on Redwood Avenue. Richard had expected to find $ 60,000 in cash in one of the pizza boxes and was surprised to find nothing. Richard was joined by Colleen, Darryl, Christa, Danny and the teenage thief. Speaking in a menacing tone, Richard told Darryl and Christa "you guys both know what to do when they show up?" Richard told Danny: "I fucked up. I have to bounce". Richard admitted that he lost
13755-442: The watch-out for a potential killer everyday, which proved to be extremely stressful for him. He received a letter from a friend in Winnipeg who warned him that the Indian Posse was sending a killer to the Drumheller prison to kill him, which led for Wolfe to be especially fearful whenever a bus full of new inmates arrived. Knowing of his gang's modus operandi , Wolfe decided that his killer would be an young Indian Posse gangster who
13886-465: The workers of industrial corporations. From 1920 (1933, with respect to the Indian Act ) to 1996, RCMP officers served as truant officers for Indian residential schools , including through the transition of students from federal residential to provincial day schools after 1948, assisting principals, staff, Indian agents , relatives, and members of the communities in bringing truant children to
14017-405: Was Maciej Slawik, a Polish immigrant who had working at Jumbo Pizza for only two weeks and who had no involvement with crime. On an impulse, Richard decided to kill the deliveryman. He had expected the owner of Jumbo Pizza to come himself, but decided that killing the deliveryman was the best way to send a message even though Slawik was not involved in crime and had never met Wolfe before. As Slawik
14148-414: Was a "solid dude" who must not testify for the Crown against the men who tried to kill him. Knowing that the room was probably bugged, Lawrence made up the pretense that the attack was the work of white prisoners, and Wolfe played along, saying it was a racial attack that the Indian Posse was not involved in. Much against his will, Wolfe was placed in the segregation unit for his own protection. Wolfe received
14279-410: Was able to handle relations with the other gangs, unlike his wilder younger brother Danny who was known for ungovernable rages and a tendency to act in a rash, violent way. Friesen wrote: "That kind of diplomacy in a sixteen-year-old is remarkable and it was one of Richard's strengths". Wolfe's favorite weapon was his AK-47 assault rifle, which he loved to fire during trips out to the countryside. In 1993,
14410-416: Was always enthusiastic about violence and another Indian Posse member, Richard went out to hunt for a policeman to kill. Richard found a policeman in his cruiser and as he approached the officer, he recalled: "I was creeping along on the ground when I turned around to check on my brother and he's gesturing at the other guy, saying basically 'what about him?' My brother didn't really trust him". Richard abandoned
14541-444: Was anxious for promotion and he would be transferred from Stony Mountain to Drumheller. When a young man from Stony Mountain arrived at Drumheller, Wolfe decided that he must had been the assassin sent to kill him. In an interview, Wolfe stated: "I think it was probably three days just waiting, deciding what to do. then I thought, you know what, I'm not going to wait any longer 'cause he might get me. So I went to get him". Wolfe went into
14672-429: Was arrested in the living room. Found in the living room were 11 bundles of marijuana on the coffee table, leading to a policeman to ask: "Well, Richard, whose drugs are they?" The drugs belonged to Danny who had been sorting the marijuana into bags when the police arrived, but Richard felt felt he owned his brother a debt as Danny had confessed to the possession of stolen goods that actually belonged to Richard to spare him
14803-586: Was becoming "rapidly obsolete;" and the Dominion Police , which was responsible for federal law enforcement, intelligence, and parliamentary security. The new police service inherited the paramilitary , frontline policing-oriented culture that had governed the RNWMP, which had been modelled after the Royal Irish Constabulary , but much of the RCMP's local policing role had been superseded by provincial and municipal police services. In 1928,
14934-613: Was being taken to his jail cell, he stated that the shooting was an accident. Richard felt confident that he would be acquitted as it was unlikely that Slawik could identify him; the police had no murder weapon; and he burned the clothing he was wearing at the time of the shooting. The only evidence that linked him to the crime was Darryl and Christa who had named him as the man who asked his girlfriend to call Jumbo Pizza. The next day, Richard called Danny to tell him that Darryl and Christa had turned Crown's evidence and that he should change their minds about testifying against him. Danny went to see
15065-407: Was common in the North End for people to not pay their phone bills and lose their phone services, thus leading for them to make their phone calls from the homes of their friends. The pizza was to be delivered on an address on Pritchard Avenue near the Lord Selkirk Park Housing Development that Wolfe had selected as a good way to ambush the deliveryman as the streets were dimly lit. The pizza deliveryman
15196-442: Was deeply depressing. The journalist Paul Wiecek whose interview with Wolfe in 1994 made him famous wrote in 2016 against the glorification of Wolfe as a hero. Wiecek wrote: "...the Wolfe legend only continues to grow as authors, journalists, filmmakers and academics continue to try to attach some broader sociological — even anthropological — significance to the Wolfes and the Indian Posse. In that world, these young gentlemen weren't in
15327-457: Was discovered by a teacher, resulted in his first criminal conviction on 2 February 1989. By 1989, Richard moved on to breaking into houses. Richard would spend hours bicycling or walking around Winnipeg looking for a house that appeared unoccupied and then break in, looking for jewelry, electronics, CDs and cash to steal. Richard stated in an interview: "We didn't think about the people we were stealing from as being victimized or traumatized. There
15458-481: Was first sent to Stony Mountain Institution to serve his sentence, and then at the beginning of 1997 was sent to Edmonton Institution. He felt uncomfortable as he was placed in handcuffs in a bus seat surrounded by plastic walls to keep him from having contact with the other prisoners. During the long bus ride, he was held in this manner for the entire trip, which underscored to him that he now had less rights than
15589-549: Was getting out of his car with the two pizzas, Wolfe stormed out of the shadows, wearing a black balaclava and told Slawik "give us your fucking money!" Before Slawik could do anything, Richard opened fire with his shotgun. The first shot missed, but Slawik was determined not to lose his car as he threw a soft drink can at Richard. The second shot fired by Wolfe hit Slawik and tore open a huge hole in his chest. Slawik attempted to walk for help, but soon collapsed due to blood loss. A teenage Indian Posse member stole Slawik's car along with
15720-434: Was holding down while raping her. As her boyfriend raced to protect her, Wolfe beat him with a baseball bat so viciously that he suffered brain damage and has difficulty walking. The woman he raped stated in court: "I'm scared to trust anyone and everyone." For this violation of his parole, Wolfe was sent back to prison where he died in 2016. On 9 March 2015, he pleaded guilty to one count of rape and one count of assault with
15851-518: Was none of that. I wanted what they had". By 1990, Wolfe was firmly committed to being a gangster. Under his leadership, the Indian Posse started to specialize in stealing cars and robbing gas stations in the North End at gunpoint. By 1992, the Wolfe brothers had rented a house for $ 866 per month and was selling drugs. The Wolfe brothers purchased drugs from native gangs in South Dakota or more commonly drove out to Vancouver to purchase cocaine from
15982-420: Was notably annoyed with the owner of Jumbo Pizza who kept promising to pay the $ 60, 000 without doing so. At 11:48 pm on 14 May 1995, Richard had his girlfriend Collen made a phone call to Jumbo Pizza in the name of LePorte, which was his way of saying that he expected the $ 60, 000 that was owing to him to be delivered with the pizza. The call was placed from the apartment of a couple known as Christa and Darryl. It
16113-561: Was now economically better off. Richard was often robbed by the corrupt Winnipeg police with policemen seizing about 40% of his cash. Wolfe stated in an interview that he be stopped by a policeman and: "They'd ask, 'how much you holding? I'd say '$ 1, 200'. They'd grab half and say, 'it looks more like $ 600'". Both the Wolfe brothers hated the Winnipeg police along with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Manitoba does not have its own provincial police). Richard stated he
16244-414: Was owed by the owner of Jumbo Pizza. Like all gangsters, Richard was obsessed with his underworld reputation as he noted that a failure to force a debtor to pay up would lead to other debtors defaulting as there is no honor in the underworld and greed is the dominant value. As such, Richard was quite willing to engage in extreme violence against a defaulting debtor to uphold his reputation, and by May 1995, he
16375-474: Was prevalent. Richard was repeatedly exposed to violence which occurred during his parents' house parties. He was sexually abused at the age of seven, once by a stranger and twice by a neighbor. The episodes of sexual abuse left Richard confused, ashamed and full of hate". Along with his younger brother Danny , Richard scavenged for food from a garbage bin of a local Kentucky Fried Chicken as their mother spent her welfare cheques on alcohol, and scavenging for food
16506-404: Was shocked." The policeman James Jewell stated: "I always thought Richard was one of the most dangerous guys on the street...He was a force to be reckoned with". In April 1995, the police raided the house on Stella Avenue that the Wolfe brothers rented, looking for a 13-year-old boy who had run away. Richard was arrested as he tried to walk out the front door with his girlfriend Colleen while Danny
16637-437: Was the death of his stepson, who he had adopted, which led him back into substance abuse. In November 2013, to prevent him from returning to prison, a couple gave him a home in their basement and attempted to help him turn his life around. On the night of 6 April 2014, Wolfe raped the woman and then attacked the man with a baseball bat after the man heard his girlfriend screaming. The woman was asleep and woke up to find that Wolfe
16768-542: Was the first vessel to navigate the Northwest Passage from west to east, taking two years, the first to navigate the passage in one season (from Halifax to Vancouver in 1944), the first to sail either way through the passage in one season, and the first to circumnavigate North America (1950). In 1941, two African-Canadian men from Nova Scotia applied to join the RCMP. The commissioner at the time, Stuart Wood , allegedly allowed them to sit for entrance tests in
16899-402: Was the only way the Wolfe brothers fed themselves. The Wolfe brothers raided the gardens kept by Portuguese immigrants to steal their tomatoes and carrots in the summertime and soon moved on to breaking into cars to steal any valuables that might be inside to raise money for food. Starting at the age of 9, Richard took to wearing a red bandana, which later became the symbol of the Indian Posse. For
17030-412: Was twice taken "on a starlight tour" under which the police would arrest him in the dead of winter at night, take him to a remote rural area and tell him that he had to walk back to Winnipeg. After being taken on a "starlight tour" for a second time, which forced him to walk five miles at night in the wintertime, Richard planned to murder a policeman in revenge. Joined by his bloodthirsty younger brother who
17161-465: Was very impressionable. He didn't have the smarts that Richard had". Danny served as his brother's enforcer, being involved in 14 shootings between 1990 and 1994. Friesen describing Danny as "Richard's loyal lieutenant and enforcer". Richard was involved in robbing armed cars and ATM machines, but those robberies were set up by one of Winnipeg's two outlaw biker gangs, the Spartans or los Bravos, who took
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