Biker gang members found guilty of mass slayings
LONDON, Ontario — Six members of the Bandidos biker gang were found guilty Thursday of murdering eight men associated with the gang in the worst mass slayings in Ontario history.
Wayne Kellestine, along with five co-accused, were found guilty of 44 counts of murder and four manslaughter convictions.
The bloodied bodies of eight men linked to the Toronto chapter of the Bandidos biker gang were found on April 8, 2006. The men were stuffed into four vehicles abandoned in a farmer's field in southwestern Ontario, a few miles (kilometers) from a farmhouse belonging to Kellestine.
The prosecution said the murders were the result of rising tensions between the men who were killed and the Bandidos chapter in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Kellestine, a member of the Toronto chapter, had become increasingly alienated from his Toronto members and allied with the Winnipeg men.
Court heard he had received orders from U.S. Bandidos officials to strip the Toronto men of their gang affiliation and start a new Canadian chapter, but the plan changed to mass murder.
The jury began deliberations earlier this week after hearing from more than 70 witnesses over six months.
Along with Kellestine, the jury found Dwight Mushey, Michael Sandham, Marcelo Aravena, Frank Mather and Brett Gardiner guilty of murder.
The slain were George Jessome, 52, George Kriarakis, 28, John Muscedere, 48, Luis Raposo, 41, Frank Salerno, 43, Paul Sinopoli, 30, Jamie Flanz, 37, and Michael Trotta, 31.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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