Biggest mass murder in modern Ontario history and the biggest known biker mass murder in the world.
Biggest mass murder in modern Ontario history and the biggest known biker mass murder in the world. The eight victims were all connected to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club Worldwide. The size of the jury pool is roughly the size of the Bandidos club, and more than six times the size of downtown Shedden, the hamlet a half-hour's drive west of here, where the bodies of eight men were found shot to death in vehicles abandoned on a muddy farmer's field on April 8, 2006.The Bandidos are the world's second biggest outlaw motorcycle club, behind only the Hells Angels.Justice Heeney is presiding over more than a dozen defence lawyers and a half-dozen prosecutors in the trial of Winnipeggers Brett (Beau) Gardiner, 24, Michael (Taz) Sandham, 39, Marcello Aravena, 32, and Dwight (Big D) Mushey; Wayne (Weiner) Kellestine, 59, of tiny Iona Station, outside London; and Frank (Frankie) Mather, 35, of no fixed address. There were so many potential jurors that lawyers for the Crown and defence teams won't even begin questioning them until next week.This week is expected to be spent organizing the jurors into groups and scheduling their return to court.Heeney told potential jurors that if they are selected to the jury panel, they can expect a "challenging and rewarding experience ... one which they will never ever forget."Among the defence team are Tony Bryant and Clay Powell. Bryant, who is the former lawyer for sex killer Paul Bernardo, is representing Aravena. Powell, who successfully prosecuted former Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard for fraud in the early 1970s and who also defended Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards on heroin charges, is representing Kellestine.
Eight first degree-murder charges were laid against each of the six accused after the discovery of the bodies of George (Pony) Jessome, 52; George (Crash) Kriarakis, 28; Luis Manny (Chopper, Porkchop) Raposo, 41; Frank (Bam Bam, Bammer) Salerno, 43, all of Toronto; John (Boxer) Muscedere, 48, of Chatham, Ont.; Paul (Big Paul) Sinopoli, 30, of Sutton; Jamie (Goldberg) Flanz, 37, of Keswick; and Michael (Little Mikey) Trotta, 31, of Mississauga. The trial had earlier been scheduled to begin last September, but was postponed. There is a publication ban on the reasons why it was postponed.
