The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say 18 organizations have combined to take down a major illegal gaming enterprise allegedly operated by and linked to members of known criminal organizations, including the Hells Angels.
At a news conference, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique and other law enforcement officials unveiled the outcome of a complex multijurisdictional investigation.
The OPP says Project Hobart began in January 2018 following an increase in violent incidents across Ontario and Quebec. Such incidents, which police say occurred between August 2017 and May 2018, included attempted murders, arsons, extortion threats, shootings and assaults.
“Criminal organizations and the hallmarks of their illegal enterprises – gun violence, deaths, assaults and the extraordinary amount of money that fuel further criminal acts continue to threaten public safety,” Carrique said in a statement.
“Police and partner agencies will continue to fully collaborate and aggressively target the ring leaders, their associates, and their lavish criminal lifestyle to make our cities and towns safer.”
Police say the project targeted the alleged illegal gaming criminal organization controlled by three known members and one ‘prospect’ of the Hell’s Angels outlaw motorcycle gang – specifically Robert Barletta, Craig McIlquham, Eugenio (‘Gino’) Reda and Raffaele Simonelli.
Police say that over the course of the investigation, a “known member of Hells Angels” and a purported member of the allegedly illegal gaming criminal organization—Michael Deabaitua-Schulde—was murdered in March of 2019 as he left a Mississauga gym.
The broader investigation and active takedowns last week involved members of OPP, the RCMP, London Police Service, Niagara Regional Police, Halton Regional Police, Peel Regional Police, Toronto Police Service, York Regional Police, Waterloo Regional Police Service, Hamilton Police Service, Durham Regional Police Service, Sault Ste. Marie Police, Barrie Police, Canada Border Services Agency, Stratford Police Service, Woodstock Police Service, the Surete du Quebec and FINTRAC – the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada.
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