Synopses & Reviews
A SEARING LOOK INTO THE DARK HEART OF BRITISH COLUMBIA'S DRUG WARSCriminal activity in British Columbia is nothing new, but the staggering levels it reached in the 2000s shattered the quiet, easy-going reputation that the province is famous for. As new developments in drug sales and trafficking drove profits, and established criminal control loosened or crumbled, others saw the opportunity and lunged for it. If the Asian triads, Hells Angels and Indo-Canadian Mafia represented the old school of organizations drawn largely on cultural and ethnic lines, the new school was represented by the inclusive opportunists of the United Nations, Red Scorpions, Independent Soldiers and others attracted by the idea of easy money and a little violence. Among those drawn into the underworld were three brothers, Jonathan, Jarrod and Jamie Bacon.
Infamous and seemingly untouchable, the Bacon Brothers publicly lived the successful gangster lifestyle to a tee, with flashy cars, jewelry and a serious reputation for violence. What was unusual was their comfortable, middle-class upbringing and stable family liferather than being left with no option but crime, they seemed to have made a conscious decision to step outside the law. Unfortunately for them, nothing in the criminal underworld is permanent, and shifting alliances, rivalries and police work eventually caught up with each of them.
In The Notorious Bacon Brothers, bestselling author Jerry Langton tells the story of the new drug trade in BC, of betrayals and retributions, of public shootouts and assassinations, and of innocent bystanders caught in the middle.
Synopsis
A searing look at one of Canada's most dangerous gangsGang violence is nothing new to Vancouver, but the brutality of the Bacon Brothers—Jonathan, Jarrod, and Jamie—has become legendary. The Notorious Bacon Brothers follows the chaotic rise of these three gangland figures to the pinnacle of Vancouver's lucrative drug trade. Chronicling not only the Bacon Brothers themselves, but also the gangs they infiltrated on their way to the top, and the catastrophic wave of violence they brought to the streets of Vancouver, the book explores how the bothers' adeptness at making and breaking allegiances and propensity for violence is now being replicated by gangs across Canada.
With one Bacon brother dead and the other two behind bars, a power vacuum has developed for control of the drug trade in the Greater Vancouver area. The result has been full on war among the Hells Angels, Red Scorpions, UN Gang, and Independent Soldiers, as they fight to take the position once occupied by the Bacon Brothers—a lasting legacy to their place in Canada's gang history.
- Presents an incisive look at the violent lives of the Bacon Brothers, some of Canada's most notorious criminals
- Shows how the Bacon Brothers set a new precedence for gang violence that is being mimicked throughout the country
- Explores how the void left by the Brothers has spurred on increasing violent gang warfare on the streets of Vancouver
Hard-hitting and insightful, The Notorious Bacon Brothers is a powerful look at the seedy underbelly of contemporary Canadian organized crime.
About the Author
JERRY LANGTON is a journalist and the author of several books, including the national bestsellers Fallen Angel: The Unlikely Rise of Walter Stadnick in the Canadian Hells Angels; Showdown: How the Outlaws, Hells Angels and Cops Fought for Control of the Streets and Gangland: The Rise of the Mexican Cartels from El Paso to Vancouver. Over the past two decades, Langton's work has appeared in The Toronto Star; The Globe & Mail; National Post; Maclean's; The Daily News of New York City; The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.; American Banker and dozens of other publications.
Table of Contents
Map vii
Key Players ix
PART I: WELCOME TO LOTUSLAND 1
1 The Surrey Six: October, 2007 7
2 The Gangster’s Playground: 1907–1998 19
3 United Nations: 1997–2001 53
PART II: THE PATH TO WAR 73
4 Bumps in the Road: 2001–2004 77
5 Going Global: 2005–2006 93
6 New Friends: 2006–2007 121
7 Going Public: 2007–2008 135
PART III: BREAKING THE BACONS 161
8 Paralysis: 2008–2009 165
9 War: February–May, 2009 177
10 The Year of the Rat: 2009–2010 193
11 The Wolf Pack: 2010–2011 215
12 Bacons’ End: 2011–2012 233
Index 249