A man considered to be one of the most powerful Hells Angels in Quebec will have to spend the next 10 months behind bars.
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In a decision made last week, the Parole Board of Canada decided to revoke the statutory release Marvin (Casper) Ouimet, 55, automatically qualified for in 2013 because police believe he returned to his old ways while still serving the 14-year sentence he received in 2014 after he pleaded guilty to charges filed against him in two major investigations led by the Sûreté du Québec: Operation SharQc and Operation Diligence.
SharQc was an investigation into how almost all members of the Hells Angels in Quebec voted in favour of taking part in a conspiracy to murder rival members of several criminal organizations, notably the Rock Machine, in a conflict over drug-trafficking turf. The conflict dragged out between 1994 and 2002 and came to be known as Quebec’s biker gang war. It resulted in the deaths of more than 160 people, including several innocent people.
Diligence was an investigation into how organized crime had infiltrated Quebec’s construction industry. It revealed that Ouimet used companies to launder his drug money.
He has been a full-patch member of the biker gang since 1999 and during his recent parole hearing he told the Parole Board of Canada that he is still a Hells Angel and plans to remain one when his sentence expires.
“The review of your file and your hearing demonstrates that you are part of a criminal group that is considered a threat to public safety, which you proudly admit in the hearing. At this time, the board has not noted any questioning related to your membership in this group,” the parole board wrote in a summary of its decision.
The summary describes how Ouimet’s life changed after his mother died when he was 15. Her death changed the family’s dynamic and his older siblings moved out, leaving him responsible for a younger brother.
“You were left alone with your younger brother and became solely responsible for him. It is noted in the file that it was in this context that you began to commit crime in order to meet your primary needs. Drug use and bad company followed,” the parole board wrote. “It is also noted that it was during this period that you turned to another type of ‘family,’ namely people associated with a criminal biker gang.”
In 2014, Ouimet pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, laundering the proceeds of crime and instructing people to commit a criminal act for the benefit of a criminal organization.
He was not granted parole, and he automatically qualified for a release on Sept. 21, 2013. Almost all offenders serving time in federal penitentiaries in Canada automatically quality for a release when they reach the two-thirds mark of their sentence.
For months he appeared to follow the surveillance conditions the parole board imposed on him, but last year his release was suspended after he was questioned by police who suspect he resumed criminal activities while he worked at a job that is not disclosed in the summary of the decision made by the board.
“On Sept. 3, 2024, a security intelligence agent notified your case-management team (the people who prepare an offender for a release) that police authorities were requesting a meeting with you because of new information suggesting you had resumed your criminal activities. The information also suggested it was likely you were responsible for financial matters for a third party since you were negotiating with suppliers, which was in violation of a (surveillance) condition. In addition, the police authorities wanted to inform you that your safety was under serious threat. According to the information obtained by your case-management team, the information came from three different police forces,” the parole board wrote.
“You were met the next day, and at the end of the meeting your-case management team determined the risk you presented had become unacceptable.
“Before the suspension, your case-management team had shared with you its perception that your employer seemed to be using you as a front: you said you felt insulted, stating that you did not want to play the role of a puppet for anyone.
“Under these circumstances, your case-management team assesses that you present an unacceptable risk to the protection of society. It therefore recommends that the commission revoke your automatic release.”
Ouimet’s case will be reviewed in November.