Edition 8-16-05
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Hells Angel convicted for drug ring role By Julio Gomes - The Chronicle-Journal August 10, 2005 A member of the Thunder Bay Hells Angels motorcycle club has been convicted of being part of a B.C.-based drug-smuggling network. At a Superior Court hearing Tuesday, Timothy Earl Speak was found guilty of seven offences, mostly related to being part of a criminal organization that imported drugs, primarily cocaine, into Thunder Bay. Justice John McCartney found there was enough evidence to support the testimony of Randy Dubois, the courier who began delivering drugs from Vancouver in 1997 and later testified against his associates in exchange for money, a new life and immunity from prosecution. Dubois had been arrested Jan. 24, 2003 at the Thunder Bay bus terminal with a kilogram of cocaine. During Speak’s seven-day trial in May, McCartney heard from 17 witnesses, mostly police officers. He was also presented a mountain of evidence outlining the movements of the group, led by George Benjamin Siciliano. A massive police investigation, dubbed Project Overland, probed the activities of the enterprise, which moved high-grade cocaine into Thunder Bay twice and then three times a month. Following arrests in August 2003, Siciliano and other associates pleaded guilty to a variety of charges in 2004. Siciliano, the reputed ringleader, was handed a 10-year prison term. His associates received sentences ranging from five to seven years. Speak, 46, was the only one of those charged who took his matter to trial. He was named in an 11-count indictment. In his judgment, McCartney acknowledged that Dubois was a drug addict and a self-confessed liar, and that he needed independent evidence to be convinced of Dubois’ allegations. That came in the form of extensive travel and hotel receipts, and cellphone records that established the nature of the group’s activity, and also established a link between Speak and Siciliano. As well, McCartney noted, Dubois had a key to the Academy Heights apartment building where Speak lived. Dubois testified he would meet Speak there to drop off drugs, which typically consisted of a kilo of cocaine or five kg of marijuana. McCartney convicted Speak of conspiring to traffic in cocaine, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, and being in association with a criminal organization, Siciliano’s operation. The conspiracy to traffic offence carries a maximum term of life in prison. During a break following the verdict, Speak turned amiably to a group of police officers in civilian clothing and jokingly said: “I guess you guys won’t have to worry about me for a while.” Despite a request from the federal prosecutor, McCartney did not order Speak to be taken into custody. He’s to return to court Sept. 28 for a sentencing hearing. Speak also has a trial set for Sept. 12 on a charge that he breached bail conditions by failing to turn over to police all of his Hells Angels materials. When court was over Tuesday, Speak was seen driving away in a Cadillac sedan. |
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ABATE
OF FLORIDA Music and Motorcycles Festival Hillary Clinton gets elected President and is spending her first night in the White House. She has waited so long.......... Keep them dry by adding a few grains of uncooked rice to them. The dry rice will absorb any moisture present. Updated WWE SummerSlam Card - If you don't have a de-greaser handy, try this.... |
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#05NR20 - President Bush Signs Highway Bill President Bush signed a comprehensive highway measure into law Wednesday morning in the home district of Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL). Flanked by the Secretary of Transportation, Hastert and throngs of Members of Congress, Bush declared that the $286.4 billion dollar package will "improve the safety of and modernize the nation’s highway system". He added "and in a fiscally responsible way, this bill does not raise any federal gas taxes" Bush then signed the legislation into public law. Bush had been brandishing a veto threat of any proposal that spent more than $284 billion, but in the end, decided the measure was worthy legislation and a good compromise. The legislation had been running on a series of unprecedented monetary extensions, many observers doubted that the package would ever see public law. The package known as SAFETEA-LU or Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, if you are not into brevity, marks a monumental victory for motorcyclists. The bill makes available $25 million dollars for motorcycle education and awareness campaigns, and calls for the organization of a motorcycle advisory council to advise the Federal Highway Administrator on road and road furniture design. All of these provisions are a direct result of the efforts of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) and the various State Motorcycle Rights Groups and individual motorcyclists that traveled to Washington DC to lobby, contact their Members of Congress, or maintain a healthy relationship with their elected officials. The MRF would like to thank all of those that have worked on the inclusion of the motorcycle language. With out you, the highway bill would have once again ignored the needs of the motorcycle community. "Now that the highway bill is public law, the individual states will be able to improve upon, or in some cases, implement rider ed programs and awareness campaigns." said Jeff Hennie, MRF Vice President of Government Relations "This groundbreaking legislation has the potential to save thousands of lives, something we should all be very proud of." |
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| August 12, 2005 #05NR21 - No Motorcycles Travel In South Dakota? (Washington, DC) As most everyone in the motorcycling community knows, the state of South Dakota is currently hosting the largest motorcycle rally in the country in Sturgis. Ironically, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) has learned the State of South Dakota has reported ZERO vehicle miles traveled (VMT) for motorcycles in its annual reports to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) each year since 1997. In fact, according to information provided to the MRF by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there was absolutely no motorcycle VMT reported not only for South Dakota, but also for Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Pennsylvania or Texas from 1997-2003. Additionally, the following states have reported zero motorcycle VMT during one or more of the years from 1997-2003: Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. NHTSA releases a report each year regarding motor vehicle traffic crash fatalities and injuries based on the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Yet, with anywhere from 13 to 31% of the states each year reporting absolutely no motorcycle VMT, this highly-publicized government report uses taxpayer dollars to compare the number of fatalities for various types of vehicles to VMT in order to determine trends and publish their findings as facts. The MRF expressed serious concerns in April, 2005 regarding the preliminary 2004 FARS data released by NHTSA, citing a decline in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) during the same period when motorcycle registrations increased substantially. Based on those concerns, the MRF wrote a letter to NHTSA questioning the validity of the data upon which these statistics were gathered and reported. NHTSA’s response to the MRF states VMT data is actually collected by the FHWA and that, "NHTSA believes the VMT data collected by FHWA are the best data available . . . For the 1997 to 2003 period similar methods were in place to report the . . . data . . . Because of this, we believe these numbers are adequate for monitoring trends." (Both letters can be viewed at http://www.mrf.org/nhtsa.php ). The MRF translates NHTSA’s response as follows: Both the FHWA and NHTSA know the VMT data is inaccurate, but since it is collected in what they consider to be a consistent manner, the inaccuracies are acceptable. The MRF believes that simple rules of statistical research dictate a 13-31% variance is not a consistent manner that is acceptable for monitoring trends, and the MRF will be investigating the FARS data for further inaccuracies in the weeks to come. "One motorcycle fatality is too many, and the MRF remains concerned about any rise in the numbers," stated Karen Bolin, MRF President. "The MRF is committed to working with NHTSA and the FHWA to take appropriate measures to reduce the number of motorcycle fatalities in this country. However, the MRF feels that the federal government has an obligation to report all vehicle fatality statistics in an accurate and responsible manner, and will continue to strive toward the release of more reliable information to the general public with regard to motorcycles." |
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| Al, Bill & Hillary go to Heaven. God addresses Al first. "Al, what do you believe in?" Al replies, "Well, I believe I won that election, but that it was your will that I did not serve and I've come to understand that now." God thinks for a second and says, "Okay, very good. Come and sit at my left." God then addresses Bill. "Bill, what do you believe in?" Bill replies, "I believe in forgiveness. I've sinned, but I've never held a grudge against my fellow man, and I hope no grudges are held against me." God thinks for a second and says, "You are forgiven, my son. Come and sit at my right." God then addresses Hillary. "Hillary, what do you believe in?" "I believe you're in my chair." |
Cars get about 21% more mileage at 55 mph then at 70 mph. Better planning reduces the need for speeding, to get there in time. Also, if you don´t speed, you won´t have to worry about getting a speeding ticket - which costs money. FLFLHTC: One day I might actually learn this lesson. |
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WORD of the DAY |
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acolyte \AK-uh-lyte\ noun 1 : one who assists a member of the
clergy in a liturgical service by performing minor duties Example sentence: Did you know? *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. |
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1-01-87 |
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