Richard Vallée (born 10 November 1957) is a Canadian outlaw biker and gangster. A drug trafficker and member of the

Hells Angels Motorcycle Club The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...

, Vallée was extradited to the United States and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2007 for the 1993 car bomb murder of New York State Police drug informant Lee Carter.

Criminal career

Outlaw biker

Born in

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, as a young man Vallée joined the Satan's Guard outlaw biker gang led by Louis "Mélou" Roy. Vallée began his criminal career working as a

pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

, and in 1988, he was charged with operating a brothel, which he pleaded guilty to on 30 November 1988. The Satan's Guard gang "patched over" to join the Hells Angels on 14 June 1991. Vallée was very close to Roy, who became the president of the Hells Angels' Trois-Rivières chapter. On 22 May 1992, Vallée was acquitted of the charge of illegally firing a handgun. Vallée became one of the main drug smugglers for the Hells Angels, bringing drugs over the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

. In January 1993, a group of Canadian Hells Angles walked into a bowling ally/bar in the border town of Champlain, New York, and asked the bartender, Lee Carter, if he wanted to make some money as a drug "mule" bringing cocaine from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Carter feigned agreement, but promptly contacted the New York State Police, who recruited him as an undercover agent. Carter purchased cocaine in New York, which he handed over to two Canadian Hells Angels who attempted to smuggle the cocaine over the border, but who were arrested by the

U.S. Customs The United States Customs Service was the very first federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted ...

. The arrest was done in a manner that made it appear that it was a random search. Some 57 kilograms of cocaine were seized. Carter visited Montreal where he spoke with Roy and Vallée. Carter was the only witness who could tie Vallée to the drug smuggling case. On 26 July 1993, a man in a

U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

uniform asked one of Carter's neighbors where he lived, saying he had some mail for him; the neighbor pointed to Carter's house. On 28 July 1993, Carter was killed by a bomb planted in his car. Without Carter as a witness, the American authorities were forced to drop the case against Vallée, and the extradition request to Canada was withdrawn. On 1 April 1995, a Hells Angels hitman,

Serge Quesnel Serge Quesnel (born 1970) is a Canadian gangster best known for his work as a hitman for the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. Quesnel turned Crown's evidence in 1995 and testified against several Hells Angels members in exchange for a lesser sentenc ...

, was arrested on charges of murder. Quesnel turned Crown's evidence and named Vallée as Carter's killer. The police raided a Montreal house owned by Vallée and found explosives, blasting caps and a U.S. Postal Services uniform. In December 1996, a grand jury in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

indicted Vallée on charges on first-degree murder, and the United States filed an extradition request with Canada. Vallée became a founding member of the Hells Angels' elite

Nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

chapter on 24 June 1995. He forged especially close connections with two chapters of the

Satan's Choice Motorcycle Club Satan's Choice Motorcycle Club (SCMC) was a Canadian outlaw motorcycle club that was once the dominant outlaw club in Ontario, with twelve chapters based in the province, and another in Montreal, Quebec, at its peak strength in 1977. Satan's Choi ...

, namely the

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

chapter led by Michel Dubé, and the

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

chapter led by the wrestler

Ion Croitoru Ion William Croitoru (December 7, 1963 – February 21, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. To wrestling fans, he is better known by his ring names, Johnny K-9, Taras Bulba, and Bruise ...

. Vallée sold the majority of the cocaine that was in turn sold by the Hamilton and Sudbury chapters of Satan's Choice. To assist with his business in

northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...

, Vallée recruited Sylvain "20/20" Vachon of the Angels'

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

chapter, who often brought cocaine into Sudbury to sell to Dúbe's chapter.

Fugitive

On 21 January 1997, while being held at the Rivière des Prairies penitentiary, Vallée was attacked by another prisoner who broke his jaw. On 5 June 1997, just two days before Vallée was due to be extradited, he was taken to the Hôpital Saint-Luc to be treated for his injured jaw. Going along with him were two unarmed guards. A woman claiming to be Vallée's wife called the hospital and asked if he was there; the hospital confirmed that he was. A man wearing dark sunglasses then walked into the hospital, saying he was a visitor. Vallée asked for permission to take a shower before returning to prison, which was granted. While Vallée was taking a shower, a guard was in the bathroom to ensure he could not escape. The man with the sunglasses had hidden himself in the closet of the bathroom and then emerged with a shotgun. The first guard was bound and gagged, to be followed up by the second guard who was waiting outside of the bathroom. Vallée and his accomplice then escaped from the hospital, fleeing on stolen motorcycles.Montreal police arrest most-wanted fugitive
Tu Thanh Ha, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' (19 April 2003) Vallée went to Costa Rica for a number of years. During this time, he was featured on the television program ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

'' several times. The

U.S. Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...

posted a notice, which read: "Armed and dangerous... Vallée is a member of a large-scale international smuggling organization and a demolition expert with a violent criminal history". At some point, Vallée returned to Canada. At about 1:30 am on 11 April 2003, a man was driving his automobile in Montreal turned right on a red light at Sherbrooke Street West and Décaire Boulevard. Montreal is alongside New York the only city in North America where it is illegal to turn right on a red light, causing a policeman who witnessed the turn to signal to the driver to pull over. The driver of the car had an automobile license that gave his name as a Guy Turner. As the driver was drunk, the policeman arrested him for drunk driving, and then discovered a loaded handgun together with some $3,500 in cash in the car. The driver known as "Guy Turner" was taken to the police station, where a finger print test revealed he was Vallée. By this time, the police had already released Vallée, believing him to be Guy Turner. The '' Sureté du Québec'' arrested Vallée on 17 April 2003 as he leaving a store on Saint-Mathieu Street. In 2006, Vallée was extradited to the United States, and convicted of first-degree murder for Carter's death in September 2007. On 13 April 2008, Vallée was sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole. Vallée is currently living at the high-security United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg.

Books

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vallee, Richard Living people 1957 births 20th-century Canadian criminals Canadian male criminals Canadian gangsters Canadian drug traffickers Canadian pimps People extradited from Canada to the United States Canadian people convicted of murder Canadian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Canadian people imprisoned abroad People convicted of murder by the United States federal government Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the United States federal government Gangsters sentenced to life imprisonment Canadian expatriates in Costa Rica People from Trois-Rivières Hells Angels