The Bacchus Motorcycle Club (BMC) is an

Outlaw motorcycle club An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...

in Canada. Founded during 1972 in Albert County, New Brunswick. Bacchus MC has since increased its influence, opening fifteen chapters in five Canadian provinces. It is currently the largest Canadian established 1% motorcycle club.

History

Founded in Albert County, New Brunswick, in late August 1972, the Bacchus Motorcycle Club is one of the oldest one-percenter motorcycle clubs in Canada. The name "Bacchus" is derived from the Roman counterpart of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...

, the Greek god of wine, women and song. The name of the club originates from the cult and city religions symbolism of Dionysus, who was regarded as the protector or guardian of those who do not belong to conventional society. On 8 November 2014, Bacchus MC merged with its closest ally, the Original Red Devils Motorcycle Club, to create the first Ontario expansion of the club absorbing the Red Devils three Ontario chapters in

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 ...

, Chatham-Kent and Sudbury. Bacchus switched the bottom rocker on their jackets from "Ontario" to "Canada," likely to avoid conflict with the

Hells Angels 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 Corporati ...

who claim the exclusive right to have a province written on their backs. The club manages close relationships with other well-established Canadian motorcycle clubs like Para-dice Riders MC, Vagabonds MC, Highlanders MC, and the Charlottetown Harley Club.

Insignia

The Bacchus Motorcycle Club wears a three-piece

patch Patch or Patches may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Patch Johnson, a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'' * Patch (''My Little Pony''), a toy * "Patches" (Dickey Lee song), 1962 * "Patches" (Chairmen of the Board song) ...

on their vest with the club's name on the top, the club logo in the centre and the province they represent on the bottom. The Bacchus club colors, black and gold, are reflected in their club motto: "Black and Gold will never fold". As of 2014, all Bacchus MC and Original Red Devils Motorcycle Club members also sport a brotherhood patch depicting the lasting 1% bond between the two clubs.

Membership and organization

Members of the Bacchus MC must own a

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depressi ...

motorcycle. The club's membership is estimated at two hundred, with fourteen chapters located in five

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, making it as of 2022 the fifth largest motorcycle club in Canada. With the

(44) in first followed by the Outlaws (21),

Rock Machine The Rock Machine Motorcycle Club (RMMC) or Rock Machine is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1986. It has twenty one Canadian chapters spread across seven provinces. It also has nine chapters in the ...

(18) is third and the Loners (16) fourth.

Chapter list

**Chapters (15 total in Canada) *New Brunswick **Albert County (Mother chapter) **York County **St. John **Charlotte County *Newfoundland **Grand Falls Windsor **C.B.S (Conception Bay South) *Nova Scotia **Halifax **Colchester **Hants County (Frozen) **Route 333 (Frozen) *Ontario **Hamilton **Chatham **Woodstock **Halton Hill **Muskoka *Prince Edward Island **Kings County **Prince County *Bacchus support clubs **Mountain Men Rednecks MC

Criminal allegations and incidents

Bacchus member Derreck Dean Huggan was charged with possession of drugs and a restricted weapon after police seized approximately $85,000 worth of crack cocaine, marijuana and hashish, as well as $1,600 in cash and a loaded handgun during a raid on a home in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia on 14 April 2000. Police again began surveillance on Huggan after a shop he owned and managed was raided in Charlottetown in May 2006. He was arrested in November 2006 as part of a police operation that involved arrests in Charlottetown and

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

. He was convicted on several counts of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, hashish, ecstasy and hydromorphone, and was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison in July 2007. Bacchus member James Russell "Rustie" Hall and his wife Giovanna "Ellen" Hall were murdered in their Barr Settlement, Nova Scotia home on 26 February 2010. The

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

(RCMP) stated that the deaths may be linked to organized crime. Matthew Thomas Foley, president of Bacchus'

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of K ...

chapter, was convicted of manslaughter over the death of Michael Thomas Schimpf, who was shot and killed near the club's headquarters on 14 July 2012. Foley was sentenced to ten years in prison and banned from owning firearms for life in August 2012. Bacchus members Patrick Michael James, Duayne Jamie Howe and David John Pearce were convicted of extortion and intimidation in July 2018, charged stemming from incidents in 2012 when a man attempted to start a chapter of a non-criminal motorcycle club in Nova Scotia. When Bacchus sergeant-at-arms James discovered the victim's plans to start the chapter, club members threatened him until he ceased the endeavor and he and his wife sold their motorcycles. In November 2018, James was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, Howe to two years' and Pearce to eighteen months'. The case also led a Nova Scotia judge to designate the Bacchus Motorcycle Club a criminal organization under the

Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

, the first time the designation had been used in the province. In March 2013, Bacchus member David James Bishop was charged with a number of crimes, including trafficking cocaine and steroids, relating to a drug smuggling ring at

Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility The Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility is a Canadian prison located in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. Facilities Situated in the Burnside Industrial Park in Dartmouth, the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility is the l ...

.Man charged in jail drug case is biker gang member: police

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the national ...

(27 March 2013) He pleaded guilty in April 2013 and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.Fourth person charged in connection with vicious assault of Cape Breton man
''

Cape Breton Post The ''Cape Breton Post'' is the only daily newspaper published on Cape Breton Island. Based in Sydney, Nova Scotia, it specializes in local coverage of news, events, and sports from communities in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and the cou ...

'' (1 November 2019) Bishop was one of four men charged in connection with the beating of a man who was left with permanent brain damage. Police allege the victim was assaulted inside a former motorcycle gang clubhouse in

New Glasgow, Nova Scotia New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,075 ...

before he was driven on to Cape Breton Island and abandoned along the side of Highway 105 at

Glendale, Nova Scotia The Municipality of the County of Inverness is a county municipality on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It provides local government to about 17,000 residents of the historical county of the same name, except for the incorporated tow ...

on 6 or 7 June 2016. The club is designated a criminal organization under the

.3 Nova Scotia Bacchus biker gang members convicted of intimidation, extortion

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

(25 July 2018)

References

External links

Bacchus MC Ontario
{{Organized crime groups in Canada Organizations established in 1972 1972 establishments in New Brunswick Organizations based in New Brunswick Albert County, New Brunswick Outlaw motorcycle clubs Motorcycle clubs in Canada Gangs in New Brunswick Gangs in Nova Scotia Gangs in Ontario