Friends in respectable places

Someone told me several years ago that members of the so-called underworld are only as strong as their friends in high and respectable places.  I now take it as a truism rather than as a cynical comment. When Michel Auger and I wrote The Encyclopedia of Canadian Organized Crime, we found this observation to be born out, from pirates of the 17th century to modern-day mobsters. I think of this as I note that a former member of the RCMP pleaded guilty to running weapons for outlaw bikers in Winnipeg. This is the same area when Michael (Taz) Sandham, one of the men convicted in the Bandido Massacre, worked as a police officer and studied outlaw biker gangs, while on the public payroll.

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