With the flash of every camera, Maurice “Mama” Boucher seemed to thrive and was not one to shy away from fame.
Boucher died of throat cancer in prison on Sunday at the age of 69, according to Corrections Canada.
“This is like the death of Al Capone or the death of John Gotti,” said Julien Sher, an investigative journalist and author of two books about the Hells Angels. “Mama Boucher was a capo, one of the most notorious leaders of organized crime.”
As head of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang in the 1990s, Boucher spread fear and terror in Montreal.
It was his turf and he wanted everyone to know it, no matter the price, experts say.
“He ruled the streets of Montreal,” Sher explained. “He was in charge of most of the cocaine distribution, he brought millions to the Hells Angels but he also unleashed a wave of terror in this city.”
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Maurice ‘Mom’ Boucher, Former Hells Angels Boss, Dies in Prison of Cancer
Boucher had been battling cancer for seven years and was transferred to hospice care on June 10. He recently turned 69 on June 21.
John Galianos, a retired provincial police officer who worked on the Hells Angels file, said Boucher loved to intimidate.
Galianos recalled that Boucher paraded in front of the police. “He would go there to what we say in French, ‘les ennerver,’ to make fun of them,” Galianos said.
In an effort to destabilize the justice system, Boucher ordered the 1997 murder of two prison guards, Pierre Rondeau and Diane Lavigne, who were chosen at random.
There was an attempt on the life of a third guard.
Boucher was arrested and charged, but not convicted.
“When he was acquitted the first time, people applauded,” Galianos said.
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Eventually, his reign began to unravel as his own began to turn against him: loyal followers turned informers, experts say.
The untouchable capo was arrested and tried again.
The second time, in 2002, he was convicted of first-degree murder for the deaths of prison guards.
Guy Ouellette, a member of the Quebec National Assembly and a retired provincial police officer, said his first thoughts on learning of the death were for Boucher’s innocent victims.
“Collateral damage they called it that. I hope it never happens again,” Ouellette said.
Boucher died while incarcerated in the hospice ward of a correctional health care institution affiliated with Archambault Federal Penitentiary in Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec, where he had been serving consecutive life sentences for the past 20 years. .
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