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CBC Story On The Estate And Life Of Murdered HA Prospect Michael Widner Of Vancouver Island. Why hasn't The Cocaine Dealers $150k Estate Been Seized As Proceeds Of Crime.?
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Greg Carr
Mar 4, 2021, 2:17:06 PM3/4/21
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Estate of slain Hells Angels prospect who led double life split between spouses in court battle
Michael Widner's wife says she didn't know he had another family or ties to biker gang
Jason Proctor · CBC News · Posted: Mar 03, 2021 1:00 AM PT | Last Updated: March 3
This image is from a memorial page for Michael Widner, who was killed in March 2017. Widner, a Hells Angels prospect, was married but also had a family with another woman. (Mike Widner Memorial Page/Facebook)
Michael Widner's death in March 2017 left a lot of questions unanswered — and not just for the investigators tasked with solving the targeted killing of a Hells Angels prospect.
Widner's wife learned the man she wed in 2008 had also maintained a long-term "marriage-like relationship" with another woman.
The parts of each week he had claimed to be working in a different part of Vancouver Island were actually spent living with his other family, which included two children.
The "who" and the "why" of Widner's killing remain unsolved.
But a B.C. Supreme Court judge this week answered one of the other mysteries sparked by his death: provincial law allows for both of the dead man's partners to be considered spouses despite a criminal prohibition against polygamy.
"He left a complicated legacy," wrote Justice Jennifer Duncan.
'Caught completely off guard'
"Complicated" appears to have been an understatement.
Duncan's lengthy decision on a lawsuit filed by Widner's secret spouse for a share of his estate pulls back the curtains on a double life spent evading the scrutiny of both romantic partners and police.
Widner is believed to have died around March 9, 2017. His body was found near Port Renfrew, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, a week after he was reported missing. Police have not said how he was killed, but are treating the death as a homicide.
RCMP released this image of Michael Widner after he went missing. His body was found a week after he disappeared. Police consider his death a homicide. Nobody has been charged. (RCMP)
According to the decision, Widner had been living with Sabrina Widner since 2000, and the couple had two children.
They married in a civil ceremony in 2008 followed by a Mexican resort celebration attended by Bob Green, a prominent Hells Angel who was himself murdered in 2016.
Sabrina Widner said she didn't learn of her husband's involvement in the gang until police started asking questions after his disappearance four years ago.
"Did he own a Harley, did he have any ties to the Hells Angels? Ms. Widner said no," Duncan wrote.
"Within a day or two the police advised her that they had found a body in Port Renfrew and were certain it was Mike. The news began carrying reports about the killing of a Hells Angels prospect with criminal ties. Ms. Widner said she was caught completely off guard by this."
'Trusted him about everything else'
Sara Boughton met Widner in 2009, four years after graduating from high school. They moved in together within a month.
At the time, Widner claimed to be going through a divorce that would be settled in three months.
Three months morphed into eight years.
Michael Widner, not pictured here, was a prospect for the Hells Angels, but his wife says she did not know he was involved with the organization. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
The couple had a son and a daughter and went on holidays to Mexico together. Boughton said Widner told her he and his wife often argued, and that when he asked for a divorce she would "tell him he would not see his children and threaten him about being a criminal," the judge wrote.
Since 2013, Boughton and Widner had been renting a house in Shawnigan Lake, about an hour's drive from Widner's other home in Sooke.
Widner claimed he slept on the couch when he returned to his other family. Boughton said she didn't believe that, but it never struck her that he might still be "intimate" with his wife, Duncan wrote.
Boughton said Widner also concealed his relationship with the Hells Angels from her. She said she found out some time in 2015, and didn't think it was a wise move for him to join.
"Despite the fact that the deceased lied about his marital status and covered up his involvement in the Hells Angels, Ms. Boughton trusted him about everything else," Duncan said in her decision.
'Difficult to lead two lives'
Widner died without a will.
His wife said he didn't have a bank account or anything but a boat and a car left in his name. He listed his income at $1,500 in his 2011 tax return and $300 the following year.
"In 2013, he claimed an income of zero," Duncan wrote.
(Greg: He has a boat and and a car obviously a couple Harleys and declares an income way below that of a welfare receipient of the time for 3 straight years and had a $150k estate when he died. CRA where are you? This is obviously proceeds of crime and should be seized by the govt to pay for the rehab of the cocaine addicts Michael Widner hooked on cocaine.)
Widner's estate is estimated to be worth $150,000. (Mike Widner Memorial Page/Facebook)
And yet, Boughton estimated Widner provided her with $8,000 a month for household expenses, and the dead man's mother claimed she saw him give Sabrina Widner "handfuls" of large bills — an allegation his wife denied, saying they didn't live a "lavish" lifestyle. (Greg: Proceeds of crime asset seizure the drug dealers estate.)
According to the judgment, Widner appeared to get his money from a variety of sources.
He ran a legal medical marijuana grow-op licensed in Sabrina Widner's name. He also tried his hand at a variety of odd jobs. And during the court proceedings, his mother said he was a high-level cocaine dealer.
Widner's father and mother, who are separated, both testified at the proceeding.
They each claimed to have known about their son's romantic entanglements, but neither shared the information with Sabrina Widner.
"Mr. Widner felt his son's relationships were none of his business. He told his son to deal with the situation, because it was difficult to lead two lives," the decision says.
His mother said she "did not think it was any of her business to tell Ms. Widner about Ms. Boughton."
Psychics and politicians speak
The possibility of a girlfriend was mentioned by a psychic whom Sabrina Widner consulted in the days after her husband disappeared.
It was also because of a psychic that she didn't believe her husband owned a Harley-Davidson.
"He had a motorcycle when their daughter was born but a psychic told them he would die on a motorcycle so they sold it," Duncan wrote
"She learned that the Deceased had two motorcycles at Ms. Boughton's house and had purchased several others for the Hells Angels."
Former Liberal attorney general Mike de Jong once spoke about the kinds of circumstances that would require a provision in B.C. law for two spouses to share a dead person's estate. (Tanya Fletcher/CBC)
A pair of B.C. politicians would also turn out to be prescient in the matter of Michael Widner's life and death.
Duncan cites legislative debate in 2009 between Liberal Attorney General Mike de Jong and NDP critic Leonard Krog about provisions of the Wills, Estates and Successions Act that are at the heart of the fight between Boughton and Sabrina Widner.
The law specifically mentions a situation involving the division of an estate for "two or more spouses."
"I'm just trying to grasp and get my head around this concept when you would have this intersection where two spouses would in fact have a claim," Krog said.
De Jong said the law was drafted to include every possible circumstance — including one involving two people unwittingly involved in "overlapping" relationships.
"As distasteful or tawdry as it may seem, the possibility that an individual or two individuals might find themselves in this situation requires, we believe, the inclusion of the provision," de Jong said. (Greg: Bigamy a crime ppl snicker at.)
Duncan said it was clear the legislature intended to provide for people who were in a "marriage-like relationship" with someone who was also married at the time of their death.
Sabrina Widner still plans to challenge the validity of the spousal provisions of the law, because her lawyers claim it would appear to conflict with the criminal law against polygamy.
In the meantime, Duncan found Boughton is entitled to half of what can be found of Widner's estate — which appears to be about $150,000.
"Ms. Widner understandably resents her husband's duplicity in forming a relationship with Ms. Boughton, having children with her and supporting a separate, secret household," Duncan wrote.
"The resulting amount is to be divided equally between the two surviving spouses."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/hells-angel-killing-spouses-estate-1.5934181 (Greg: Hey neat a story about a dead HA guy ends with 81 in the url.)
Secret family and wife battle in court over dead Hells Angels prospect's assets
Justice Jennifer Duncan said that Michael Widner “left a complicated legacy” when he was killed in March 2017, with two women claiming to be his spouse, each with two children and each claiming a right to his assets.
Author of the article:Kim Bolan
Publishing date:Mar 02, 2021 • 1 day ago • 3 minute read • comment bubble12 Comments
Michael Gregory Widner
Michael Gregory Widner PHOTO BY SOOKE RCMP /PNG
Article content
The girlfriend of a Hells Angels prospect murdered in 2017 qualifies as a spouse even though he was still married and also living with his wife at the time, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled.
Justice Jennifer Duncan said that Michael Widner “left a complicated legacy” when he was killed in March 2017 — two women claiming to be his spouse, each with two children and each claiming a right to his assets.
Sabrina Widner married Michael at a destination wedding in Mexico in 2008, attended by high-profile Hells Angel Bob Green, himself murdered years later. Their kids were born in 2005 and 2006.
Sara Boughton hooked up with Michael in 2009. He promised her he was going to leave his wife though he never did. They also had two children, in 2014 and 2015.
While Boughton knew of Widner, Widner only learned of her husband’s “secret household” after his death, Duncan said.
During her marriage, Widner was listed as the sole owner of three Sooke properties that she said her husband had no interest in.
But Boughton sued Widner, saying Michael “told her many times over the course of their relationship that he paid for several properties which were registered in his wife’s name.”
She asked the court to declare that his estate should include “half of the value of the property held in Ms. Widner’s name” including the proceeds from one house that was sold.
Duncan ruled that both women qualified as the dead biker’s spouses, so both should be entitled to half his estate. And she agreed with Boughton that the estate should include some of the cash that the late Hells Angel had contributed to his wife’s mortgages over the years.
She ordered Widner to pay $150,000, plus interest, into the estate, which will be split between the two families.
Michael was a 39-year-old prospect with the Nanaimo Hells Angels when his body was found near Port Renfrew four years ago. His murder remains unsolved.
“The deceased was able to maintain two separate households because he told Ms. Widner he was working part of the week on the other side of Vancouver Island from the Widner household, when he was actually spending time with Ms. Boughton,” Duncan said. “The deceased kept up a regular schedule, alternating between the two households.”
Michael Widner’s parents testified that they knew about Boughton and the second family but never told his wife or the older children. None of Michael’s siblings knew of Boughton and the younger kids, who were living in a rented house in Shawnigan when he was killed.
His mother, Reta Acorn, testified that her son was involved in cocaine deals with Green, the Hells Angel killed in 2016, and that he paid for the Sooke properties with the proceeds from the drug trade.
“Ms. Acorn said her son was afraid of civil forfeiture, so he put everything in Ms. Widner’s name, although she conceded that she never saw any purchase or financing documents for the properties,” Duncan said, though she later rejected Acorn’s testimony as unreliable.
Widner testified that she was unaware her husband was involved in any illegal activity or in the Hells Angels.
She “said the deceased worked at a variety of enterprises, including fishing charters, cutting and delivering wood, and working with bailiffs to buy closed businesses and then selling the contents.”
He later rented out a workshop at one of the Sooke properties “for a legal medical-marijuana grow operation,” Widner said.
Duncan heard that Rick Alexander, the president of the Devil’s Army biker club, was also involved in the pot operation. Alexander is awaiting trial on a first-degree murder charge.
Widner said that after her husband’s body was found, “she met a man called Shawn in a parking lot with another individual.”
“They talked to her about Mike’s affiliation with the Hells Angels and how he was going through the program’ and they wanted to `vest’ his casket. If she allowed them to do that, the Hells Angels would pay for the funeral,” Duncan said. “Ms. Widner told them she would do her own thing but they could attend the service.”
kbo...@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/kbolan
Blog: https://vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop/
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/secret-family-and-wife-battle-in-court-over-dead-hells-angels-prospects-assets
Since the dead prospects money comes from selling illegal drugs it should all be seized for civil forfiture.
https://groups.google.com/g/van.general/c/JG_RzjoJO5g/m/8n_X4PwmAgAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/van.general/c/Me4f7Nt9swE/m/w8XqAvdJCQAJ
Hell's Angels To Have Memorial Run For Dead Prospect
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Greg Carr
Mar 31, 2017, 5:00:18 PM
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B.C.’s anti-gang police say that up to 200 people, including full-patch Hells Angels members, could ride on Vancouver Island this weekend in honour of a prospect murdered earlier this month.
Sooke man Michael Gregory Widner, 39, went missing earlier this month, and his remains were discovered days later along the Pacific Marine route near Port Renfrew.
RCMP later confirmed that Widner had known connections to the motorcycle gang and that his death was being investigated as a homicide.
B.C.’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit says the memorial ride is expected to take place Saturday afternoon.
Riders will start in Nanaimo and end up at a known Hells Angels clubhouse on Spencer Road in Langford.
CFSEU-BC says activity at the home has been quiet recently, but it’s still considered a gang lair.
Rides like this are as much about reminding the public and rivals that the gang is around as they are about paying respects to the deceased, according to CFSEU-BC.
They say Mounties and gang unit members will monitor the ride from start to finish, ensuring public safety.
Motorists travelling on the Island Highway should expect delays Saturday afternoon due to the ride, CFSEU-BC said.
Vancouver Island’s Integrated Major Crime Unit is leading the homicide investigation into Widner’s death, and is asking anyone with information to call them at 250-380-6211 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
==============================================================================
The man reported missing in Sooke last week is a prospect for the Nanaimo chapter of the Hells Angels biker gang, sources told Postmedia News on Monday.
Michael Gregory Widner, 39, was last seen March 8 in Sooke and was reported missing the following day.
His wife posted a message on Facebook over the weekend saying police had since told her that Widner’s body had been found.
“It is with a broken heart and overwhelming sadness I share that the police have informed me that my husbands body has been found,” she wrote in a comment that has since been made private. “I am with our children holding them tight and keeping them safe and removed from all the attention. His children know that he is in heaven with his brother Steve and at peace.”
Neither Sooke RCMP nor E Division headquarters responded to requests for information Monday about the status of the case and whether it was now a murder investigation.
Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello told Postmedia News that Widner was a prospect and that his body had been found Sunday.
Earlier, Sooke Staff Sergeant Jeff McArthur said in a news release that Widner’s vehicle, a 2003 black Volkswagen Golf, was found abandoned at Poirier Lake, in William Edmonds Park in Sooke.
Widner has no criminal record in B.C., according to the online court database.
But he was the subject of a suit by the B.C. Civil Forfeiture director in 2012 after being stopped by Sooke RCMP a year earlier with $4,980 cash, 25 grams of marijuana, a hunting knife and four cellphones in his vehicle.
“Mr. Widner either directly participated in the selling of illegal drugs or obtained the money directly or indirectly from the sellers of illegal drugs,” the suit alleged.
Widner later agreed to forfeit the money, though most was sent to his lawyer to cover his bill.
Widner’s isn’t the only recent missing person case linked to the Hells Angels.
Surrey RCMP is trying to locate Rickey Sandor Mandi, a former prospect for the Vancouver chapter of the Hells Angels.
Mandi was last seen on January 27th, near 96th Avenue and King George Boulevard in Surrey, Sgt. Alana Dunlop said Monday.
Originally a relative reported Mandi missing to Chilliwack RCMP and said he hadn’t been seen since New Year’s Eve.
But given that Mandi is known to frequent Surrey and Langley, Surrey Mounties made inquiries and learned of the sighting in late January, Dunlop said.
In 2004, Mandi was sentenced to more than six years in jail for a violent assault and kidnapping.
He later told the parole board he wanted to change his life and went on to work with people struggling with addiction.
However he left the job a few years ago and appeared to be dealing with his own addiction troubles.
Last September he posted on his Facebook page that he was coming off “a four-year brutal relapse.”
He said he had got clean again “like a Phoenix raising out from the ashes of a long period of my life filled with painful memories, of heartaches and disappointments.”
Ciarniello, who was in the same Hells Angels chapter as Mandi, said he wasn’t aware the former prospect was missing.
“I haven’t seen Mandi in 10 years or so,” Ciarniello said.
=============================================================
HAMC Nanaimo Propect Found Dead. Former Hell's Angel Prospect Rick Mandi Missing.
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Greg Carr
Mar 13, 2017, 7:30:05 PM
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The man reported missing in Sooke last week is a prospect for the Nanaimo chapter of the Hells Angels biker gang, sources told Postmedia News on Monday.
Michael Gregory Widner, 39, was last seen March 8 in Sooke and was reported missing the following day.
His wife posted a message on Facebook over the weekend saying police had since told her that Widner’s body had been found.
“It is with a broken heart and overwhelming sadness I share that the police have informed me that my husbands body has been found,” she wrote in a comment that has since been made private. “I am with our children holding them tight and keeping them safe and removed from all the attention. His children know that he is in heaven with his brother Steve and at peace.”
Neither Sooke RCMP nor E Division headquarters responded to requests for information Monday about the status of the case and whether it was now a murder investigation.
Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello told Postmedia News that Widner was a prospect and that his body had been found Sunday.
Earlier, Sooke Staff Sergeant Jeff McArthur said in a news release that Widner’s vehicle, a 2003 black Volkswagen Golf, was found abandoned at Poirier Lake, in William Edmonds Park in Sooke.
Widner has no criminal record in B.C., according to the online court database.
But he was the subject of a suit by the B.C. Civil Forfeiture director in 2012 after being stopped by Sooke RCMP a year earlier with $4,980 cash, 25 grams of marijuana, a hunting knife and four cellphones in his vehicle.
“Mr. Widner either directly participated in the selling of illegal drugs or obtained the money directly or indirectly from the sellers of illegal drugs,” the suit alleged.
Widner later agreed to forfeit the money, though most was sent to his lawyer to cover his bill.
Widner’s isn’t the only recent missing person case linked to the Hells Angels.
Surrey RCMP is trying to locate Rickey Sandor Mandi, a former prospect for the Vancouver chapter of the Hells Angels.
Mandi was last seen on January 27th, near 96th Avenue and King George Boulevard in Surrey, Sgt. Alana Dunlop said Monday.
Originally a relative reported Mandi missing to Chilliwack RCMP and said he hadn’t been seen since New Year’s Eve.
But given that Mandi is known to frequent Surrey and Langley, Surrey Mounties made inquiries and learned of the sighting in late January, Dunlop said.
In 2004, Mandi was sentenced to more than six years in jail for a violent assault and kidnapping.
He later told the parole board he wanted to change his life and went on to work with people struggling with addiction.
However he left the job a few years ago and appeared to be dealing with his own addiction troubles.
Last September he posted on his Facebook page that he was coming off “a four-year brutal relapse.”
He said he had got clean again “like a Phoenix raising out from the ashes of a long period of my life filled with painful memories, of heartaches and disappointments.”
Ciarniello, who was in the same Hells Angels chapter as Mandi, said he wasn’t aware the former prospect was missing.
“I haven’t seen Mandi in 10 years or so,” Ciarniello said.
================================================================================
A former prospect of the Hells Angels biker club says today's young gangsters should follow his path -- hit bottom in prison and build their life back up, free of crime.
Rick Mandi said he lived a good life as a Hells Angels prospect -- one step short of a full patch member -- because he was a big guy willing to throw his weight around.
"I was involved in kidnapping, extortion, drug debts," said Mandi in an interview with CTV News.
"I was in the mindframe that I was untouchable, that I was smarter than everybody," said Mandi, who now works to rehabilitate chronic offenders.
Mandi wouldn't talk specifically about his exploits with the bikers, but they ended with a botched kidnapping -- and he found guilty in 2003 in BC Supreme Court, and sent to prison for five years.
At first, gang affiliations mattered in jail, he said -- but then things changed.
"I ran out of money, I ran out of dope, and I ran out of friends," he said. "When you're in that place a lot of people turn on you."
It was jail that allowed him to isolate himself from gang connections and turn his life around, he said, adding that today's gangsters need the same tough treatment.
When he got out of jail, the Angels offered him a chance to rejoin the gang, but he said he turned it away in favour of working for a living.
When Mandi was released, he joined Vision Quest Recovery Society, a rehabilitation centre for chronic offenders, run by an old friend, Jim O'Rourke.
"We don't give up on anyone," said O'Rourke. "We give up on them when they're dead."
O'Rourke says the people at his society are often into organized crime -- but that can be a death sentence.
"There's no old gangsters," he said. "Ever noticed that? Their retirement plan is the thirty-cent solution. If you want to live long and prosper you have to get out of gang life."
Now, Mandi is staff at Vision Quest and runs his own recovery house. If anyone there is thinking of returning to the gang lifestyle, he has one message.
"I would say take a look at where you're going -- it's just a matter of time. Jails, institutions, death," he said. "Sooner or later it's your turn."
================================================================================
Judge acquits accused kidnapper
Man charged in connection with Hells Angels-linked abduction and
torture goes free.
VANCOUVER SUN-Friday-January 7/05.
VANCOUVER- Hells Angels hangaround Danny Anderson was acquitted
Thursday of all charges relating to the kidnapping, beating and
extortion of Langley gambler and small-time drug dealer Kirk Cooley.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein ruled that while some
of the evidence against Anderson was believable, it was not reliable.
The three major witnesses against Anderson - his former Hells Angel
companion and club prospect Chad Proctor, Cooley, and Cooley's partner
in crime, Robert Nicholson -gave their evidence in exchange for being
placed in the witness protection program. They have been given new
identities and moved to locations outside of the Lower Mainland for
their safety.
Outside court, Crown counsel Anne Clark said the Crown has 30 days to
consider an appeal.
Asked if she was disappointed at the verdict, Clark replied: "It's not
my job to be disappointed. It's a fact-driven decision."
Anderson said only: "I've got no comment."
His father, who attended every day of the trial, also refused to
comment, but an unidentified woman who was with them called out she
was "delighted" as the trio left the Robson Street courthouse in a
snowstorm.
Two other men convicted in connection with Cooley's kidnapping are now
in prison.
Hells Angels prospect Rick Mandi is serving six years, while Ladner
resident and bookmaker Daniel Laybourn is serving a lesser sentence
after pleading guilty.
The case, which provoked the largest police operation in B.C. against
the Hells Angels motorcycle club, began in November 2001 when Cooley
and Nicholson stole eight kilograms of marijuana from the home of one
of Cooley's friends while the friend was away.
At the time, Cooley had run up almost $100,000 in gambling debts and
was being pursued by bookies -among them Laybourn -for payment.
According to evidence, the marijuana belonged to Hells Angel member
Hal Porteous.
A week after the theft a group of Hells Angels led by Mandi arrived at
Cooley's townhouse, apparently intent on kidnapping him. But Cooley
was with his children and Nicholson at the time, so arrangements were
made for both parties to meet the next day in the Willowbrook Mall.
Again the intent was to kidnap Cooley but he managed to escape Mandi's
crew after he called the RCMP.
On Nov. 29 -against the advice of Langley RCMP officers -Cooley went
to a house in the 6600-block of Ladner Trunk Road with Laybourn, who
had enticed him there on the pretext of showing him a possible site
for a marijuana-grow operation.
Once inside, he found Mandi and a large, thick-set male he identified
as Anderson waiting for him.
He said he was beaten and tortured, had a hood placed over his head
and was bound with zip-straps and duct tape.
He was then dumped into a car that the Crown alleged was driven by
Anderson.
However, he managed to kick open the trunk and escape from the car in
Surrey.
While police were engaged in investigating the kidnapping, Delta
officers began receiving anonymous e-mails originating from a
Coquitlam library providing them with information concerning Mandi's
part.
They traced the e-mails to Proctor, who was told that his part in
providing information to police would eventually come out in court.
Fearing for his life, Proctor agreed to testify provided he was placed
in witness protection. He had sent the information because he hated
Mandi and wanted to see him kicked out of the Hells Angels.
The information was enough for Delta police to obtain a search warrant
and the Hells Angels clubhouse in Coquitlam was raided by officers,
who seized records and computers.
In her decision, Stromberg-Stein said that while Proctor's evidence
was believ-
able, it was not reliable because there was no corroborating evidence
to back up the story of Anderson's part in the affair.
And while Anderson was probably involved, probability was not enough
to justify a guilty verdict, she said.
Michael Widner's wife says she didn't know he had another family or ties to biker gang
Jason Proctor · CBC News · Posted: Mar 03, 2021 1:00 AM PT | Last Updated: March 3
This image is from a memorial page for Michael Widner, who was killed in March 2017. Widner, a Hells Angels prospect, was married but also had a family with another woman. (Mike Widner Memorial Page/Facebook)
Michael Widner's death in March 2017 left a lot of questions unanswered — and not just for the investigators tasked with solving the targeted killing of a Hells Angels prospect.
Widner's wife learned the man she wed in 2008 had also maintained a long-term "marriage-like relationship" with another woman.
The parts of each week he had claimed to be working in a different part of Vancouver Island were actually spent living with his other family, which included two children.
The "who" and the "why" of Widner's killing remain unsolved.
But a B.C. Supreme Court judge this week answered one of the other mysteries sparked by his death: provincial law allows for both of the dead man's partners to be considered spouses despite a criminal prohibition against polygamy.
"He left a complicated legacy," wrote Justice Jennifer Duncan.
'Caught completely off guard'
"Complicated" appears to have been an understatement.
Duncan's lengthy decision on a lawsuit filed by Widner's secret spouse for a share of his estate pulls back the curtains on a double life spent evading the scrutiny of both romantic partners and police.
Widner is believed to have died around March 9, 2017. His body was found near Port Renfrew, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, a week after he was reported missing. Police have not said how he was killed, but are treating the death as a homicide.
RCMP released this image of Michael Widner after he went missing. His body was found a week after he disappeared. Police consider his death a homicide. Nobody has been charged. (RCMP)
According to the decision, Widner had been living with Sabrina Widner since 2000, and the couple had two children.
They married in a civil ceremony in 2008 followed by a Mexican resort celebration attended by Bob Green, a prominent Hells Angel who was himself murdered in 2016.
Sabrina Widner said she didn't learn of her husband's involvement in the gang until police started asking questions after his disappearance four years ago.
"Did he own a Harley, did he have any ties to the Hells Angels? Ms. Widner said no," Duncan wrote.
"Within a day or two the police advised her that they had found a body in Port Renfrew and were certain it was Mike. The news began carrying reports about the killing of a Hells Angels prospect with criminal ties. Ms. Widner said she was caught completely off guard by this."
'Trusted him about everything else'
Sara Boughton met Widner in 2009, four years after graduating from high school. They moved in together within a month.
At the time, Widner claimed to be going through a divorce that would be settled in three months.
Three months morphed into eight years.
Michael Widner, not pictured here, was a prospect for the Hells Angels, but his wife says she did not know he was involved with the organization. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
The couple had a son and a daughter and went on holidays to Mexico together. Boughton said Widner told her he and his wife often argued, and that when he asked for a divorce she would "tell him he would not see his children and threaten him about being a criminal," the judge wrote.
Since 2013, Boughton and Widner had been renting a house in Shawnigan Lake, about an hour's drive from Widner's other home in Sooke.
Widner claimed he slept on the couch when he returned to his other family. Boughton said she didn't believe that, but it never struck her that he might still be "intimate" with his wife, Duncan wrote.
Boughton said Widner also concealed his relationship with the Hells Angels from her. She said she found out some time in 2015, and didn't think it was a wise move for him to join.
"Despite the fact that the deceased lied about his marital status and covered up his involvement in the Hells Angels, Ms. Boughton trusted him about everything else," Duncan said in her decision.
'Difficult to lead two lives'
Widner died without a will.
His wife said he didn't have a bank account or anything but a boat and a car left in his name. He listed his income at $1,500 in his 2011 tax return and $300 the following year.
"In 2013, he claimed an income of zero," Duncan wrote.
(Greg: He has a boat and and a car obviously a couple Harleys and declares an income way below that of a welfare receipient of the time for 3 straight years and had a $150k estate when he died. CRA where are you? This is obviously proceeds of crime and should be seized by the govt to pay for the rehab of the cocaine addicts Michael Widner hooked on cocaine.)
Widner's estate is estimated to be worth $150,000. (Mike Widner Memorial Page/Facebook)
And yet, Boughton estimated Widner provided her with $8,000 a month for household expenses, and the dead man's mother claimed she saw him give Sabrina Widner "handfuls" of large bills — an allegation his wife denied, saying they didn't live a "lavish" lifestyle. (Greg: Proceeds of crime asset seizure the drug dealers estate.)
According to the judgment, Widner appeared to get his money from a variety of sources.
He ran a legal medical marijuana grow-op licensed in Sabrina Widner's name. He also tried his hand at a variety of odd jobs. And during the court proceedings, his mother said he was a high-level cocaine dealer.
Widner's father and mother, who are separated, both testified at the proceeding.
They each claimed to have known about their son's romantic entanglements, but neither shared the information with Sabrina Widner.
"Mr. Widner felt his son's relationships were none of his business. He told his son to deal with the situation, because it was difficult to lead two lives," the decision says.
His mother said she "did not think it was any of her business to tell Ms. Widner about Ms. Boughton."
Psychics and politicians speak
The possibility of a girlfriend was mentioned by a psychic whom Sabrina Widner consulted in the days after her husband disappeared.
It was also because of a psychic that she didn't believe her husband owned a Harley-Davidson.
"He had a motorcycle when their daughter was born but a psychic told them he would die on a motorcycle so they sold it," Duncan wrote
"She learned that the Deceased had two motorcycles at Ms. Boughton's house and had purchased several others for the Hells Angels."
Former Liberal attorney general Mike de Jong once spoke about the kinds of circumstances that would require a provision in B.C. law for two spouses to share a dead person's estate. (Tanya Fletcher/CBC)
A pair of B.C. politicians would also turn out to be prescient in the matter of Michael Widner's life and death.
Duncan cites legislative debate in 2009 between Liberal Attorney General Mike de Jong and NDP critic Leonard Krog about provisions of the Wills, Estates and Successions Act that are at the heart of the fight between Boughton and Sabrina Widner.
The law specifically mentions a situation involving the division of an estate for "two or more spouses."
"I'm just trying to grasp and get my head around this concept when you would have this intersection where two spouses would in fact have a claim," Krog said.
De Jong said the law was drafted to include every possible circumstance — including one involving two people unwittingly involved in "overlapping" relationships.
"As distasteful or tawdry as it may seem, the possibility that an individual or two individuals might find themselves in this situation requires, we believe, the inclusion of the provision," de Jong said. (Greg: Bigamy a crime ppl snicker at.)
Duncan said it was clear the legislature intended to provide for people who were in a "marriage-like relationship" with someone who was also married at the time of their death.
Sabrina Widner still plans to challenge the validity of the spousal provisions of the law, because her lawyers claim it would appear to conflict with the criminal law against polygamy.
In the meantime, Duncan found Boughton is entitled to half of what can be found of Widner's estate — which appears to be about $150,000.
"Ms. Widner understandably resents her husband's duplicity in forming a relationship with Ms. Boughton, having children with her and supporting a separate, secret household," Duncan wrote.
"The resulting amount is to be divided equally between the two surviving spouses."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/hells-angel-killing-spouses-estate-1.5934181 (Greg: Hey neat a story about a dead HA guy ends with 81 in the url.)
Secret family and wife battle in court over dead Hells Angels prospect's assets
Justice Jennifer Duncan said that Michael Widner “left a complicated legacy” when he was killed in March 2017, with two women claiming to be his spouse, each with two children and each claiming a right to his assets.
Author of the article:Kim Bolan
Publishing date:Mar 02, 2021 • 1 day ago • 3 minute read • comment bubble12 Comments
Michael Gregory Widner
Michael Gregory Widner PHOTO BY SOOKE RCMP /PNG
Article content
The girlfriend of a Hells Angels prospect murdered in 2017 qualifies as a spouse even though he was still married and also living with his wife at the time, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled.
Justice Jennifer Duncan said that Michael Widner “left a complicated legacy” when he was killed in March 2017 — two women claiming to be his spouse, each with two children and each claiming a right to his assets.
Sabrina Widner married Michael at a destination wedding in Mexico in 2008, attended by high-profile Hells Angel Bob Green, himself murdered years later. Their kids were born in 2005 and 2006.
Sara Boughton hooked up with Michael in 2009. He promised her he was going to leave his wife though he never did. They also had two children, in 2014 and 2015.
While Boughton knew of Widner, Widner only learned of her husband’s “secret household” after his death, Duncan said.
During her marriage, Widner was listed as the sole owner of three Sooke properties that she said her husband had no interest in.
But Boughton sued Widner, saying Michael “told her many times over the course of their relationship that he paid for several properties which were registered in his wife’s name.”
She asked the court to declare that his estate should include “half of the value of the property held in Ms. Widner’s name” including the proceeds from one house that was sold.
Duncan ruled that both women qualified as the dead biker’s spouses, so both should be entitled to half his estate. And she agreed with Boughton that the estate should include some of the cash that the late Hells Angel had contributed to his wife’s mortgages over the years.
She ordered Widner to pay $150,000, plus interest, into the estate, which will be split between the two families.
Michael was a 39-year-old prospect with the Nanaimo Hells Angels when his body was found near Port Renfrew four years ago. His murder remains unsolved.
“The deceased was able to maintain two separate households because he told Ms. Widner he was working part of the week on the other side of Vancouver Island from the Widner household, when he was actually spending time with Ms. Boughton,” Duncan said. “The deceased kept up a regular schedule, alternating between the two households.”
Michael Widner’s parents testified that they knew about Boughton and the second family but never told his wife or the older children. None of Michael’s siblings knew of Boughton and the younger kids, who were living in a rented house in Shawnigan when he was killed.
His mother, Reta Acorn, testified that her son was involved in cocaine deals with Green, the Hells Angel killed in 2016, and that he paid for the Sooke properties with the proceeds from the drug trade.
“Ms. Acorn said her son was afraid of civil forfeiture, so he put everything in Ms. Widner’s name, although she conceded that she never saw any purchase or financing documents for the properties,” Duncan said, though she later rejected Acorn’s testimony as unreliable.
Widner testified that she was unaware her husband was involved in any illegal activity or in the Hells Angels.
She “said the deceased worked at a variety of enterprises, including fishing charters, cutting and delivering wood, and working with bailiffs to buy closed businesses and then selling the contents.”
He later rented out a workshop at one of the Sooke properties “for a legal medical-marijuana grow operation,” Widner said.
Duncan heard that Rick Alexander, the president of the Devil’s Army biker club, was also involved in the pot operation. Alexander is awaiting trial on a first-degree murder charge.
Widner said that after her husband’s body was found, “she met a man called Shawn in a parking lot with another individual.”
“They talked to her about Mike’s affiliation with the Hells Angels and how he was going through the program’ and they wanted to `vest’ his casket. If she allowed them to do that, the Hells Angels would pay for the funeral,” Duncan said. “Ms. Widner told them she would do her own thing but they could attend the service.”
kbo...@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/kbolan
Blog: https://vancouversun.com/tag/real-scoop/
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/secret-family-and-wife-battle-in-court-over-dead-hells-angels-prospects-assets
Since the dead prospects money comes from selling illegal drugs it should all be seized for civil forfiture.
https://groups.google.com/g/van.general/c/JG_RzjoJO5g/m/8n_X4PwmAgAJ
https://groups.google.com/g/van.general/c/Me4f7Nt9swE/m/w8XqAvdJCQAJ
Hell's Angels To Have Memorial Run For Dead Prospect
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Greg Carr
Mar 31, 2017, 5:00:18 PM
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B.C.’s anti-gang police say that up to 200 people, including full-patch Hells Angels members, could ride on Vancouver Island this weekend in honour of a prospect murdered earlier this month.
Sooke man Michael Gregory Widner, 39, went missing earlier this month, and his remains were discovered days later along the Pacific Marine route near Port Renfrew.
RCMP later confirmed that Widner had known connections to the motorcycle gang and that his death was being investigated as a homicide.
B.C.’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit says the memorial ride is expected to take place Saturday afternoon.
Riders will start in Nanaimo and end up at a known Hells Angels clubhouse on Spencer Road in Langford.
CFSEU-BC says activity at the home has been quiet recently, but it’s still considered a gang lair.
Rides like this are as much about reminding the public and rivals that the gang is around as they are about paying respects to the deceased, according to CFSEU-BC.
They say Mounties and gang unit members will monitor the ride from start to finish, ensuring public safety.
Motorists travelling on the Island Highway should expect delays Saturday afternoon due to the ride, CFSEU-BC said.
Vancouver Island’s Integrated Major Crime Unit is leading the homicide investigation into Widner’s death, and is asking anyone with information to call them at 250-380-6211 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
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The man reported missing in Sooke last week is a prospect for the Nanaimo chapter of the Hells Angels biker gang, sources told Postmedia News on Monday.
Michael Gregory Widner, 39, was last seen March 8 in Sooke and was reported missing the following day.
His wife posted a message on Facebook over the weekend saying police had since told her that Widner’s body had been found.
“It is with a broken heart and overwhelming sadness I share that the police have informed me that my husbands body has been found,” she wrote in a comment that has since been made private. “I am with our children holding them tight and keeping them safe and removed from all the attention. His children know that he is in heaven with his brother Steve and at peace.”
Neither Sooke RCMP nor E Division headquarters responded to requests for information Monday about the status of the case and whether it was now a murder investigation.
Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello told Postmedia News that Widner was a prospect and that his body had been found Sunday.
Earlier, Sooke Staff Sergeant Jeff McArthur said in a news release that Widner’s vehicle, a 2003 black Volkswagen Golf, was found abandoned at Poirier Lake, in William Edmonds Park in Sooke.
Widner has no criminal record in B.C., according to the online court database.
But he was the subject of a suit by the B.C. Civil Forfeiture director in 2012 after being stopped by Sooke RCMP a year earlier with $4,980 cash, 25 grams of marijuana, a hunting knife and four cellphones in his vehicle.
“Mr. Widner either directly participated in the selling of illegal drugs or obtained the money directly or indirectly from the sellers of illegal drugs,” the suit alleged.
Widner later agreed to forfeit the money, though most was sent to his lawyer to cover his bill.
Widner’s isn’t the only recent missing person case linked to the Hells Angels.
Surrey RCMP is trying to locate Rickey Sandor Mandi, a former prospect for the Vancouver chapter of the Hells Angels.
Mandi was last seen on January 27th, near 96th Avenue and King George Boulevard in Surrey, Sgt. Alana Dunlop said Monday.
Originally a relative reported Mandi missing to Chilliwack RCMP and said he hadn’t been seen since New Year’s Eve.
But given that Mandi is known to frequent Surrey and Langley, Surrey Mounties made inquiries and learned of the sighting in late January, Dunlop said.
In 2004, Mandi was sentenced to more than six years in jail for a violent assault and kidnapping.
He later told the parole board he wanted to change his life and went on to work with people struggling with addiction.
However he left the job a few years ago and appeared to be dealing with his own addiction troubles.
Last September he posted on his Facebook page that he was coming off “a four-year brutal relapse.”
He said he had got clean again “like a Phoenix raising out from the ashes of a long period of my life filled with painful memories, of heartaches and disappointments.”
Ciarniello, who was in the same Hells Angels chapter as Mandi, said he wasn’t aware the former prospect was missing.
“I haven’t seen Mandi in 10 years or so,” Ciarniello said.
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HAMC Nanaimo Propect Found Dead. Former Hell's Angel Prospect Rick Mandi Missing.
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Greg Carr
Mar 13, 2017, 7:30:05 PM
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The man reported missing in Sooke last week is a prospect for the Nanaimo chapter of the Hells Angels biker gang, sources told Postmedia News on Monday.
Michael Gregory Widner, 39, was last seen March 8 in Sooke and was reported missing the following day.
His wife posted a message on Facebook over the weekend saying police had since told her that Widner’s body had been found.
“It is with a broken heart and overwhelming sadness I share that the police have informed me that my husbands body has been found,” she wrote in a comment that has since been made private. “I am with our children holding them tight and keeping them safe and removed from all the attention. His children know that he is in heaven with his brother Steve and at peace.”
Neither Sooke RCMP nor E Division headquarters responded to requests for information Monday about the status of the case and whether it was now a murder investigation.
Hells Angels spokesman Rick Ciarniello told Postmedia News that Widner was a prospect and that his body had been found Sunday.
Earlier, Sooke Staff Sergeant Jeff McArthur said in a news release that Widner’s vehicle, a 2003 black Volkswagen Golf, was found abandoned at Poirier Lake, in William Edmonds Park in Sooke.
Widner has no criminal record in B.C., according to the online court database.
But he was the subject of a suit by the B.C. Civil Forfeiture director in 2012 after being stopped by Sooke RCMP a year earlier with $4,980 cash, 25 grams of marijuana, a hunting knife and four cellphones in his vehicle.
“Mr. Widner either directly participated in the selling of illegal drugs or obtained the money directly or indirectly from the sellers of illegal drugs,” the suit alleged.
Widner later agreed to forfeit the money, though most was sent to his lawyer to cover his bill.
Widner’s isn’t the only recent missing person case linked to the Hells Angels.
Surrey RCMP is trying to locate Rickey Sandor Mandi, a former prospect for the Vancouver chapter of the Hells Angels.
Mandi was last seen on January 27th, near 96th Avenue and King George Boulevard in Surrey, Sgt. Alana Dunlop said Monday.
Originally a relative reported Mandi missing to Chilliwack RCMP and said he hadn’t been seen since New Year’s Eve.
But given that Mandi is known to frequent Surrey and Langley, Surrey Mounties made inquiries and learned of the sighting in late January, Dunlop said.
In 2004, Mandi was sentenced to more than six years in jail for a violent assault and kidnapping.
He later told the parole board he wanted to change his life and went on to work with people struggling with addiction.
However he left the job a few years ago and appeared to be dealing with his own addiction troubles.
Last September he posted on his Facebook page that he was coming off “a four-year brutal relapse.”
He said he had got clean again “like a Phoenix raising out from the ashes of a long period of my life filled with painful memories, of heartaches and disappointments.”
Ciarniello, who was in the same Hells Angels chapter as Mandi, said he wasn’t aware the former prospect was missing.
“I haven’t seen Mandi in 10 years or so,” Ciarniello said.
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A former prospect of the Hells Angels biker club says today's young gangsters should follow his path -- hit bottom in prison and build their life back up, free of crime.
Rick Mandi said he lived a good life as a Hells Angels prospect -- one step short of a full patch member -- because he was a big guy willing to throw his weight around.
"I was involved in kidnapping, extortion, drug debts," said Mandi in an interview with CTV News.
"I was in the mindframe that I was untouchable, that I was smarter than everybody," said Mandi, who now works to rehabilitate chronic offenders.
Mandi wouldn't talk specifically about his exploits with the bikers, but they ended with a botched kidnapping -- and he found guilty in 2003 in BC Supreme Court, and sent to prison for five years.
At first, gang affiliations mattered in jail, he said -- but then things changed.
"I ran out of money, I ran out of dope, and I ran out of friends," he said. "When you're in that place a lot of people turn on you."
It was jail that allowed him to isolate himself from gang connections and turn his life around, he said, adding that today's gangsters need the same tough treatment.
When he got out of jail, the Angels offered him a chance to rejoin the gang, but he said he turned it away in favour of working for a living.
When Mandi was released, he joined Vision Quest Recovery Society, a rehabilitation centre for chronic offenders, run by an old friend, Jim O'Rourke.
"We don't give up on anyone," said O'Rourke. "We give up on them when they're dead."
O'Rourke says the people at his society are often into organized crime -- but that can be a death sentence.
"There's no old gangsters," he said. "Ever noticed that? Their retirement plan is the thirty-cent solution. If you want to live long and prosper you have to get out of gang life."
Now, Mandi is staff at Vision Quest and runs his own recovery house. If anyone there is thinking of returning to the gang lifestyle, he has one message.
"I would say take a look at where you're going -- it's just a matter of time. Jails, institutions, death," he said. "Sooner or later it's your turn."
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Judge acquits accused kidnapper
Man charged in connection with Hells Angels-linked abduction and
torture goes free.
VANCOUVER SUN-Friday-January 7/05.
VANCOUVER- Hells Angels hangaround Danny Anderson was acquitted
Thursday of all charges relating to the kidnapping, beating and
extortion of Langley gambler and small-time drug dealer Kirk Cooley.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein ruled that while some
of the evidence against Anderson was believable, it was not reliable.
The three major witnesses against Anderson - his former Hells Angel
companion and club prospect Chad Proctor, Cooley, and Cooley's partner
in crime, Robert Nicholson -gave their evidence in exchange for being
placed in the witness protection program. They have been given new
identities and moved to locations outside of the Lower Mainland for
their safety.
Outside court, Crown counsel Anne Clark said the Crown has 30 days to
consider an appeal.
Asked if she was disappointed at the verdict, Clark replied: "It's not
my job to be disappointed. It's a fact-driven decision."
Anderson said only: "I've got no comment."
His father, who attended every day of the trial, also refused to
comment, but an unidentified woman who was with them called out she
was "delighted" as the trio left the Robson Street courthouse in a
snowstorm.
Two other men convicted in connection with Cooley's kidnapping are now
in prison.
Hells Angels prospect Rick Mandi is serving six years, while Ladner
resident and bookmaker Daniel Laybourn is serving a lesser sentence
after pleading guilty.
The case, which provoked the largest police operation in B.C. against
the Hells Angels motorcycle club, began in November 2001 when Cooley
and Nicholson stole eight kilograms of marijuana from the home of one
of Cooley's friends while the friend was away.
At the time, Cooley had run up almost $100,000 in gambling debts and
was being pursued by bookies -among them Laybourn -for payment.
According to evidence, the marijuana belonged to Hells Angel member
Hal Porteous.
A week after the theft a group of Hells Angels led by Mandi arrived at
Cooley's townhouse, apparently intent on kidnapping him. But Cooley
was with his children and Nicholson at the time, so arrangements were
made for both parties to meet the next day in the Willowbrook Mall.
Again the intent was to kidnap Cooley but he managed to escape Mandi's
crew after he called the RCMP.
On Nov. 29 -against the advice of Langley RCMP officers -Cooley went
to a house in the 6600-block of Ladner Trunk Road with Laybourn, who
had enticed him there on the pretext of showing him a possible site
for a marijuana-grow operation.
Once inside, he found Mandi and a large, thick-set male he identified
as Anderson waiting for him.
He said he was beaten and tortured, had a hood placed over his head
and was bound with zip-straps and duct tape.
He was then dumped into a car that the Crown alleged was driven by
Anderson.
However, he managed to kick open the trunk and escape from the car in
Surrey.
While police were engaged in investigating the kidnapping, Delta
officers began receiving anonymous e-mails originating from a
Coquitlam library providing them with information concerning Mandi's
part.
They traced the e-mails to Proctor, who was told that his part in
providing information to police would eventually come out in court.
Fearing for his life, Proctor agreed to testify provided he was placed
in witness protection. He had sent the information because he hated
Mandi and wanted to see him kicked out of the Hells Angels.
The information was enough for Delta police to obtain a search warrant
and the Hells Angels clubhouse in Coquitlam was raided by officers,
who seized records and computers.
In her decision, Stromberg-Stein said that while Proctor's evidence
was believ-
able, it was not reliable because there was no corroborating evidence
to back up the story of Anderson's part in the affair.
And while Anderson was probably involved, probability was not enough
to justify a guilty verdict, she said.
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