Paradis, Peter 1964-

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PARADIS, Peter 1964-

PERSONAL: Born 1964, in Canada; married; wife's name Brigitte; children: one son.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., 2 Bloor St. E, 20th Fl., Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8, Canada.

CAREER: Gang member, crime figure, participant in a witness protection program.

WRITINGS:

(With John Kal) Nasty Business: One Biker Gang'sBloody War against the Hell's Angels (memoir), HarperCollins (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Peter Paradis entered a witness protection program after testifying against fellow gang members in 2000. From that point forward, his life was very different from the one he describes in his memoir, Nasty Business: One Biker Gang's Bloody War against the Hell's Angels.

Paradis had a difficult childhood. His father was abusive and alcoholic, and his mother, with whom he remains close, was the provider. He left home in his teen years, first supporting himself by dancing nude in Montreal gay clubs. It was during this period that he met cocaine dealer Pierre "Ti-Bum" Beauchamp, who influenced Paradis to jump from selling hash in pool halls to dealing the high-end drug. He made a fortune in Montreal's Verdun district, but did something dealers know better than to do; he was using his own product.

In 1994, when Paradis was at a low point, Beauchamp introduced him to Renaud Jomphe, a founder of the Rock Machine, a gang based in Montreal and Quebec City, that was fighting the Hell's Angels for control of the drug trade. Jomphe became Paradis's mentor, one he lost when in 1996 the older man was gunned down in a Montreal restaurant with Paradis beside him.

Over a period of seven years, 170 people were killed in ambushes, bombings, and other mayhem initiated by the two gangs. The conflict extended into the Montreal prison, where inmates made liquor, had weapons, smuggled drugs wrapped in plastic via body cavities, and made bigger profits than were possible on the street.

In writing of Paradis's early years of dealing, Nelson Wyatt explained for the Canadian Press Online that he was a talented dope dealer, "his avarice and street smarts fueling bigger and bigger deals and bringing him more and more money. Excessive profits led to an excessive lifestyle. A lot of cocaine went up his own nose, and he writes of bedding a steady stream of prostitutes and strippers in many a rowdy escapade. Ironically, involvement with the Rock Machine brought more discipline to his life. He consumed less dope and rose to be a high-ranking and respected member of the gang in one of their key territories—which also later became one of the biker war's main battlegrounds."

In 1998, Paradis was shot four times through the window of his vehicle and spent eight days in the hospital. In 1999, Paradis's brother Robert was shot as he attempted to collect a drug debt, and Paradis made the decision to leave Verdun. He rented apartments for himself and Robert's family in Vanier, near Ottawa, Ontario, where he saw a need. He had cocaine sent from Montreal and sold it to neighbors, earning a small profit. In September of that year, Paradis and other members of the Rock Machine were arrested for drug trafficking. He was eventually released on bail and returned to Montreal.

Globe and Mail reviewer Terry Ott wrote that the Hell's Angels "were ultimately to eke out a victory in the war, and Paradis himself survived a few bullet holes for his trouble, eventually winding up so broke that he took to shoplifting meat from his local supermarket." Paradis admits in the book, "My biggest fear wasn't being assassinated by the Hell's Angels, but being caught and seeing the next day's jeering headline, 'Full-patch biker caught shoplifting $10 in beef.' The shame would have tortured me."

Paradis pleaded guilty and testified against the others. He received a twelve-year sentence, but served only a short time, being released in the spring of 2002. The former drug dealer and his family were relocated and assigned aliases. Paradis went from making a thousand dollars a day to earning less than three hundred dollars a week. For the first time in his life, he had a bank account and a regular job. But he still notices when a minivan passes him, the type of vehicle the Hell's Angels preferred to steal and use in a hit.

Globe and Mail contributor Tu Thanh Ha interviewed Paradis by telephone from an undisclosed location in December, 2002. Paradis said, "I've never felt better in my life. I've got peace of mind. I'm a role model for my son. . . . This is going to be the best Christmas I'll ever have."

Quill & Quire critic Adair Brouwer called Nasty Business a "no-nonsense tale, full of insider details both shocking and mundane. . . . Lost boys, drugs, gangs: this is an always-old and always-new story, told here as only a survivor could."