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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, A pr il 29 ,2 02 1 | 10 It's a scene that had all the makings of a dramatic movie or television show: an outlaw mo- torcycle gang, its illicit club- house where drug deals and more went down, a murder, the threat of a turf war, and undercover po- lice working hard to bring the il- legal activity to justice without blowing their cover. This was exactly where now- retired OPP inspector Karen Moffatt found herself in 1987, in- filtrating the Para-Dice Riders (PDR) in Burlington, alongside her female partner, both among the first women to be trained for such undercover work in Onta- rio. "Not only did she break that glass ceiling for women, but she really set the bar high for offi- cers, especially working in a co- vert nature," said Stephen Metel- sky, a former Halton police ser- geant-turned criminology/orga- nized crime professor who recently released a book, aptly named "Undercover," that delves into Moffatt's story and more. "It really is like casting a mov- ie because an undercover play is one big acting job. The only dif- ference is, you have one shot to do it." The bikers had established a clubhouse the year prior in the then-rural area of Appleby Line and Dundas Street, said Metel- sky. But to get into the clubhouse, the women had to first develop the trust of the gang members in the hopes of receiving an invita- tion behind their exclusive closed doors. "We were strategically as- signed to some local bars where the organized crime members hung out," said Moffatt, recalling that the establishments were lo- cated in Burlington, Oakville and Acton. "We were there mingling and networking, ultimately to build trust and do business with them. We started by identifying the people who were associated with the gangs. It was these con- tacts that led us into the Para- Dice Riders clubhouse, once we got to know them." For this undertaking, dubbed Project Lion, Moffatt went by the name of Karen Wolf, a flight at- tendant for a European airline who spoke fluent German -- a story that lined up with her life before policing. She and her partner, who can't be named as she still works in a high-profile job, worked hard to fit into the party scene, making sure they blended in seamlessly with the right lingo, demeanour and acid-wash clothing that was popular at the time. Thanks to their undercover training, they had many unique but crucial skills to complete the project safely, such as how to make it appear they were doing cocaine without actually ingest- ing any. AN INVITATION TO THE BIKER CLUBHOUSE Moffatt recalls the nervous- ness she and her partner felt the first time they were invited back to the clubhouse, which doubled as an "after-hours booze can" where people could illegally pur- chase alcohol and drugs once the bars closed at 1 a.m. "We didn't know what to ex- pect. The first surprise was the big steel door with a little peep- hole in it, and a big, burly mem- ber of the PDR at the door check- ing people," she said, noting she and her partner weren't carrying any weapons to protect them- selves, and nobody had cell- phones back then. "We were also caught off- guard by what appeared to be a radar detector sitting at the top of the door. We figured out later on it was to see if anyone was wired, because if we were, the frequency would be going out to the surveil- lance team. We definitely had a sigh of relief that we were not wearing a wire that night." As one may expect, the ladies encountered several other fear- inducing moments during their tenure undercover, like the time their true identities was almost revealed when Moffatt's partner was recognized by an old class- mate at a local bar, who marched right up and asked her, "Are you still a cop?" "Both of us almost buckled at the knees," said Moffatt. "Luckily the music was loud, and we spoke in close proximity and said, 'It's kind of loud in here. Let's go out- side to talk.' We went outside and handed him off to our surveil- lance team and crime unit to ex- plain to him what was up." Then there was the time that Sammy, one of the drug dealers associated with the gang, paid an unexpected visit to the apart- ment they were renting near Plains Road. The women were supposed to be meeting him later that evening to purchase some drugs. "We were sitting there in sweat pants, doing our notes, when the surveillance team contacted us and said, 'I think Sammy is com- ing up to the apartment,'" said Moffatt. "We had one minute's notice to get rid of our police notebooks, so we put them in the oven and sat down on the sofa to watch TV. The next thing we knew, there was a knock at our door." While Sammy was very cau- tious and distrustful of people, the scene of two young ladies en- joying the Academy Awards was enough to put him at ease. "He sat at our dining room ta- ble and we did the deal there," said Moffatt, noting the entire thing was captured by a hidden video camera -- footage that would be crucial later in court. BRUTAL MURDER RAISES QUESTION OF TURF WAR Towards the end of the project, the ultimate curveball came Pro- ject Lion's way when one of PDR's full-patch members was mur- dered while doing a drug deal. According to Metelsky, his stabbed body was found in the back seat of a burning station wagon on the side of the QEW in Niagara. "After the homicide we didn't know what to expect," said Mof- fatt. "Perhaps there's going to be a turf war. Perhaps there's going to be revenge for his death. What was really going to happen in Halton? It (the murder) was al- ways in the back of my mind." While there was talk of pulling the women from the project, it was ultimately decided that they should stay to continue gathering evidence, and hopefully informa- tion about the murder. "Two to three days after the death we went back to the club- house and bestowed our condo- lences to the PDR members, be- cause that's what you would nor- mally do," said Moffatt. "In that, we would weave in some ques- tions, like who would have done this to him? How did that happen? For us, it was trying to seek out some more intelligence that per- haps we didn't have." Fortunately Moffatt and her partner -- who knew each other before the undercover job and re- main friends to this day -- stayed safe and made it to the end of the project: May 26, 1987, the day all suspects were taken down by Hal- ton command. This included ar- rests of the PDR's president, vice- president, full-patch members and associates of the group, effec- tively dismantling the hierarchy of the club, said Metelsky. "By then, we had purchased numerous amounts of illegal al- cohol and drugs from multiple members of the PDR, and that's really what we were there to achieve," said Moffatt, noting they later learned that two of the suspects were carrying weapons while doing drug deals with her and her partner. "We had lots of evidence that could go to prosecution and mul- tiple suspects. I hope the results we were able to get out of this pro- ject really assisted in keeping Halton a safer place to live." For further details on Metel- sky's book visit underworldsto- ries.com. BEHIND THE CRIMES: HOW TWO UNDERCOVER POLICE WOMEN TOOK DOWN A BIKER GANG Hamilton Spectator file photo CRIME MELANIE HENNESSEY mhennessey@metroland.com Top: The Para-Dice Riders were an exclusive closed doors biker gang in the '80s. Above: Now-retired OPP inspector Karen Moffatt, who worked with a female partner in the 1980s to infiltrate the Para Dice Riders. Karen Moffatt photo