Montreal Port drug Kingpin Gerald Matticks Dies at 83
MONTREAL – Gerald Matticks, a former truck hijacker who rose to become a central figure in Montreal’s drug trade by controlling access through the city’s port, has died at age 83. His death marks the end of an era for organized crime in quebec, a period he profoundly shaped through alliances with the Mafia and the Hells Angels.
Matticks first gained notoriety in the 1980s when he was accused of running a sophisticated truck hijacking operation. Though, the case was dismissed before trial, and four police investigators were subsequently charged with perjury, fabricating evidence, and obstructing justice – though they were acquitted in 1996.The fallout from the accusations led to a major inquiry and overhaul of Quebec’s justice system.
The failed prosecution seemingly emboldened Matticks, who leveraged his connections to infiltrate the highest levels of organized crime. As Julian Sher, director of the documentary Kings of Coke and author of three books on organized crime, observed, Matticks became so powerful that Hells Angels leader Maurice (Mom) Boucher and Italian Mafia godfather Vito Rizzuto were “forced to deal with him as he controls the port they need for the massive amount of drugs they are bringing in.”
Operation Springtime in 2001 revealed Matticks had become the primary supplier of hashish and a key facilitator of cocaine shipments for the Nomads, an elite hells Angels chapter. Police surveillance identified him as “Boeuf” in the bikers’ computer banking records, a reference to his meat business. He even co-signed the mortgage on maurice Boucher’s estate in Contrecoeur, Que., 45 kilometres northeast of Montreal, demonstrating the depth of their relationship.
Facing potential extradition to the U.S. and a harsher sentence, Matticks pleaded guilty in 2002 to being a major drug supplier to the Hells Angels and received a 12-year sentence. At his 2009 parole hearing, he openly acknowledged his central role, stating, “I was the big guy in there. Without me,it wouldn’t have happened. I was the key man.”
Matticks spent his final years quietly at his farm in La Prairie,south of Montreal,following the death of his wife,Christina,in 2016. He is survived by his children and grandchildren.
