HELLS ANGEL WEDS
Annie Arbic arrives with Hells Angels member Martin Robert in a convertible Cadillac for their wedding in downtown Montreal on Saturday, as police keep watch
The wedding of a full-patch member of the Hells Angels and the daughter of the former head of a drug-trafficking network drew members of organized crime to downtown Montreal on Saturday. Martin Robert, 44, and Annie Arbic, 32, were married at Montreal’s Windsor Ballrooms on Peel Street. According to the Journal de Montréal, among the nearly 300 invitees were many members of the different Hells Angels branches and people with ties to the Montreal Mafia and Rizzuto clan. As one former RCMP intelligence analyst put it on Twitter, the “arrogance” of holding the wedding in downtown Montreal raises questions about the gang’s increasing “feeling of invincibility.” Police officers could be seen parked across the street and stationed near the entrance on Saturday, taking photos and videos to document everyone in attendance. Being driven in a mix of buses, limousines and SUVs, guests started arriving at the downtown ballroom around 4:45 p.m. Some hid their faces from news and police photographers, while others welcomed the attention. At least one proudly wore a gold Hells Angels pendant around his neck. Among the guests was alleged Hells Angels leader Salvatore Cazzetta. The bridal party wore black leather jackets over their dresses with the words “Ride or Die” painted on the back. The bride and groom arrived in a vintage blue Cadillac with empty beer cans dangling from the back and a sign that read “Going to get married again!” tied to the licence plate. The couple, both incarcerated for serious crimes at different points throughout their relationship, have been together for more than a decade. Robert, a member of the Hells Angels’ Montreal chapter, has a criminal record that includes convictions for arson, drug possession, assault and dangerous driving. He went on the lam in 2009 after being targeted in Operation SharQc, an investigation that led to almost every member of the Hells Angels based in Quebec being arrested on drug trafficking, murder, and conspiracy charges stemming from the gang’s bloody war with rivals between 1994 and 2002. Nicknamed Marty or Capo, Robert was listed as one of Quebec’s 10 most-wanted criminals while on the run. He was finally arrested in a Mexican nightclub in early 2010 and has been out of prison since 2015, after serving five years related to the SharQc charges. Arbic is the daughter of Sharon Simon, a notorious drug trafficker dubbed the “Queen of Kanesatake.” She was imprisoned in 2008, when she was 22 years old, for drug trafficking and money laundering. She had been arrested in Project Cleopatra, an RCMP-led investigation that was centred on her mother. The mother and daughter were arrested at the same time in 2006. Robert and Arbic’s longtime relationship has been documented in Parole Board of Canada decisions through the years. Though a model inmate, Arbic was denied parole on at least two occasions, in part due to her relationship with Robert. In 2009, the parole board found Arbic’s relationship with him to be “very worrying” and questioned how she would be able to live with Robert, without him “having an impact” on her choices. In 2010, Arbic again was denied parole, after acknowledging she planned to continue her relationship with Robert, who was facing several murder charges following Operation SharQc. She also had several unescorted leave requests denied while Robert was on the lam — authorities feared she would try to flee the country to join him in hiding. Guest arrested: A man reported to have been a guest at the wedding was arrested around 2:15 a.m. Sunday at Drummont and Sherbrooke Sts. in a state of inebriation. He was released with a promise to appear in court to be charged with assault of a police officer. The 50-year-old man was aggressive and uncooperative toward police officers, said Benoît Boisselle of the Montreal police.