$100,000 reward offered for accused B.C. gang leader

VANCOUVER• It has been eight years since UN gang boss Conor D’Monte was charged with murder and conspiracy for allegedly hunting rival members of the Red Scorpion gang.

Since then, a dozen members and associates of his violent criminal organization have been convicted of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and other charges.

But police in British Columbia are still hunting for D’Monte — the Vancouver man they believe was directing the violent rampage that resulted in dozens of shootings, injuries and deaths.

On Wednesday, a $100,000 reward was offered for the arrest of the fugitive leader.

“Conor D’Monte and his fellow gang members are responsible for an unprecedented level of brazen gang violence in the history of British Columbia. Police will not rest until we have brought all those responsible to justice,” Trent Rolfe, chief officer of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, said at a Surrey news conference.

Rolfe noted that D’Monte took over leadership of the UN gang when its founder, Clay Roueche, was jailed in Washington state in 2008.

“In that role, we believe Conor D’Monte was responsible for planning and ordering the murders of rival gang members,” he said.

Roueche later pleaded guilty in Seattle to drug smuggling and money laundering and was handed a 30-year sentence.

D’Monte was charged in January 2011 with first-degree murder for the February 2009 slaying in Langley of Red Scorpion gangster Kevin LeClair. He is also charged with conspiracy to kill the Bacon brothers and other RS gangsters.

“Before investigators could arrest D’Monte, he fled Canada and has led investigators on an international manhunt,” Rolfe said.

He noted that UN gang hit man Cory Vallee was recently convicted of the LeClair murder and the conspiracy, and sentenced to two life terms with no chance of parole for 25 years.

In an attempt to locate D’Monte, police in B.C. have partnered with the Bolo Program, which started in Ontario last year to conduct national publicity campaigns about the most-wanted criminals in Canada.

The reward is being put up by Crime Stoppers and Bolo, which is run by a non-profit foundation. Rolfe said police are hoping the reward will encourage someone with inside knowledge of D’Monte’s whereabouts to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

He said investigators are not looking for new witnesses as they have all the evidence they need for trial. They just want to find D’Monte.

Bolo program spokesman Maxime Langlois said the D’Monte campaign is the organization’s first in B.C.

“Over the next few weeks, millions of Canadians will come across the D’Monte most-wanted notice,” Langlois said.

Crime Stoppers executive director Linda Annis said the reward is the largest her group has ever offered.

Annis, who is also a Surrey city councillor, said she understands people who have information about D’Monte “might have some reservations” about coming forward. “With Crime Stoppers, you can anonymously call us,” she said.

Rolfe said that even 10 years after the height of the gang war between the UN and the Red Scorpions, the UN “remains a presence in the Lower Mainland gang landscape.”

He said the public should never underestimate the value of the information they possess. “The eyes of the police are few, the eyes of the public are many. We need those people who have info to tell us where Conor D’Monte is so we can return him to justice and return him to Canada,” Rolfe said.