Gerald Matticks is the closest thing organized crime has to a Robin Hood
figure. For years, Matticks was the king of the Montreal port, an avuncular
gangster and a leader of the West End Gang who earned his riches by hijacking
trucks and ensuring narcotics coming through the docks were delivered to
other mobsters. On the other hand, he is beloved in his old neighborhood
for his generosity at Christmas and helping people in need.
Matticks was one of fourteen children in west-end Montreal.
Born into a poor, large family
Born on July 4, 1940, Matticks was the youngest of 14 children in a
hardscrabble Irish family living in Goose Village, located in west-end Montreal.
Gerald left school at age 12 and is believed to be illiterate. He went
to work at the abattoirs and in construction. Married at age 17, he
was a father of four by the time he was 21.
At some point early on, though, Matticks fell in with the West End Gang,
a loose affiliation of thieves, truck hijackers and stevedores. In time,
they controlled Montreal's port. As far back as the 1940s, mobsters
liked Montreal because its port was a handy entry point for drugs arriving
from all over the world. In order for Italian organized crime or bikers
to ensure their drug shipments arrived safely in Montreal, they had to
cut a deal with the West End Gang which inevitably meant doing business
with Gerald Matticks. Matticks and his clan of operatives would ensure
that containers with drugs in them were put aside, the narcotics removed
and handed over to the mobsters who ordered them in the first place.
Hijacking trucks to smuggling drugs into Montreal's ports
Initially, Matticks made a name for himself in the '60s as a hijacker
of trucks, but in 1972, he and his brother were charged with attempting
to murder a man they thought was informing Montreal's ports police
about their activities. They were acquitted of the charges when witnesses
changed their stories.
Matticks would dress up as Santa and deliver presents to the poor children
in Montreal.
In the mid-'70s, Quebec established a commission to examine organized
crime in the province. In 1979, Gerald and two of his brothers appeared
to answer questions about truck hijackings. Gerald testified he was not
a criminal. Nevertheless, after the commission hearings, the brothers were
charged with conspiracy to commit theft, possession of stolen goods and
perjury. All were acquitted, although the brothers were named as heads
of a gang of hijackers in the commission's final report. In the late '80s,
Matticks was arrested again for stealing trucks, eventually pleading guilty
and being fined $10,000 and receiving a 90 day sentence – which
he served on weekends.
During the 1990s, though, the drug business through Montreal's ports
seemed to be Matticks' preoccupation. His son Donald and other members
of the West End Gang held important positions on the docks. Gerald was
soon known as "king of the ports". Matticks would pocket as
much as a 30% of the drugs coming off the boats. He also arranged
shipments of narcotics himself.
The size and amount of shipments was often staggering. In 1994, Gerald,
and his brother Richard, were arrested in connection with a shipment of
26.5 tonnes of hashish, worth $360-million. A year later, the judge threw
out the case because it seemed officers of the Surêté du Québec
had forged some evidence against the Matticks brothers.
The end of a lucrative career
But, he would not escape the arm of the law forever. Matticks befriended
a young thief by the name of Elias Lekkas in the mid-'90s who eventually
became his accountant and right-hand man, helping to arrange drug deals.
The deals were so plentiful that Matticks often had unsold quantities of
hash lying around, unable to get rid of it fast enough.
Matticks, now seventy, is not eligible for parole until 2008.
In time, though, Lekkas and Matticks became estranged. In 2001, Matticks
was arrested along with 120 Hell's Angels and drug dealers in the
Quebec police's decisive blow against the bikers. Initially, Matticks
seems to be a secondary player in the sweep. However, when Lekkas agreed
to turn informant, Matticks could not escape. Lekkas was able to link Matticks
to seven drug shipments of hash and cocaine worth $278-million in total – and
a street value of $2.1-billion. Donald Matticks, Gerald's son, was
also implicated.
Matticks plead guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. He
remains incarcerated at a penitentiary in Cowansville, Quebec.
