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Hitman: The Untold Story of Canada’s Deadliest Assassin
Not yet published
Expected 7 Apr 26The wild and gripping story of Yves “Apache” Trudeau. Ideal for true crime readers and fans of crime podcasts.
For Yves Trudeau, the blood was all business. An assassin for the Hells Angels in the ’70s and ’80s, Trudeau was known as Apache, the Mad Bumper and the Mad Bomber. As a contract killer, he did his job so well that the bikers sometimes lent him out to other organized-crime empires in Montreal, including the east-end French gangs led by the deadly Dubois brothers and the upstart Irish Mafia in the west end.
Yves Trudeau remains one of Canada’s most prolific serial killers. When he narrowly missed being assassinated because he was in rehab, he turned government informant and confessed to his crimes, which included killing forty-three people. But as a witness, Trudeau was a disaster. His testimony led to so many acquittals that prosecutors avoided him.
Award-winning writers Julian Sher and Lisa Fitterman tell the incredible story of how this assassin escaped the police and the justice system for over a decade. A compelling and revealing account of corruption, incompetence and murder, Hitman is based on extensive research and exclusive new interviews with police, lawyers and bikers who knew Yves “Apache” Trudeau.
For Yves Trudeau, the blood was all business. An assassin for the Hells Angels in the ’70s and ’80s, Trudeau was known as Apache, the Mad Bumper and the Mad Bomber. As a contract killer, he did his job so well that the bikers sometimes lent him out to other organized-crime empires in Montreal, including the east-end French gangs led by the deadly Dubois brothers and the upstart Irish Mafia in the west end.
Yves Trudeau remains one of Canada’s most prolific serial killers. When he narrowly missed being assassinated because he was in rehab, he turned government informant and confessed to his crimes, which included killing forty-three people. But as a witness, Trudeau was a disaster. His testimony led to so many acquittals that prosecutors avoided him.
Award-winning writers Julian Sher and Lisa Fitterman tell the incredible story of how this assassin escaped the police and the justice system for over a decade. A compelling and revealing account of corruption, incompetence and murder, Hitman is based on extensive research and exclusive new interviews with police, lawyers and bikers who knew Yves “Apache” Trudeau.
- GenresNonfiction
272 pages, Paperback
Expected publication April 7, 2026
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September 18, 2025True crime books are exceptionally chilling because the fact remains they are based on real events. Some books tower above the rest on the subject. There have been serial killer books in the past that you almost turn away from as you are reading, because they are so horrific and gruesome. You may feel the same urges as you read HITMAN:THE UNTOLD STORY OF CANADA’S DEADLIEST ASSASSIN. Julia Sher and Lisa Fitterman have created a classic crime story, about a man who was responsible for the death of 43 people. He killed without emotion, part of his job, and didn’t care who might have got caught in the crossfire. Yves (Apache) Trudeau was definitely a one-of-a-kind killer. Canada has not been known for a massive amount of serial killers, but the ones in our crime archives had been cold and calculating. Trudeau’s name can be added to that infamous list, and we learn in the book pretty well what made him tick.
He learned how to make bombs while working in factory. He moved into the world of biker gangs, first joining the gang known as the Popeyes. Not exactly the most intimidating name in the world, they were still all business when it came to being part of the drug trade and other illicit activities. The first kill-for-hire assignment went smoothly, and it let Trudeau know this was the sort of activity he could grow into, be good at it, and make money from it to help later totally support his cocaine habit.
He killed without conscious or remorse, often taking the bodies and throwing them into the river. No one suspected that he was the hitman, who was so proficient at his job. He even down the road killed people who had hired him in the past to kill. Now they were expendable, about to become a statistic in the long line of hits he carried out.
The authors do an excellent job of taking us right into the soul of Trudeau. One cannot say right into his heart, because one would question if he had one. There were sometimes ingenious methods of killing rivals and others, including bombs in televisions that were given as gifts. If there were family members who got in the way of the hits, or girlfriends that were also present, they likely didn’t make it out alive either.
But all good things come to an end. In 1985 he went to the police, and confessed his crimes so he could get protection, because the hunter was about to become the hunted, a bulls-eye painted on his back. He was protected and even got a new identity, paid for by turning against those who he worked for, making this a truly fascinating tale of making crime pay.
Trudeau died in 2008 of cancer, certainly a far cry from the kill machine he once was. This book definitely is compelling and riveting, showing us the dark world of biker gangs and those associated with it.
He learned how to make bombs while working in factory. He moved into the world of biker gangs, first joining the gang known as the Popeyes. Not exactly the most intimidating name in the world, they were still all business when it came to being part of the drug trade and other illicit activities. The first kill-for-hire assignment went smoothly, and it let Trudeau know this was the sort of activity he could grow into, be good at it, and make money from it to help later totally support his cocaine habit.
He killed without conscious or remorse, often taking the bodies and throwing them into the river. No one suspected that he was the hitman, who was so proficient at his job. He even down the road killed people who had hired him in the past to kill. Now they were expendable, about to become a statistic in the long line of hits he carried out.
The authors do an excellent job of taking us right into the soul of Trudeau. One cannot say right into his heart, because one would question if he had one. There were sometimes ingenious methods of killing rivals and others, including bombs in televisions that were given as gifts. If there were family members who got in the way of the hits, or girlfriends that were also present, they likely didn’t make it out alive either.
But all good things come to an end. In 1985 he went to the police, and confessed his crimes so he could get protection, because the hunter was about to become the hunted, a bulls-eye painted on his back. He was protected and even got a new identity, paid for by turning against those who he worked for, making this a truly fascinating tale of making crime pay.
Trudeau died in 2008 of cancer, certainly a far cry from the kill machine he once was. This book definitely is compelling and riveting, showing us the dark world of biker gangs and those associated with it.
April 20, 2025
Save your money. A large part of this book is a rehash, without attribution or citation, of Yves Lavigne's first book, subtitled
Taking Care Of Business
. Very little is new here. In many places he says things like "very little is known about Trudeau on this matter/in this regard."
He tries to link Trudeau to Mom Boucher, but offers nothing of substance in this regard, certainly no evidence that Trudeau and Boucher ever met. The only thing that Trudeau and Boucher have in common is that they once belonged to the same organisation.
He hilariously says that the Montreal Police are "overwhelmingly French." Wonder what he would say about the Préfecture de Police, RAID or GIGN?
Yves Lavigne, in his last book, subtitled At War , points out how white shirt house mice (i.e. police REMFs) like Guy Ouellette and Julian Fantino like to plant all kinds of fantasy stories to their unthinking stenographers in the media about "dangers" in order to keep their turf viable.
France never had anywhere near the problems with 1%ers that Canada and America did. There is a reason for this. France has had some incarnation of the Renseignements Généraux since the Third Republic. As a result, in 1940, the Préfecture de Police had a full list of all foreigners, and the crimes they committed. What is more, as demonstrated by Professor Jean-Marc Berlière, France has successfully undergone an Étatisation (federalisation) of police, which was complete in the 1960s. The police force for Paris is exactly the same police force for Marseilles and Lyon. As a result foreign bands of troublemakers are easier to track and neutralise in France.
In Canada, by contrast, white shirt house mice like Fantino and Ouellette seek first to preserve the existence of their podunk Roscoe P. Coltrance departments, which fractionates law enforcement and creates gaps where foreign malefactors can operate with ease.
Journalists that mindlessly repeat the Five O'Clock Follies of Ouellette and Fantino--as opposed to Yves Lavigne who calls for a RG/DST-style coordinated Jagdkommando against the 1%ers--merely perpetuate this problem.
He tries to link Trudeau to Mom Boucher, but offers nothing of substance in this regard, certainly no evidence that Trudeau and Boucher ever met. The only thing that Trudeau and Boucher have in common is that they once belonged to the same organisation.
He hilariously says that the Montreal Police are "overwhelmingly French." Wonder what he would say about the Préfecture de Police, RAID or GIGN?
Yves Lavigne, in his last book, subtitled At War , points out how white shirt house mice (i.e. police REMFs) like Guy Ouellette and Julian Fantino like to plant all kinds of fantasy stories to their unthinking stenographers in the media about "dangers" in order to keep their turf viable.
France never had anywhere near the problems with 1%ers that Canada and America did. There is a reason for this. France has had some incarnation of the Renseignements Généraux since the Third Republic. As a result, in 1940, the Préfecture de Police had a full list of all foreigners, and the crimes they committed. What is more, as demonstrated by Professor Jean-Marc Berlière, France has successfully undergone an Étatisation (federalisation) of police, which was complete in the 1960s. The police force for Paris is exactly the same police force for Marseilles and Lyon. As a result foreign bands of troublemakers are easier to track and neutralise in France.
In Canada, by contrast, white shirt house mice like Fantino and Ouellette seek first to preserve the existence of their podunk Roscoe P. Coltrance departments, which fractionates law enforcement and creates gaps where foreign malefactors can operate with ease.
Journalists that mindlessly repeat the Five O'Clock Follies of Ouellette and Fantino--as opposed to Yves Lavigne who calls for a RG/DST-style coordinated Jagdkommando against the 1%ers--merely perpetuate this problem.
October 26, 2025
Hells Angels Hitman Yves Trudeau admitted to killing 43 people with details on 40 additional murders and 15 attempted murders. He killed people by shootings, bombs, beatings or strangulation from 1973-1985 and received a deal by the Canadian government to plead guilty to 43 counts of manslaughter (instead of what it should have been- first degree murder).
He served less than 7 years in jail for killing 43 people (jail from 1985-1991, halfway house from 1991-1993, and released into the community in 1994 under a new name).
The government paid him $40,000 while he was in jail on top of $35 per week for incidentals and housed him in a special cell with perks like its own tv, phone and shower, and escorted leaves every 2 weeks..
It was very controversial because a cold blooded violent killer was given a deal that protected him and got off on an extremely light sentence when he had committed more murders than infamous serial killers. AND he didn’t even deliver on helping assist convictions for the other criminals.
Less than 6 years after his release, he was already reoffending. In the worst possible way because he abused s*xually abused a child for 3 years and was sentenced to 4 years.
His identity was kept hidden during the child abuse trial because police were upholding the agreement to keep him safe… He testified behind a curtain where you could only hear his voice. He whined about being in danger and if he was in PC he’d only get an hour of freedom a day because of being in isolation for his safety…
Yves Trudeau was a contract killer for the Hells Angels who received an extremely lenient punishment for his crimes (and seemed to even be rewarded for it). Had got out of prison under a different name and was working with vulnerable populations in a nursing home then molested a child ALL WHILE UNDER SURVEILLANCE by the supposed watchful eyes of police.
He was diagnosed with cancer in 2006. The Parole Board of Canada met to discuss whether to show Yves Trudeau compassion…… When he was released on parole, he died in a hospital a few weeks later in 2008.
Yves Trudeau was a contract killer of dozens of people, police informant and child m*lester.
He served less than 7 years in jail for killing 43 people (jail from 1985-1991, halfway house from 1991-1993, and released into the community in 1994 under a new name).
The government paid him $40,000 while he was in jail on top of $35 per week for incidentals and housed him in a special cell with perks like its own tv, phone and shower, and escorted leaves every 2 weeks..
It was very controversial because a cold blooded violent killer was given a deal that protected him and got off on an extremely light sentence when he had committed more murders than infamous serial killers. AND he didn’t even deliver on helping assist convictions for the other criminals.
Less than 6 years after his release, he was already reoffending. In the worst possible way because he abused s*xually abused a child for 3 years and was sentenced to 4 years.
His identity was kept hidden during the child abuse trial because police were upholding the agreement to keep him safe… He testified behind a curtain where you could only hear his voice. He whined about being in danger and if he was in PC he’d only get an hour of freedom a day because of being in isolation for his safety…
Yves Trudeau was a contract killer for the Hells Angels who received an extremely lenient punishment for his crimes (and seemed to even be rewarded for it). Had got out of prison under a different name and was working with vulnerable populations in a nursing home then molested a child ALL WHILE UNDER SURVEILLANCE by the supposed watchful eyes of police.
He was diagnosed with cancer in 2006. The Parole Board of Canada met to discuss whether to show Yves Trudeau compassion…… When he was released on parole, he died in a hospital a few weeks later in 2008.
Yves Trudeau was a contract killer of dozens of people, police informant and child m*lester.
May 2, 2025
Hitman is a true crime book that covers the story of Yves "Apache" Trudeau, a hitman who was involved with the Hells Angels. He killed 43 people and ent completely undetected until he turned himself into police. The book talks about his life and crimes, and the controversial deals he made with the justice system.
The books is very well researched. But it was plodding at times. There are so many players., I should have started floe chart to keep everyone organized.
I am not sure this is a book that would be of interest to everyone, but having worked ,as a civilian, in policing during the decades this book covers, I do remember a lot of the events.
The books is very well researched. But it was plodding at times. There are so many players., I should have started floe chart to keep everyone organized.
I am not sure this is a book that would be of interest to everyone, but having worked ,as a civilian, in policing during the decades this book covers, I do remember a lot of the events.
July 20, 2025
I liked learning about this. While I know about the Hells Angels, I did not know the ins and outs of the creation of the group. Interesting to hear about the inner workings of different gangs and what happens when you cross your own gang or another one.
This book goes into the unbelievable as far as making deals with criminals…..
eg, 8 years in jail for dozens of murders.
Not a book that’s going to contend for awards, you would have to like true crime stories and the aftermath that goes with it. I found it interesting.
This book goes into the unbelievable as far as making deals with criminals…..
eg, 8 years in jail for dozens of murders.
Not a book that’s going to contend for awards, you would have to like true crime stories and the aftermath that goes with it. I found it interesting.
May 13, 2025
It was a slow start and I never really felt invested in the story. Interesting facts, but not enough substance to be really invested.
May 13, 2025
3.75⭐️
August 26, 2025
Superb book! If true crime is something you enjoy this book is for you!
January 18, 2026
A glimpse into a tough time in Quebec's past i never knew about
February 4, 2026
crazy story and well delivered
listened to this as an audiobook but really enjoyed
listened to this as an audiobook but really enjoyed
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