Bandido Massacre: A True Story Of Bikers, Brotherhood And Betraya

by Peter Edwards

On the morning of April 8, 2006, residents of the hamlet of Shedden, Ontario, woke up to the news that the bloodied bodies of eight bikers from the Bandidos gang had been found dead on a local farm. The massacre made headlines around the world, and the shocking news brought a grim light to an otherwise quiet corner of the province. Six Bandidos would eventually be convicted of the first-degree murder of their biker brothers. Like other outlaw bikers, Bandidos portray themselves as motorcycle enthusiasts who are systematically misunderstood and abused by the police, as well as feared by the public. We now know the Bandidos were anything but simple motorcycle enthusiasts. However, unlike such biker gangs as the Hell's Angels, who run sophisticated operations, the Bandidos were highly disorganized, prone to petty infighting and even engaged in sabotaging fellow members. This is the story of how the Bandidos self-destructed over one dark night. As gripping as any crime novel, The Bandido Massacre takes us inside a crumbling brotherhood bent on betrayal and self-obliteration.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

496 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2010

About the author

Peter Edwards has written for The Toronto Star for almost thirty years, specializing in organized crime and justice issues. He’s the author of more than a dozen non-fiction books, nine of which are on organized crime.

Reviews

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second half was much more interesting.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly good read. Although I already knew the basic details of the case, this book was hard to put down. Mr Edwards seems actually to have done some work on this one rather than just rephrase newspaper articles as so many reporter/authors do. He errs in some small details (Steinbach not being north of Winnipeg, as an example), and he can't conceal his partiality to the murdered bungling buffoons as opposed to the murdering bungling buffoons, but he has produced a truly engrossing book well worth the money

[Jill Edmondson · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!! This was terrific! A weirdly, wildly wonderful tale of some of the most inept would-be tough guys ever! Edwards has a terrific voice, and he gives enough detail to make you see and feel the places and people, but not so much that it feels bogged down. A thoroughly enjoyable book - highly recommended!!

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author does a great job of foreshadowing, especially since it's obvious what's coming (check the title!), and yet he manages some suspense along the way. It certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I found the book well-researched and fascinating from start to finish.

[James Rawly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating from start to finish.

The way these men can call each other brother and then kill one another is just beyond my comprehension.

[Danny Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating story about a horrific crime in my home province. I appreciated the level of detail, however at the some time it could have almost been two books. Hard to follow at times with so many characters with different nicknames. To his credit he did write a glossary of nicknames at the beginning for reference.

I was disappointed at the many errors within the book. Edwards seemed to add lots of detail on biker history and the gangs/gangsters themself. Many errors related to geography (saying something was east instead of west). There were also many instances where there were no spaces between the words. Might have been a publishing error. Also, after spending over 500 pages telling the story, it ends abruptly with the arrest of Frank Lenti. I felt more time could have been spent about the aftermath of the criminal, families, and the property where it all went down. I've yet to find out through research how it got to its current state (a vacant field). In fairness, a lot of that probably happened after the book was published.

Definately points lost due to poor editing but an interesting read nonetheless. At times I actually felt kind of bad for those killed....then you remember they were all criminals. Criminals, but also humans.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The true story about a group of complete losers who thought they were tough when they put a patch on their backs. In the end they betrayed each other for a fantasy only they seemed to think was real and would give their lives meaning. A very well-written book and worthy of asking why on earth would any person think groups like this our tough and not just filled with people who are nothing more than insecure losers.

[Starry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't say I didn't enjoy parts of this book but I simply can't trust it - I lost faith in it very early when it got things wrong about the Milperra Massacre in Australia so that if it can't report correctly on that event, how can I trust the rest of the book to teach me about a massacre I don't know anything about? I have to take the whole thing with a massive grain of salt and come away with a fair amount of suspicion and disappointment overall.

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like the book, it is always horrifying what people will do to each other. I have a better understanding of how a bike gang operates. I would have gave it higher then a 3 but I had a hard time getting into it but that may have been my fault is I was in a bit of a reading slump.

[Taylor Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great
Great story line and very well described time line of events
Didn’t know about this unfortunate event untill this book
The history behind it was breathtaking
Great job by the author on the time line and the book
Highly recommend

[Lloyd Searcy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fair

This book can be long and meandering. Lots of story lined that could have been avoided. If it's less than two bucks it's a good deal

[Kimberly Kostescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not at all the type of story I read but was interested due to its relatively close proximity to Windsor.

[Vanillahugz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put the book down but also couldn't believe how stupid these "bikers" were. How did the Texas Banditos let this crap go on till it reached this end anyway??

[Dave B · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impressive exposé on the 2006 Bandido Massacre in Shedden, Ontario. Peter Edwards is the resident expert of all things Outlaw Biker to the Rizzuto mafioso in Canada.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crazy to think this happened in the small town where my family is from and were in elementary school with some of the players.

[Eric M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure there's a great story to be had here, but I had a difficult time getting through the disjointed way the author put together the story. Perhaps you will have better luck.

[Laima · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this book thinking, “I just don’t get the ‘gang’ mentality”. For this reason, I didn’t really get into this story until the actual murders occurred (about half way through the book). If you can get past all the detail at the start, the last few chapters are well worth the read.

I spent my teenage years growing up on Eastern Avenue, just a block away from the Hells Angels hangout. My parents owned the small variety store called Eastern Variety at 512 Eastern Avenue. I hardly ever saw any of the members but knew of the house. The one thing I do recall was a police raid early one morning. After hearing about the many weapons police carried out, I became aware of what a stronghold this house actually was.

After reading this story, I think how naive I am about the criminal element in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) and I, suppose, Ontario too. My husband and I were crossing the border over into the US and the customs agent asked if we belonged to any motorcycle gangs like the Hells Angels. I almost burst out laughing. Now I see that the question wasn’t so absurd (even though we were riding a Honda and not a Harley). I guess we are part of the 99%ers referred to in this book.

I did like the human side to the story. It certainly made me think about what these men were looking for out of life and question how they went about trying to achieve these things.

Peter Edwards did a great job of putting a human face to this dreadful event. I only rated this a 2-star because I don't truly appreciate the documentary details provided in this type of story-telling.

[Natalie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Currently reading this book and I love it. Really engrossing and gives me a little bit of knowledge as to how the biker world worked for the Bandidos...and I'm seeing a ton of character development, kinda like a novel. Of course I'm already a huge fan of True Crime, so this is awesome so far. Great purchase.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up to read on the plane. Nothing against the author (who writes just fine) but I could barely finish this one, mainly because I dislike reading about people who continually make poor and/or stupid decisions. The fact that there was a gigantic cast of characters involved, several with more than one nickname, made it even more confusing to read.

[Sarah Deeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, I think the author takes a lot of liberties, but otherwise pretty good. I guess I have a hard time relating to all thing biker-oriented. From what I can tell, it seems to cost a lot of money, there's not too many perks and your friends will probably kill you. And then you pay dues for that.

[Dave Thorner · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-1/2 stars. I felt this was a well documented account of the actual event s that took place in 2006. I was extremely intrigued by this book because I can recall following this story as it actually unfolded near where we live.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read for sure. Sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous and sometimes just bizarre. The author reveals as best as possible how biker culture works (at least in theory). He also put a human side to the people that get drawn into the lifestyle.

[Rob Tripp · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed and comprehensive account of a gruesome crime that evokes empathy for the victims, who were also members of an outlaw biker gang. Peter Edwards attention to detail and research is superb.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

True Crime at it's Best!

[David Mckinnon · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting book. very close to home, I am surprised I have not heard about this story before.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many characters. Was confused most of the time.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

mindboggling!

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Edwards presents an unsavoury cabal and gruesome events. Readable, gripping and sad..