Name of founding Hells Angels member appears on Montreal-area tombstone

MONTREAL — The name of a founding member of the Hells Angels in Canada has appeared on a new tombstone showcasing the logo of the outlaw biker gang at a parish cemetery on Montreal’s South Shore.

On Thursday afternoon, a worker engraved the name Normand Labelle “Billy” on the large, black tombstone in St-Basile-le-Grand, Que., along with the dates 1955 to 2025.

The tombstone caused embarrassment to the local Roman Catholic diocese when its appearance made headlines earlier this week. It bears the words “Hells Angels South,” framing the biker gang’s winged skull logo.

The St-Jean-Longueuil diocese said Tuesday it was “scandalized” by the tombstone, which it said should never have been approved. The diocese has promised that the logo and text will be removed.

But the tombstone itself will be allowed to stay in the cemetery, where it now bears the name of a Hells Angels veteran.

According to court documents, Normand Labelle was a founding member of the Montreal chapter of the Hells Angels, the gang’s first Canadian chapter, which appeared in 1977. He left to form the gang’s South Shore chapter in 1997.

In April 2009, Labelle was arrested as part of a major police investigation, known as Operation SharQc, intended to dismantle the Hells Angels in Quebec. A total of 156 people with ties to the biker gang were indicted.

The operation followed a violent territorial conflict involving the Hells Angels that unfolded between 1994 and 2002, when more than 160 people were killed.

Labelle faced 29 charges, including multiple counts of first-degree murder and drug trafficking, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. However, a 2014 Quebec Superior Court decision noted there was no direct evidence implicating him for murder.

According to media coverage from the time, Labelle was among a group of men arrested during Operation SharQc who pleaded guilty in 2015 to conspiracy to commit murder.

Labelle, aged 59 at the time, was sentenced to nine months in prison on top of time served, the Montreal Gazette reported.

A spokesperson for the diocese on Friday said he had no information about the new engraving on the tombstone.

“I have no news about what is happening on the ground, except that the diocese’s lawyers are working on this case,” said Michel Boutot in an email.

The diocese has not said when the logo will be removed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2025.