fbpx
Wikipedia

Ion Croitoru

November 23, 2023

Ion William Croitoru (December 7, 1963 – February 21, 2017)[1] was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. To wrestling fans, he is better known by his ring names, Johnny K-9, Taras Bulba, and Bruiser Bedlam. He worked in several Canadian wrestling promotions, including Stampede Wrestling, and later wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He wrestled as a jobber in the WWF, but he was booked to win titles in several other promotions.

Ion Croitoru
Birth nameIon William Croitoru
Born(1963-12-07)December 7, 1963[1]
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada[1]
DiedFebruary 21, 2017(2017-02-21) (aged 53)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Children3[2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Bruiser Bedlam[1]
Johnny K-9[1]
K-9 Dog Of War[3]
Taras Bulba[1]
Orhan Turgedan, The Terrible Turk[1]
The Mysterian[1]
Billed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Billed weight300 lb (140 kg)[1]
Billed fromHamilton, Ontario[4]
Romania (WWF)
Trained byNick DeCarlo[5]
Vic Rosettani[5]
Debut1984[5]
Retired1998

Croitoru was also known for his history of legal problems. He was a member of Satan's Choice, a biker gang. He was convicted of assault, trafficking cocaine, and bombing a police station. In 2005, he was arrested for the murder of lawyer Lynn Gilbank and her husband Fred. After a lengthy investigation, the charges were dropped in June 2006 because of insufficient evidence. He worked as a security guard in Vancouver, British Columbia, until being arrested in May 2009 for conspiracy to murder the Bacon Brothers. Jonathan Barber was killed when the plan went awry, and Croitoru was charged with first-degree murder. He pleaded guilty in July 2013 to conspiracy in exchange for a stay of proceedings on the murder charge. He was the focus for episode 11 of the third season of the Vice TV's documentary series Dark Side of the Ring.

Personal life edit

Croitoru was born to Romanian parents in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.[6] Croitoru grew up in the working class district of east Hamilton and as a teenager liked to work out at a local gym known as Bad Boy's.[7] Before entering professional wrestling, Croitoru claimed that he played junior hockey for the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League.[8] According to the journalist Paul Legall of The Hamilton Spectator, Croitoru played very briefly for the Kitchener Rangers, going on to write: "But a coach-who didn't like his bruising style-bounced him and squelched any dreams he had of professional hockey."[9] However, no record of his time with the Rangers can be found.[10] He was an accomplished weightlifter and once bench pressed 625 pounds.[11]

Professional wrestling career edit

Early career (1984–1994) edit

He started work as a bouncer in a Hamilton bar, and was recruited into wrestling after a wrestler who come there to drink saw him in the bar.[12] Croitoru trained with Nick DeCarlo and Victor Rosettani Sr. before debuting in Stampede Wrestling in 1984.[1][5] Bruce Hart gave Croitoru the ring name Orhan Turgedan, The Terrible Turk, a name Croitoru only wrestled under for a short time after leaving the promotion.[1] He continued to wrestle in Canadian independent promotions, such as Grand Prix Wrestling in the Maritimes and Superstars of Wrestling in Windsor, Ontario.[1]

In 1985, Croitoru wrestled for the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he received a push and was given a reign as AWA Southern Heavyweight champion. He defeated Jerry Lawler to win the belt on August 16, but dropped it back to Lawler in a rematch on September 6.[13] The following month, Croitoru joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Johnny K-9, where he competed until 1989. Croitoru claimed that he decided on this name while being arrested after a fight. He saw "K-9" written on a paddywagon and decided on the ring name.[1]

Croitoru's signature moves were the Stomach Claw and the Flying Headbutt.[14] Croitoru stood six feet tall and was billed as weighing about 300 pounds. Sporting a Fu Manchu moustache and with his head shaved completely bald, he was typecast as a villain, who excelled in generating heat (fan anger) by his exploits in the ring.[15] Croitoru usually showed up in the ring wearing black tights and a collar around his neck, and proceeded to generate "heat" from the audiences before his matches started.[14] One television commentator stated that his fighting style was "like an animal or a dog".[12] The Canadian journalist Adrian Humphreys called him a "hugely entertaining and dirty fighter" whose antics made him natural as a "heel".[12] Croitoru liked his "bad boy" image, once telling a reporter he was the "baddest of the bad", going on to say "You can print that. I want everyone to know".[7]

He worked as a jobber to the stars, putting over such wrestlers as Pedro Morales, Tito Santana, and Paul Orndorff.[16][17][18][19] He wrestled in many tag team matches and formed a short-lived team with Barry O in 1986,[17] but his biggest match in the WWF was a televised match against Hulk Hogan.[4]

In his hometown of Hamilton, Croitoru was considered to be a celebrity and he was generally known as "Johnny K-9".[14] Croitoru himself usually used that name when signing documents, and was even able to open up a bank account under his "Johnny K-9" moniker.[14] Croitoru was only a jobber, which the journalist Jerry Langton noted was "a hard way to make a living, even by Hamilton standards".[14] Hamilton was once known as "Steeltown", being a largely working-class city made up of immigrants from the British isles, Italy and Eastern Europe, who were attracted by the high wages offered in the steel industry.[20] At its height of its prosperity, three-quarters of all the steel produced in Canada came from Hamilton.[20] With the decline of the Canadian steel industry, Hamilton went into a steep economic decline, becoming a Canadian version of the American Rustbelt cities.[21] The decline of the steel industry in Hamilton ensured that anyone from Hamilton who was successful at anything, even as a wresting jobber was bound to become a celebrity in Hamilton. The mere fact that Croitoru had wrestled Hulk Hogan made him famous in his hometown, all the more so as many of the blue-collar people of Hamilton were fans of professional wrestling.[14] Langton wrote that at the height of his fame, Croitoru "...could barely walk a block in downtown Hamilton without someone offering to buy him a beer".[14]

After leaving the WWF, he wrestled on a tour of Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling;[1] he later returned to Japan to compete for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and Wrestle Association R.[1] In the late 1980s, Croitoru also worked as a promoter along with Mike Kelly and Bob Clarke, operating the short-lived Canadian International Championship Wrestling in Hamilton, Ontario.[1][4] During his wrestling career, Croitoru's persona changed from that of Middle Eastern or Eastern European villains such as the Terrible Turk and Taras Bulba to working class heroes such as Bruiser Bedlam.[14]

In 1989, Croitoru was convicted of drug possession.[9] At his trial, Croitoru stated that the lengthy road trips required by his wrestling career had led him to abuse cocaine to ease the tedium of his existence.[9] Croitoru also admitted to his weakness for the "fast life", saying he liked expensive cars and staying out late at nightclubs too much.[9] In 1993, Croitoru opened up a gym called Bad Boy's in Burlington, named after the gym he had patronized in his youth.[9] In September 1993, Croitoru was convicted of forgery, being fined $500 and placed on probation.[9] With his forgery conviction came the failure of his gym as he was unable to pay the rent.[9]

Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1994) edit

Croitoru joined Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) in 1994, where he was given the ring name Bruiser Bedlam. According to the storyline, he was brought in by manager Jim Cornette to help settle Cornette's feud with Bob Armstrong.[22] Cornette explained his reasons for the Bruiser Bedlam moniker as: "He was 6’0" tall, 270 lbs (billed at 300), built like a fireplug, bald-headed, barrel-chested with tattoos and a legitimate 600 lbs bench presser with a mean look. I was always looking for heels to take back to Smoky Mountain, and Johnny K-9 was not a name that thrilled me. I was a big Dick The Bruiser fan when I was a kid, and this guy had the big bruiser, Brock Lesnar type look to him. Bruiser Bedlam Wrestling was the clip compilation show Bruiser's WWA ended on in the early ’80s. And Bedlam was a famous mental institution in England in the olden days (the word bedlam now signifies chaos, mayhem, and confusion), so Bruiser Bedlam became his new name".[23] Cornette stated that Croitoru never moved to Tennessee during his time in SMW, and instead drove down from Hamilton every weekend for his matches.[23]

Bedlam and Cornette combined for a victory in a two-on-one handicap match over Armstrong at SMW's Blue Grass Brawl II show on April 1.[24] That year, he wrestled many tag team and six-man matches while teaming with Cornette.[25][26] One observer, Edward Pardue, recalled: "A 'newcomer' debuted in SMW in the spring of 1994 named Bruiser Bedlam. Looking at this man on television, I got the impression he wasn't one to be trifled with. Jim Cornette had found the man to beat Bob Armstrong and beat him he did. Johnny 'Bruiser Bedlam' K-9 even got a pinfall victory over Randy Savage. There was no stopping Bruiser Bedlam in SMW...he left in pursuit of other territories to conquer. All I know is, if I ever had to fight Tyson in a street fight, that is one guy I would want to back me up!"[23]

Cornette stated that he was aware that Croitoru was involved in crime during his time in SMW, but maintained that he was only a petty criminal who liked to exaggerate his importance in the underworld.[23] Cornette declared: "That was some people telling him-and I'm not trying to excuse this guy's crimes-but people were telling him, ‘You take this suitcase, and you take it to these people at this place and get the money they give you and bring it back.’ He was the guy nobody was going to fuck with on either side of that transaction. It wasn't like he was the kingpin from Colombia, El Guapo [translated as ‘The Handsome One’]. So he went to prison, and he was always in prison for conspiracy, and unfortunately, a lot has been heavily overstated because he was with these people and did what they told him to do. But I'd be greatly surprised if he ever killed anybody."[23]

Bedlam was booked for one title reign with the SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship during his stint in SMW. The kayfabe rules behind the title state that any wrestler winning five consecutive matches as champion would win $5,000 but be forced to vacate the title.[27] He won a match against Mike Furnas on April 4, 1994 to win the title, and he defended it over the following month.[28] Bedlam won his fifth match on May 2 with a victory over Anthony Michaels, and the storyline saw him forced to give up the title.[24] On May 20, he defeated Randy Savage with help from Dory Funk Jr. He went on to feud with Tracy Smothers, and the two wrestled in a lengthy series of matches, including several Coalminer's glove matches, in which a glove is available for the wrestlers to use as a weapon.[24] Later that year, Bedlam wrestled several matches against "Dirty White Boy" Tony Anthony. The series consisted of several steel cage matches in which Bedlam put Anthony over, as well as tag team matches where Bedlam teamed with Cornette and Anthony teamed with Ron Wright.[25] As Bruiser Bedlam, Croitoru was successful in the SMW, but the company's financial problems caused him to seek work elsewhere.[23]

Late career (1994–1998, 2013) edit

In 1994, Croitoru also began wrestling in Midwest Territorial Wrestling, an independent promotion based in Michigan. He continued using the ring name Taras Bulba and proclaimed himself "King of Chain matches".[4] He competed in a tournament to determine the promotion's first heavyweight champion, but Al Snow defeated him in the final round.[29] Bulba was pushed for a run with the belt, however, defeating Mickey Doyle on January 21, 1995, to win the vacant title.[29] He held the championship for almost four months before dropping it to Marty Jannetty.[29]

As Johnny K-9, Croitoru returned to the WWF for one match where he defeated Gary Scott in a dark match on January 23, 1995.[30] Cornette had booked the WWF match in the hope that Croitoru might be able to return to the WWF, but the company was not interested.[23] He then competed briefly in Cleveland All Pro Wrestling, where he wrestled against Cactus Jack in a booked loss on March 23.[31] Croitoru also wrestled in Border City Wrestling (BCW) and was pushed to win the BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Championship by defeating Scott D'Amore on May 21, 1995.[32] He held the title for a little over a month before dropping it back to D'Amore.[32]

Once again using the ring name Bruiser Bedlam, he wrestled for Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) for a short time in 1996. While there, he competed in a barbed wire baseball bat match against Ian Rotten; Bedlam was booked for the victory in the match.[33] He also wrestled New Jack at ICW's Holiday Hell supercard in a match that ended in a double countout.[34] He wrestled on World Championship Wrestling's first annual Ilio DiPaolo tribute show, teaming with Cowboy Danny Johnson in a loss to Tony Parisi and Dominic DeNucci.[35] In the late 1990s, Croitoru wrestled in Cambridge, Ontario-based International Championship Wrestling. He feuded with Greg Valentine, and the two wrestled in a series of matches. Bedlam won the ICW Heavyweight Championship from Valentine and used heel tactics such as brass knuckles to defend the belt.[4][36]

Croitoru has also trained several wrestlers, including Pure Wrestling Association's Eddie Osbourne and Melissa Maughn, who competes under the ring name 21st Century Fox.[37][38] Croitoru wrestled one more match on June 6, 2013, where he defeated Panama Wasp at Thrash Wrestling in Lumby, British Columbia.[39]

Legal trouble edit

Satan's Choice motorcycle club edit

Croitoru had a history of run-ins with the police. Many of his legal problems came while he was president of the Hamilton, Ontario, chapter of the Satan's Choice Outlaw motorcycle club.[8] After his income from his wrestling career dwindled following being fired from the WWF for cocaine use in 1991, he started to wrestle in what were described as "down-market" wrestling leagues.[40] Croitoru had been selling illegal steroids for a number of years, and through another steroid dealer known to the media only as "Jimmy Rich" (a court-ordered pseudonym, as "Jimmy Rich" is now living in witness protection after turning Crown's evidence), he came into contact with Satan's Choice.[41] After joining Satan's Choice Toronto chapter, Croitoru was allowed to found a new Satan's Choice chapter in Hamilton with himself as the chapter president in 1995.[42] Croitoru had gained the approval of Satan's Choice national president Bernie Guindon to have his club return to Hamilton for the third time. The first Satan's Choice Hamilton chapter had "patched over" to join the Outlaws in 1977, while the second Satan's Choice Hamilton had disbanded itself following the murders of two of its members by the Outlaws in August 1985.[43]

Croitoru's career in wrestling made him a local celebrity in Hamilton, allowing him to attract many recruits for his chapter.[42] The clubhouse for the Hamilton chapter was located in a former convenience store at 269 Lottridge Street, about six blocks away from the Outlaws clubhouse at 402 Birch Avenue.[44] The Hamilton chapter of the Outlaws had been a Satan's Choice chapter until 1977, so the choice of location was considered to be a provocation. The decision to open a third version of a Satan's Choice chapter in Hamilton was regarded as an insult to Mario Parente, the president of the Outlaws' Hamilton chapter.[45] One policeman stated: "Oh, they hated Parente. And they knew it would piss him off to have another club in what he considered to be his town".[45] The pool-table for the Satan's Choice Hamilton clubhouse was donated by Pasquale "Fat Pat" Musitano, the boss of the Musitano family.[46]

Detective Sergeant Len Isnor, the head of the Ontario Provincial Police's Anti-Biker Enforcement Unit, was not impressed with Croitoru, saying: "After a while, you can tell who's cut out for the life and who isn't. I could tell right away that he wouldn't make it. Some of the guys would talk to you. If there was a guy who was really into bikes, you could talk bikes, but K-9 [Croitoru] would talk about anything, especially himself- he was just stupid that way".[44] Croitoru was especially close to Michel Dubé, the president of Satan's Choice Sudbury chapter, who was considered by Isnor to be the most dangerous outlaw biker in all of Ontario.[44] Isnor recalled that he once talked to a biker and a convicted murderer with a "crazed look" in his eyes that reminded many of Charles Manson who told him that he was utterly terrified of Dubé, who was regarded as a reckless psychopath.[44] Both Croitoru and Dubé purchased the cocaine that their chapters sold from the Hells Angels' "mother chapter" in Montreal.[44] Guindon had ruled that members of Satan's Choice were free to do business with the Hells Angels.[45] Richard "Rick" Vallée of the Angels Nomad chapter sold the majority of the drugs purchased by Satan's Choice's Hamilton and Sudbury chapters, which being new chapters did not have the same established drug-dealing connections that the older Satan's Choice chapters had.[45]

Lorne Edgar Campbell, a long-time member of Satan's Choice was not impressed with Croitoru whom he met at a party at the clubhouse of the Sudbury chapter hosted by Dubé.[47] Campbell described Croitoru as being of limited intelligence alongside having a fierce competitive streak as he would not accept any defeats, which Campbell found highly ironic given Croitoru's work as a wrestling jobber.[47] During the party, Campbell defeated Croitoru several times in Indian leg-wrestling.[47] Croitoru spent the rest of the party pestering Campbell to explain how he won, leading him to recall: "He wouldn't leave me alone. That night, he was like a dog following me around".[47] Campbell finally explained: "As soon as you hook, you roll".[47] At point, Croitoru had a rematch and won, leading Campbell to state: "When I showed him, he almost broke my back".[47]

Croitoru was arrested for trafficking cocaine and served ten months in prison.[1][48] Soon after, he was convicted of assault and was given a sentence of seven months.[1] He encountered more problems in late 1996 when he and several friends from Satan's Choice were refused entry to a strip club for wearing their gang's colors.[48] During a visit to Sudbury to see Dubé, he attempted to enter the Solid Gold strip club, where he was informed in the parking lot that the club had a policy of refusing entrance to those wearing gang colors.[49] Croitoru shouted "We wear our colors wherever the fuck we want!", which inspired Dubé to shout "fuck yeah!" in agreement; the assembled Satan's Choice bikers then attempted to enter the Solid Gold wearing jackets with their Satan's Choice patches, where the bouncers promptly refused them all entrance.[49] When the bikers persisted with demanding entry to the Solid Gold, the police were called.[49] To get revenge, Croitoru and his friends planned to blow up the strip club. Later that same night, Croitoru, Dubé and the others went to the Coulson Tavern in downtown Sudbury, where Dubé brooded obsessively over their humiliation at the Solid Gold.[50] Croitoru and Dubé ended up walking across Larch Street to an all-night sandwich shop, where Dubé stated he would do anything to get revenge against the owners of the Solid Gold, leading Croitoru to say he knew someone in the Hamilton chapter who knew how to build bombs.[50] The journalist Jerry Langton described Croitoru as an essentially weak character who was always too anxious to please those he considered his friends such as Dubé.[50]

Croitoru had a member of the Hamilton chapter, Jure "Jerry" Juretta, build a bomb.[49] Juretta was a former soldier in the Canadian Army and was accustomed to handling explosives.[49] Croitoru and Juretta then drove to Sudbury to hand over the bomb to Dubé and vice president Brian Davies of the Sudbury chapter in a Tim Horton's coffee shop where Highway 69 and Notre Dame Avenue intersected in South Sudbury.[49] They changed their minds and decided to bomb the local police station instead.[48] The bombing on December 15, 1996, caused $133,000 in damages to the Sudbury, Ontario, police station and a nearby bank and injured a police officer.[51] Croitoru seemed surprised that Dubé had decided to bomb the police station instead, shouting on his phone (which unknown to him had been tapped by the police): "What do you mean the police station? It was supposed to be the Solid Gold!"[44] Croitoru, Dubé, and Juretta were arrested and charged, but the trial did not begin until almost two years later.[52]

Kenneth Murdock, a hitman, has claimed he was hired by the Musitano brothers to kill Croitoru but instead chose to spare his life.[53][54] Murdock was given a list of four men to kill by his employers, Pasquale "Fat Pat" Musitano and his younger brother Angelo "Ang" Musitano.[55] Murdock was to kill Johnny "the Enforcer" Papalia, the boss of the Papalia Mafia family; Carmen Barillaro, the right-hand man to Papalia; Mario Parente, the president of the Outlaws' Hamilton chapter, and finally Croitoru.[55] The Musitano brothers wanted Croitoru killed because of his connections with the Hells Angels as they feared that he might allow the Angels to establish more influence in Hamilton at their expense.[55] At the time, the Hells Angels had no chapters in Ontario, through their national president Walter Stadnick lived in Hamilton. Additionally, Croitoru had started to work for the rival Luppino family, which "Fat Pat" Musitano regarded as a betrayal.[46] Murdock assassinated Papalia on May 31, 1997, and on killed Barillaro on July 23, 1997.[56] On August 20, 1997, Murdock knocked on the door of Croitoru's house to tell him: "John, I've been sent here to kill you. But I'm not going to do it".[55] Croitoru was left speechless for a moment before thanking Murdock.[55] Unknown to the Musitano brothers, Murdock was a friend of Croitoru and could not bring himself to kill him.[57] Shortly afterwards, Murdock was arrested on unrelated charges of extortion for the Musitano family, and while in police custody, the detectives played audio tapes of the Musitano brothers mocking and laughing at him, which inspired him to turn Crown's evidence and testify against his former employers.[58]

While Croitoru was awaiting trial for the bombing, the Hamilton branch of Satan's Choice was shut down after an informant gave the police information about the gang's involvement with drug dealing and extortion.[48] On April 16, 1998, the police raided the Satan's Choice Hamilton clubhouse.[9] The gang's clubhouse was confiscated and the club's national leadership decided to disband the Hamilton chapter.[51] Croitoru's attempt to transfer over to the Toronto chapter was rejected as it was felt that he was a loose cannon who was a liability for Satan's Choice.[59] Croitoru got in a fight in Hamilton with another former Satan's Choice member, "Jimmy Rich", on January 13, 1998.[59] A police officer saw Croitoru punch Rich in the face and arrested Croitoru for assault.[51] In addition to the assault charge, Croitoru was charged with extortion from an unrelated incident as well as carrying a concealed weapon and breaking the conditions of his release following the police station bombing.[51][11]

In September 1998, Croitoru was brought to trial for his role in the bombing.[52] He was convicted and sentenced to 33 months in prison.[48] Croitoru pleaded guilty to his role in having the bomb built.[60] Besides for his role in the bombing, Croitoru was also convicted of illegally selling steroids, largely on the basis of the testimony of his former friend "Jimmy Rich".[61] Dubé, who was facing two counts of murder plus charges relating to the bombing, hanged himself in jail on September 22, 1998.[62] Isnor explained Dubé's suicide as: "Johnny K-9 was the only friend he had left in the world, and he knew that we had him, and he was going away forever."[62]

The Gravelle family edit

The police maintained that Croitoru worked as an enforcer and a debt collector for the Gravelle family of Hamilton after he was expelled from Satan's Choice.[23] Croitoru maintained that he rarely had to strike anyone as a debt collector because he was sufficiently intimidating to make people pay up.[12] A couple named Smith who stated that they worked as drug smugglers for Denis and Paul Gravelle describe Croitoru as a regular visitor to Paul's house.[63] According to Bill Smith, when one of the "runners" for the Gravelle family "mouthed off" to Paul Gravelle, Croitoru beat him bloody in the basement of Paul Gravelle's house.[63] Smith stated he saw pieces of the runner's face "smeared all over the wall" and there was blood everywhere as Croitoru had broken his nose, jaw and orbital bone.[63]

The Gravelle family were French-Canadians from northern Ontario, and Paul Gravelle in a 2005 interview stated when he moved to Hamilton, the only words in English he knew were: "Stick 'em up!"[46] The Gravelle family were generally considered to be lesser players in the Hamilton crime scene, being only a fourth family behind the three main Mafia families in Hamilton, namely the Luppino, Musitano and Papalia families.[63] Unlike the three Mafia families, the Gravelle family specialized in selling hashish.[60] In 1992, the Gravelle brothers were arrested in connection with a shipment of 450 kilograms of hashish in Florida worth $14 million, for which André Gravelle served four years in prison while Paul Gravelle served two years.[60]

After both Smiths were arrested at Toronto's Pearson Airport on February 11, 1998, with some $500,000 worth of hash in their bags while returning from Ocho Rios, they hired Lynn Gilbank as their lawyer.[64] Gilbank felt that the Smiths were mere pawns and was outraged that members of the Gravelle family had been arrested many times, but had never done any serious prison time as they always shifted the blame onto their subordinates.[64] Bill Smith stated that Lynn Gilbank had "a real hard-on for these people and she definitely was gonna step on some toes".[64] Danny Gravelle was arrested with 314 kilograms of hashish in the tubing of his boat trailer while Denis Gravelle was arrested returning from Manitoulin island to Hamilton with some $20,000 worth of hashish.[64] After Denis Gravelle was arrested, his lawyer approached Smith to tell him: "You're the one who ratted out Denis".[64] Gilbank arranged for both Bill and Angie Smith to go into the witness protection later that day.[64] At about 5:30 am on November 16, 1998, someone broke into Gilbank's home in Ancaster and executed her and her husband Fred with a shotgun.[65]

Murder accusations edit

Croitoru's most famous encounter with the law occurred on January 6, 2005, when he was charged with the November 16, 1998, murders of Lynn and Fred Gilbank.[66] The couple was shot execution-style with a shotgun.[67] Police suspect that the murders were in response to Lynn Gilbank's assistance in getting William and Angie Smith into a witness protection program after William Smith gave the police information about the Gravelle crime family.[68] Croitoru, who had several contacts within the Gravelle family (including a contract to kill police inspector Rick Wills, who was investigating the Gravelles),[69] was a suspect in the investigation and had his phones tapped during the investigation.[70] While awaiting his murder trial, he ran a home renovation business until he was unable to secure a bank loan to cover business expenses.[71] After closing the business he supported himself by working as a used car salesman.[71] The police tried to trick Pat Musitano into naming Croitoru as the killer by starting a rumor that Paul Gravelle was accusing Musitano of being behind the murder of the Gilbanks, a ploy that did not work.[46]

After an investigation that lasted six years and cost $6 million, police laid charges against Croitoru and Andre Gravelle.[70] Croitoru was charged with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder.[8] After spending seven months in prison, Croitoru was released on $100,000 bail.[71] He was arrested on December 2, 2005, for violating his bail terms, and police filed another extortion charge against him.[11]

Evidence against Croitoru and Gravelle was presented over the course of eight weeks in 2006, but the judge stated that the case against the two accused was not strong.[72] A key witness for the Crown was a British immigrant and a professional lip-reader who had been paid $20,000 to decipher what Croitoru was saying in a videotape of him talking in a restaurant.[73] During the trial, it was revealed that before she came to Canada, she had been convicted of perjury in her native Britain.[73] Furthermore, it was revealed that she had overstated her abilities as a test showed that she was only able to decipher 55% of the words being spoken by people right in front of her.[73] As a result, the judge in the trial excluded her as a witness and ordered the jury to disregard her testimony.[73] Without the transcript provided by the lip reader of what Croitoru was alleged to be saying, the Crown's case was fatally weakened.[73]

Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant withdrew the charges on June 12, 2006.[74] Following this action by the attorney general, both Croitoru and Andre Gravelle announced plans to file lawsuits against people involved with the prosecution. Gravelle sued for $25 million, and Croitoru sought $15 million for wrongful imprisonment and malicious prosecution.[8][72] Hamilton Police Services was ordered to pay Gravelle $10,000 for court costs.[75] In June 2006, Croitoru also pleaded guilty to the charges of extortion and violating the terms of his bail. As a result, he was forced to forfeit $10,000 of the bail money.[71]

The children of the Gilbanks went on the W5 television show on March 10, 2007, to claim that there was serious police corruption that compromised the case against Gravelle and Croitoru.[73] On the same show, the Hamilton police chief Brian Mullen was interviewed and denied that his force was corrupt.[73] Bryant appeared on the same show to call the claims of the Gilbank children "false, baseless, scurrilous and potentially libelous and defamatory".[73] Croitoru was asked to appear on the show, but he declined.[73] Instead, Croitoru sent an email to the producers of W5 reading:

"I am suing for what happened to me so I cannot provide an interview for your program. I do want to say that what happened to me was very wrong. I did not have anything to do with the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbank and do not know who did. It is wrong that after six years of investigation-they watched everything I did and wiretapped all my calls-after six years of investigating me, the police did not find any evidence I committed this crime-everything showed that I'm innocent, but they charged me with two murders I did not commit-I sat in jail for months when there was no case, no evidence that I was guilty. What happened to me was not right, it should not happen to anyone".[76]

The case ruined the career of Inspector Rick Wills of the Hamilton police, who had once dined with Charles, the Prince of Wales during a royal visit to Canada as the outstanding representative of the Hamilton police.[77] The police allege that André Gravelle had hired Croitoru to kill Wills, but Langton wrote that Wills had met with Gravelle and "...after talking with André, things cooled down".[77] Wills promptly retired in August 2008 under a cloud of suspicion, but was ended up being charged in February 2009 for corruption for his actions during the Gravelle-Croitoru case as an investigation was opened into his handling of the case.[77] Additionally, Wills was charged with stealing some $57,000 from the police evidence room.[77] In 2010, Wills was found guilty of theft and was sentenced in 2011 to two years of house arrest.[78] The eldest of the Gravelle brothers, Paul, had retired to Mexico.[65] Gravelle told the media: "I've just gone out of it altogether now. I've retired. It's no secret, yes, I was a drug importer. Mostly hash oil and marijuana."[65] When asked if he ordered Croitoru to kill the Gilbanks, Gravelle said: "No. That's not true. Our family is not killers...That's beyond us to do a thing like that. That's a despicable act. That's a cowardly act".[73]

Life in Vancouver edit

Croitoru lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, with his common-law wife Tracy Edwards from 2007 onward.[8] He most recently worked as a bodyguard for Lion's Gate Entertainment, providing protection for entertainers such as Jack Nicholson and Cyndi Lauper.[8][71] He also had a brief acting career appearing in a movie titled Oklahoma Smugglers, in which he portrayed a wrestler, and in such television shows as Reaper.[79][80]

Croitoru told the media that he loved Vancouver, saying: "It's beautiful out here, oh my God; the ocean, the mountains. Hamilton makes me puke now when I think about it; all those years wasted sitting there in that garbage, you know what I mean?"[77] About his new profession as a bodyguard, he stated: "I love it! I dress up nice, eat the best food, just hang around and make sure nobody screws with these people".[77] Croitoru stated that he was writing his autobiography, saying: "This will be a bestseller. I've been on every extreme in the world-the bikers, I was a wrestler, Major Junior A hockey player for the Kitchener Rangers-I've done a lot of things people can only dream about".[81] Afterwards, Croitoru was reported to be looking for a ghostwriter to complete his autobiography.[82]

Although he moved to Vancouver to get away from his underworld associates, he proved unable to resist the allure of the gangster subculture, and soon fell in with the United Nations gang active in the Fraser river valley.[12] Police sources told the author Jerry Langton that Croitoru tried to join the Hells Angels' Vancouver chapter, but they directed him to the United Nations gang.[83]

United Nations gang edit

In 2008-2009, there was a gang war for the control of the drug trade in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.[23] Clayton Roueche, the leader of the United Nations gang, had heard of Croitoru and recruited him. The police had tapped the phones of both Roueche and Croitoru, and often overheard them discussing cocaine deals.[23] During his time on the Lower Mainland, Croitoru continued to use his Johnny K-9 pseudonym as his name.[84]

Jonathan Barber was a young man who vaguely resembled Jonathan Bacon, one of the three Bacon brothers warring against the United Nations gang.[84] On May 9, 2008, Barber—whose job was to install audio systems inside automobiles—was driving a Porsche Cayenne SUV owned by Bacon from Bacon's house in Abbotsford to his shop in Vancouver along the Kingsway highway when his vehicle was ambushed and shot up.[84] The police allege that there was a group of United Nations members consisting of Croitoru, Dan Russell, Dilun Heng, Yong Lee, Barzan Tilli-Choli, and Karwan Saed who were also driving down the Kingsway and opened fire on Barber in the mistaken belief that he was Bacon.[84] Barber's girlfriend, Vicky King, who was driving his car behind the SUV, was also injured, but she survived while he was killed.[84]

On May 15, 2009, Croitoru was arrested, along with seven other members of the United Nations gang. They were charged with conspiracy to commit murder for allegedly plotting to kill the Bacon Brothers and other members of the Red Scorpions gang.[85][79] Charged alongside Croitoru on charges of conspiracy to commit murder were United Nations leader Barzan Tilli-Choli (aged 26), Daniel Russell (aged 27), Karwan Saed (aged 32), Soroush Ansari (aged 28) Dilun Heng (aged 25), Young Sung (aged 27), and Aram Ali (aged 23); Croitoru at the age of 45 stood out in the group.[83] On January 24, 2011, Croitoru was charged with first degree murder in connection with the execution of Jonathan Barber[86] and the attempted murder of Barber's girlfriend Vicky King, then 17, in Burnaby on May 9, 2008.[87] In July 2013, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, and the murder charges were stayed.[88] He was sentenced to 13 years in prison, which was reduced to four years and eight months after factoring in time served.[89][90]

Last years edit

In January 2015, he applied for parole, stating that he had agreed to help with the murders to impress members of the United Nations gang, but that he did not intend to kill anyone. The application was denied.[90] The parole board in its report stated that he was "a man that engaged in a criminal lifestyle for over 20 years" with a "long history of negative associates and organized criminal activity that included violence was extremely concerning."[23] The report concluded: "You appear comfortable using violence."[23] On September 1, 2016, Croitoru was released to live in a halfway house in Toronto and was ordered not to have any contact with gangsters or criminals.[91] Another parole condition was that he was not to enter Hamilton under any circumstances.[23]

Croitoru lived at the Keele Community Correctional Centre in Toronto, which was the only halfway house in Canada that was willing to accept him.[23] In his last years, Croitoru learned that the original spelling of his surname in Romania was Kroitoru, and started to use that spelling.[23] Despite the withdrawal of the murder charges in 2006, the police saw Croitoru as the prime suspect in the murder of the Gilbanks, and continued to investigate him, much to his vexation.[23] One outlaw biker who asked not to be named stated: "He just became a nobody. Lost all of his fame. Lost all of his clout...Nobody wants to end up in the Keele Centre. The type of guys who go there are guys who can't go anywhere else...He had seen his better days."[46]

Death edit

Croitoru died on February 21, 2017, at a federal halfway house in Toronto at the age of 53.[2][88] Besides his widow, he left behind three children.[23] His widow, Tracy, maintained that he was not a killer, saying the murder accusations had "ruined our life".[23]

One of his underworld associates who asked not to be named told Humphreys in 2017: "Wow that's really too bad. I didn't like the guy, but damn. He definitely was notorious. Johnny was not the most pleasant person but he fought for his beliefs. Had a passion for riding and the biker lifestyle. He was a bulldozer."[12] Just days after his death, Jim Cornette and Brian Last discussed Croitoru on The Jim Cornette Experience podcast.[23] Last stated: "Despite blowing up the police station and allegedly murdering people, he was very nice to me!"[23] Cornette stated: "He was two different people. There was no happier guy in the locker room. A smile on his face every time you saw him and totally dedicated to the wrestling business."[23] Last's comments were said ironically about people eulogizing him fondly and Cornette's comments were based on his friendship with Croitoru while also noting that he had difficulty reconciling Croitoru's double life.[23]

Championships and accomplishments edit

Books edit

  • Edwards, Peter (2013). Unrepentant The Strange and (Sometimes) Terrible Life of Lorne Campbell, Satan's Choice and Hells Angels Biker. Toronto: Vintage Canada. ISBN 9780307362575.
  • Kayser, Tracy (2021). Johnny K9: My life with the pro wrestler turned serious gangster. Chicago, Illinois: Crime Book Services. ISBN 979-8-483-94131-6.
  • Legall, Paul (January 11, 2005). "Croitoru revelled in 'bad guy' image". The Hamilton Spectator. pp. B1–B2.
  • Langton, Jerry (2010). Showdown: How the Outlaws, Hells Angels and Cops Fought for Control of the Streets. Toronto: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-67878-7.
  • Langton, Jerry (2015). Cold War How Organized Crime Works in Canada and Why It's About to Get More Violent. Toronto: HarperColllins. ISBN 978-1-4434-3255-9.
  • Langton, Jerry (2013). The Notorious Bacon Brothers Inside Gang Warfare on Vancouver Streets. Toronto: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-40459-1.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oliver, Greg. "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Bruiser Bedlam". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  2. ^ a b Clairmont, Susan (February 22, 2017). "Johnny K-9, Suspect in Ancaster Murder, Found Dead at Toronto Halfway House". Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  3. ^ WrestlingData.com: Bruiser Bedlam, General Information
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Wrestler Profiles: Bruiser Bedlam". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d "Profil von Bruiser Bedlam". Cagematch: The Internet Wrestling Database (in German). Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  6. ^ "Ion Croitoru s-a bătut cu Hulk Hogan!". Libertatea (in Romanian). March 20, 2010. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  7. ^ a b Legall 2005, p. B1.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Oliver, Greg (February 6, 2007). "Johnny K-9 starts a new life". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Legall 2005, p. B2.
  10. ^ HockeyDB.com: Kitchener Rangers All-Time Players List
  11. ^ a b c Mooneyham, Mike (December 18, 2005). . The Wrestling Gospel. Archived from the original on April 17, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Humphreys, Adrian Humphreys (February 22, 2017). "Natural causes succeed where mob hit men and gangsters failed — Johnny K-9 is dead". The National Post. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "NWA/AWA Southern Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h Langton 2010, p. 114.
  15. ^ Langton 2010, p. 113-114.
  16. ^ "Ring Results: 1985". The History of WWE. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  17. ^ a b "Ring Results: 1986". The History of WWE. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  18. ^ "Ring Results: 1987". The History of WWE. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  19. ^ "Ring Results: 1988". The History of WWE. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  20. ^ a b Langton 2010, p. 35.
  21. ^ Langton 2010, p. 65.
  22. ^ "Regional Territories: Smoky Mountain Wrestling #14". Kayfabe Memories. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Ojst, Javier. "Bruiser Bedlam – The Insane Crime Life of Wrestling's Ion Croitoru". Pro Wrestling Stories. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  24. ^ a b c "Smoky Mountain Wrestling: April–June 1994". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  25. ^ a b "Smoky Mountain Wrestling: July–September 1994". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  26. ^ "Smoky Mountain Wrestling: October–December 1994". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  27. ^ Duncan, Royal; Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  28. ^ a b "Smoky Mountain Wrestling "Beat the Champ" Television Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  29. ^ a b c d "Midwest Territorial Wrestling Title Histories". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  30. ^ "Ring Results: 1995". The History of WWE. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  31. ^ "Cleveland All Pro Wrestling". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  32. ^ a b c "BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  33. ^ "Insane Championship Wrestling: August 11, 1996". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  34. ^ "Holiday Hell". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  35. ^ "WCW Ring Results: 1996". The History of WWE. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
  36. ^ Powell, John. "Valentine still "hammering" away". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  37. ^ . Great Lakes Championship Wrestling. Archived from the original on June 30, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  38. ^ "Women Wrestler Profiles: 21st Century Fox". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  39. ^ "Bruiser Bedlam".
  40. ^ Langton 2010, p. 114).
  41. ^ Langton 2010, p. 113.
  42. ^ a b Langton 2010, p. 114-115.
  43. ^ Langton 2010, p. 47 & 93-94.
  44. ^ a b c d e f Langton 2010, p. 115.
  45. ^ a b c d Langton 2010, p. 109.
  46. ^ a b c d e Edwards, Peter (May 16, 2021). "An Ontario criminal lawyer killed at home with her husband. Why the prime suspect was a Satan's Choice biker who once wrestled Hulk Hogan". The Toronto Star. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  47. ^ a b c d e f Edwards 2013, p. 240.
  48. ^ a b c d e Kelvin, T.A. (2007). Headless Man in Topless Bar: Studies of 725 Cases of Strip Club Related Criminal Homicides. Dog Ear Publishing. p. 505. ISBN 978-1-59858-324-3.
  49. ^ a b c d e f Langton 2010, p. 121.
  50. ^ a b c Langton 2010, p. 123.
  51. ^ a b c d Dunphy, Bill. "Bruiser Bedlam arrested on street". SLAM! Wrestling. Hamilton Spectator. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  52. ^ a b "Explosion au quartier général des policiers". Radio Canada (in French). September 16, 1998. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  53. ^ Edwards, Peter (August 13, 2010). "Mafia hitman reveals his code for killings". The Toronto Star.
  54. ^ "Hamilton wrestler 'Johnny K-9' a member of B.C. gang". The Star. August 29, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  55. ^ a b c d e Langton 2010, p. 19.
  56. ^ Langton 2010, p. 18.
  57. ^ Langton 2015, p. 151.
  58. ^ Langton 2010, p. 19-20.
  59. ^ a b Langton 2010, p. 238.
  60. ^ a b c Langton 2010, p. 239.
  61. ^ Langton 2010, p. 125-126.
  62. ^ a b Langton 2010, p. 126.
  63. ^ a b c d Langton 2010, p. 240.
  64. ^ a b c d e f Langton 2010, p. 241.
  65. ^ a b c Langton 2010, p. 242.
  66. ^ "Johnny K-9 held in double slaying". SLAM! Wrestling. January 7, 2005. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  67. ^ Clairmont, Susan (March 10, 2007). "Gilbanks say it's corruption". Canadian Crime Victim Foundation. Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  68. ^ "The Police File on the Gravelle Family". Media Awareness Project. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  69. ^ Clairmont, Susan (May 15, 2009). . Hamilton Spectator. Archived from the original on May 16, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  70. ^ a b Mitchell, Brett (March 10, 2007). . CTV. Archived from the original on March 15, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  71. ^ a b c d e Legall, Paul (December 19, 2007). . Hamilton Spectator. Archived from the original on October 22, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  72. ^ a b Kari, Shannon (May 24, 2007). "Murder mystery deepens as $25M lawsuit filed". National Post. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  73. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Langton 2010, p. 243.
  74. ^ . Hamilton Spectator. May 25, 2007. Archived from the original on September 1, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  75. ^ "Hamilton Police Ordered to Pay Convicted Drug Smuggler Andre Gravelle $10K". CBC. February 10, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  76. ^ Langton 2010, p. 243-244.
  77. ^ a b c d e f Langton 2010, p. 244.
  78. ^ Clairmont, Susan (February 15, 2011). "Disgraced police inspector sentenced to house arrest for fraud". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  79. ^ a b Bolan, Kim (May 15, 2009). "Eight UN gangsters now charged with conspiracy to murder Bacon brothers". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  80. ^ . Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2011. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  81. ^ Langton 2010, p. 246.
  82. ^ Langton 2010, p. 262.
  83. ^ a b Langton 2010, p. 252.
  84. ^ a b c d e Langton 2013, p. 147.
  85. ^ "8 alleged UN gang members charged". CBC. May 15, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  86. ^ . January 25, 2011. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  87. ^ Edwards, Peter (August 29, 2011). "Hamilton wrestler 'Johnny K-9' a member of B.C. gang". Toronto Star. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  88. ^ a b Humphreys, Adrian (February 22, 2017). "Natural Causes Succeed where Mob Hit Men and Gangsters Failed — Johnny K-9 Is Dead". National Post. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  89. ^ "Former Hamilton biker boss Johnny K-9 guilty in BC drug gang murder plot". Hamilton Spectator. July 9, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  90. ^ a b Dolan, Kim (January 30, 2015). "Ex-wrestler who was part of UN gang plot to kill Bacon brothers is denied parole". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  91. ^ Bolan, Kim (August 31, 2016). "Two Men with UN Links to Be Released from Prison". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved February 22, 2017.

External links edit

  • A Complicated Path (Hamilton Spectator timeline of the Gilbank murders and investigation) February 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  • Ion Croitoru's profile at Cagematch.net  , Wrestlingdata.com  , Internet Wrestling Database  

November 23, 2023
croitoru, william, croitoru, december, 1963, february, 2017, canadian, professional, wrestler, born, raised, hamilton, ontario, canada, wrestling, fans, better, known, ring, names, johnny, taras, bulba, bruiser, bedlam, worked, several, canadian, wrestling, pr. Ion William Croitoru December 7 1963 February 21 2017 1 was a Canadian professional wrestler He was born and raised in Hamilton Ontario Canada To wrestling fans he is better known by his ring names Johnny K 9 Taras Bulba and Bruiser Bedlam He worked in several Canadian wrestling promotions including Stampede Wrestling and later wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling Smoky Mountain Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation WWF He wrestled as a jobber in the WWF but he was booked to win titles in several other promotions Ion CroitoruBirth nameIon William CroitoruBorn 1963 12 07 December 7 1963 1 Hamilton Ontario Canada 1 DiedFebruary 21 2017 2017 02 21 aged 53 Toronto Ontario CanadaChildren3 2 Professional wrestling careerRing name s Bruiser Bedlam 1 Johnny K 9 1 K 9 Dog Of War 3 Taras Bulba 1 Orhan Turgedan The Terrible Turk 1 The Mysterian 1 Billed height6 ft 0 in 1 83 m 1 Billed weight300 lb 140 kg 1 Billed fromHamilton Ontario 4 Romania WWF Trained byNick DeCarlo 5 Vic Rosettani 5 Debut1984 5 Retired1998Croitoru was also known for his history of legal problems He was a member of Satan s Choice a biker gang He was convicted of assault trafficking cocaine and bombing a police station In 2005 he was arrested for the murder of lawyer Lynn Gilbank and her husband Fred After a lengthy investigation the charges were dropped in June 2006 because of insufficient evidence He worked as a security guard in Vancouver British Columbia until being arrested in May 2009 for conspiracy to murder the Bacon Brothers Jonathan Barber was killed when the plan went awry and Croitoru was charged with first degree murder He pleaded guilty in July 2013 to conspiracy in exchange for a stay of proceedings on the murder charge He was the focus for episode 11 of the third season of the Vice TV s documentary series Dark Side of the Ring Contents 1 Personal life 2 Professional wrestling career 2 1 Early career 1984 1994 2 2 Smoky Mountain Wrestling 1994 2 3 Late career 1994 1998 2013 3 Legal trouble 3 1 Satan s Choice motorcycle club 3 2 The Gravelle family 3 3 Murder accusations 3 4 Life in Vancouver 3 5 United Nations gang 3 6 Last years 4 Death 5 Championships and accomplishments 6 Books 7 References 8 External linksPersonal life editCroitoru was born to Romanian parents in Hamilton Ontario Canada 6 Croitoru grew up in the working class district of east Hamilton and as a teenager liked to work out at a local gym known as Bad Boy s 7 Before entering professional wrestling Croitoru claimed that he played junior hockey for the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League 8 According to the journalist Paul Legall of The Hamilton Spectator Croitoru played very briefly for the Kitchener Rangers going on to write But a coach who didn t like his bruising style bounced him and squelched any dreams he had of professional hockey 9 However no record of his time with the Rangers can be found 10 He was an accomplished weightlifter and once bench pressed 625 pounds 11 Professional wrestling career editEarly career 1984 1994 edit He started work as a bouncer in a Hamilton bar and was recruited into wrestling after a wrestler who come there to drink saw him in the bar 12 Croitoru trained with Nick DeCarlo and Victor Rosettani Sr before debuting in Stampede Wrestling in 1984 1 5 Bruce Hart gave Croitoru the ring name Orhan Turgedan The Terrible Turk a name Croitoru only wrestled under for a short time after leaving the promotion 1 He continued to wrestle in Canadian independent promotions such as Grand Prix Wrestling in the Maritimes and Superstars of Wrestling in Windsor Ontario 1 In 1985 Croitoru wrestled for the American Wrestling Association AWA where he received a push and was given a reign as AWA Southern Heavyweight champion He defeated Jerry Lawler to win the belt on August 16 but dropped it back to Lawler in a rematch on September 6 13 The following month Croitoru joined the World Wrestling Federation WWF as Johnny K 9 where he competed until 1989 Croitoru claimed that he decided on this name while being arrested after a fight He saw K 9 written on a paddywagon and decided on the ring name 1 Croitoru s signature moves were the Stomach Claw and the Flying Headbutt 14 Croitoru stood six feet tall and was billed as weighing about 300 pounds Sporting a Fu Manchu moustache and with his head shaved completely bald he was typecast as a villain who excelled in generating heat fan anger by his exploits in the ring 15 Croitoru usually showed up in the ring wearing black tights and a collar around his neck and proceeded to generate heat from the audiences before his matches started 14 One television commentator stated that his fighting style was like an animal or a dog 12 The Canadian journalist Adrian Humphreys called him a hugely entertaining and dirty fighter whose antics made him natural as a heel 12 Croitoru liked his bad boy image once telling a reporter he was the baddest of the bad going on to say You can print that I want everyone to know 7 He worked as a jobber to the stars putting over such wrestlers as Pedro Morales Tito Santana and Paul Orndorff 16 17 18 19 He wrestled in many tag team matches and formed a short lived team with Barry O in 1986 17 but his biggest match in the WWF was a televised match against Hulk Hogan 4 In his hometown of Hamilton Croitoru was considered to be a celebrity and he was generally known as Johnny K 9 14 Croitoru himself usually used that name when signing documents and was even able to open up a bank account under his Johnny K 9 moniker 14 Croitoru was only a jobber which the journalist Jerry Langton noted was a hard way to make a living even by Hamilton standards 14 Hamilton was once known as Steeltown being a largely working class city made up of immigrants from the British isles Italy and Eastern Europe who were attracted by the high wages offered in the steel industry 20 At its height of its prosperity three quarters of all the steel produced in Canada came from Hamilton 20 With the decline of the Canadian steel industry Hamilton went into a steep economic decline becoming a Canadian version of the American Rustbelt cities 21 The decline of the steel industry in Hamilton ensured that anyone from Hamilton who was successful at anything even as a wresting jobber was bound to become a celebrity in Hamilton The mere fact that Croitoru had wrestled Hulk Hogan made him famous in his hometown all the more so as many of the blue collar people of Hamilton were fans of professional wrestling 14 Langton wrote that at the height of his fame Croitoru could barely walk a block in downtown Hamilton without someone offering to buy him a beer 14 After leaving the WWF he wrestled on a tour of Japan for New Japan Pro Wrestling 1 he later returned to Japan to compete for Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling and Wrestle Association R 1 In the late 1980s Croitoru also worked as a promoter along with Mike Kelly and Bob Clarke operating the short lived Canadian International Championship Wrestling in Hamilton Ontario 1 4 During his wrestling career Croitoru s persona changed from that of Middle Eastern or Eastern European villains such as the Terrible Turk and Taras Bulba to working class heroes such as Bruiser Bedlam 14 In 1989 Croitoru was convicted of drug possession 9 At his trial Croitoru stated that the lengthy road trips required by his wrestling career had led him to abuse cocaine to ease the tedium of his existence 9 Croitoru also admitted to his weakness for the fast life saying he liked expensive cars and staying out late at nightclubs too much 9 In 1993 Croitoru opened up a gym called Bad Boy s in Burlington named after the gym he had patronized in his youth 9 In September 1993 Croitoru was convicted of forgery being fined 500 and placed on probation 9 With his forgery conviction came the failure of his gym as he was unable to pay the rent 9 Smoky Mountain Wrestling 1994 edit Croitoru joined Smoky Mountain Wrestling SMW in 1994 where he was given the ring name Bruiser Bedlam According to the storyline he was brought in by manager Jim Cornette to help settle Cornette s feud with Bob Armstrong 22 Cornette explained his reasons for the Bruiser Bedlam moniker as He was 6 0 tall 270 lbs billed at 300 built like a fireplug bald headed barrel chested with tattoos and a legitimate 600 lbs bench presser with a mean look I was always looking for heels to take back to Smoky Mountain and Johnny K 9 was not a name that thrilled me I was a big Dick The Bruiser fan when I was a kid and this guy had the big bruiser Brock Lesnar type look to him Bruiser Bedlam Wrestling was the clip compilation show Bruiser s WWA ended on in the early 80s And Bedlam was a famous mental institution in England in the olden days the word bedlam now signifies chaos mayhem and confusion so Bruiser Bedlam became his new name 23 Cornette stated that Croitoru never moved to Tennessee during his time in SMW and instead drove down from Hamilton every weekend for his matches 23 Bedlam and Cornette combined for a victory in a two on one handicap match over Armstrong at SMW s Blue Grass Brawl II show on April 1 24 That year he wrestled many tag team and six man matches while teaming with Cornette 25 26 One observer Edward Pardue recalled A newcomer debuted in SMW in the spring of 1994 named Bruiser Bedlam Looking at this man on television I got the impression he wasn t one to be trifled with Jim Cornette had found the man to beat Bob Armstrong and beat him he did Johnny Bruiser Bedlam K 9 even got a pinfall victory over Randy Savage There was no stopping Bruiser Bedlam in SMW he left in pursuit of other territories to conquer All I know is if I ever had to fight Tyson in a street fight that is one guy I would want to back me up 23 Cornette stated that he was aware that Croitoru was involved in crime during his time in SMW but maintained that he was only a petty criminal who liked to exaggerate his importance in the underworld 23 Cornette declared That was some people telling him and I m not trying to excuse this guy s crimes but people were telling him You take this suitcase and you take it to these people at this place and get the money they give you and bring it back He was the guy nobody was going to fuck with on either side of that transaction It wasn t like he was the kingpin from Colombia El Guapo translated as The Handsome One So he went to prison and he was always in prison for conspiracy and unfortunately a lot has been heavily overstated because he was with these people and did what they told him to do But I d be greatly surprised if he ever killed anybody 23 Bedlam was booked for one title reign with the SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship during his stint in SMW The kayfabe rules behind the title state that any wrestler winning five consecutive matches as champion would win 5 000 but be forced to vacate the title 27 He won a match against Mike Furnas on April 4 1994 to win the title and he defended it over the following month 28 Bedlam won his fifth match on May 2 with a victory over Anthony Michaels and the storyline saw him forced to give up the title 24 On May 20 he defeated Randy Savage with help from Dory Funk Jr He went on to feud with Tracy Smothers and the two wrestled in a lengthy series of matches including several Coalminer s glove matches in which a glove is available for the wrestlers to use as a weapon 24 Later that year Bedlam wrestled several matches against Dirty White Boy Tony Anthony The series consisted of several steel cage matches in which Bedlam put Anthony over as well as tag team matches where Bedlam teamed with Cornette and Anthony teamed with Ron Wright 25 As Bruiser Bedlam Croitoru was successful in the SMW but the company s financial problems caused him to seek work elsewhere 23 Late career 1994 1998 2013 edit In 1994 Croitoru also began wrestling in Midwest Territorial Wrestling an independent promotion based in Michigan He continued using the ring name Taras Bulba and proclaimed himself King of Chain matches 4 He competed in a tournament to determine the promotion s first heavyweight champion but Al Snow defeated him in the final round 29 Bulba was pushed for a run with the belt however defeating Mickey Doyle on January 21 1995 to win the vacant title 29 He held the championship for almost four months before dropping it to Marty Jannetty 29 As Johnny K 9 Croitoru returned to the WWF for one match where he defeated Gary Scott in a dark match on January 23 1995 30 Cornette had booked the WWF match in the hope that Croitoru might be able to return to the WWF but the company was not interested 23 He then competed briefly in Cleveland All Pro Wrestling where he wrestled against Cactus Jack in a booked loss on March 23 31 Croitoru also wrestled in Border City Wrestling BCW and was pushed to win the BCW Can Am Heavyweight Championship by defeating Scott D Amore on May 21 1995 32 He held the title for a little over a month before dropping it back to D Amore 32 Once again using the ring name Bruiser Bedlam he wrestled for Insane Championship Wrestling ICW for a short time in 1996 While there he competed in a barbed wire baseball bat match against Ian Rotten Bedlam was booked for the victory in the match 33 He also wrestled New Jack at ICW s Holiday Hell supercard in a match that ended in a double countout 34 He wrestled on World Championship Wrestling s first annual Ilio DiPaolo tribute show teaming with Cowboy Danny Johnson in a loss to Tony Parisi and Dominic DeNucci 35 In the late 1990s Croitoru wrestled in Cambridge Ontario based International Championship Wrestling He feuded with Greg Valentine and the two wrestled in a series of matches Bedlam won the ICW Heavyweight Championship from Valentine and used heel tactics such as brass knuckles to defend the belt 4 36 Croitoru has also trained several wrestlers including Pure Wrestling Association s Eddie Osbourne and Melissa Maughn who competes under the ring name 21st Century Fox 37 38 Croitoru wrestled one more match on June 6 2013 where he defeated Panama Wasp at Thrash Wrestling in Lumby British Columbia 39 Legal trouble editSatan s Choice motorcycle club edit Croitoru had a history of run ins with the police Many of his legal problems came while he was president of the Hamilton Ontario chapter of the Satan s Choice Outlaw motorcycle club 8 After his income from his wrestling career dwindled following being fired from the WWF for cocaine use in 1991 he started to wrestle in what were described as down market wrestling leagues 40 Croitoru had been selling illegal steroids for a number of years and through another steroid dealer known to the media only as Jimmy Rich a court ordered pseudonym as Jimmy Rich is now living in witness protection after turning Crown s evidence he came into contact with Satan s Choice 41 After joining Satan s Choice Toronto chapter Croitoru was allowed to found a new Satan s Choice chapter in Hamilton with himself as the chapter president in 1995 42 Croitoru had gained the approval of Satan s Choice national president Bernie Guindon to have his club return to Hamilton for the third time The first Satan s Choice Hamilton chapter had patched over to join the Outlaws in 1977 while the second Satan s Choice Hamilton had disbanded itself following the murders of two of its members by the Outlaws in August 1985 43 Croitoru s career in wrestling made him a local celebrity in Hamilton allowing him to attract many recruits for his chapter 42 The clubhouse for the Hamilton chapter was located in a former convenience store at 269 Lottridge Street about six blocks away from the Outlaws clubhouse at 402 Birch Avenue 44 The Hamilton chapter of the Outlaws had been a Satan s Choice chapter until 1977 so the choice of location was considered to be a provocation The decision to open a third version of a Satan s Choice chapter in Hamilton was regarded as an insult to Mario Parente the president of the Outlaws Hamilton chapter 45 One policeman stated Oh they hated Parente And they knew it would piss him off to have another club in what he considered to be his town 45 The pool table for the Satan s Choice Hamilton clubhouse was donated by Pasquale Fat Pat Musitano the boss of the Musitano family 46 Detective Sergeant Len Isnor the head of the Ontario Provincial Police s Anti Biker Enforcement Unit was not impressed with Croitoru saying After a while you can tell who s cut out for the life and who isn t I could tell right away that he wouldn t make it Some of the guys would talk to you If there was a guy who was really into bikes you could talk bikes but K 9 Croitoru would talk about anything especially himself he was just stupid that way 44 Croitoru was especially close to Michel Dube the president of Satan s Choice Sudbury chapter who was considered by Isnor to be the most dangerous outlaw biker in all of Ontario 44 Isnor recalled that he once talked to a biker and a convicted murderer with a crazed look in his eyes that reminded many of Charles Manson who told him that he was utterly terrified of Dube who was regarded as a reckless psychopath 44 Both Croitoru and Dube purchased the cocaine that their chapters sold from the Hells Angels mother chapter in Montreal 44 Guindon had ruled that members of Satan s Choice were free to do business with the Hells Angels 45 Richard Rick Vallee of the Angels Nomad chapter sold the majority of the drugs purchased by Satan s Choice s Hamilton and Sudbury chapters which being new chapters did not have the same established drug dealing connections that the older Satan s Choice chapters had 45 Lorne Edgar Campbell a long time member of Satan s Choice was not impressed with Croitoru whom he met at a party at the clubhouse of the Sudbury chapter hosted by Dube 47 Campbell described Croitoru as being of limited intelligence alongside having a fierce competitive streak as he would not accept any defeats which Campbell found highly ironic given Croitoru s work as a wrestling jobber 47 During the party Campbell defeated Croitoru several times in Indian leg wrestling 47 Croitoru spent the rest of the party pestering Campbell to explain how he won leading him to recall He wouldn t leave me alone That night he was like a dog following me around 47 Campbell finally explained As soon as you hook you roll 47 At point Croitoru had a rematch and won leading Campbell to state When I showed him he almost broke my back 47 Croitoru was arrested for trafficking cocaine and served ten months in prison 1 48 Soon after he was convicted of assault and was given a sentence of seven months 1 He encountered more problems in late 1996 when he and several friends from Satan s Choice were refused entry to a strip club for wearing their gang s colors 48 During a visit to Sudbury to see Dube he attempted to enter the Solid Gold strip club where he was informed in the parking lot that the club had a policy of refusing entrance to those wearing gang colors 49 Croitoru shouted We wear our colors wherever the fuck we want which inspired Dube to shout fuck yeah in agreement the assembled Satan s Choice bikers then attempted to enter the Solid Gold wearing jackets with their Satan s Choice patches where the bouncers promptly refused them all entrance 49 When the bikers persisted with demanding entry to the Solid Gold the police were called 49 To get revenge Croitoru and his friends planned to blow up the strip club Later that same night Croitoru Dube and the others went to the Coulson Tavern in downtown Sudbury where Dube brooded obsessively over their humiliation at the Solid Gold 50 Croitoru and Dube ended up walking across Larch Street to an all night sandwich shop where Dube stated he would do anything to get revenge against the owners of the Solid Gold leading Croitoru to say he knew someone in the Hamilton chapter who knew how to build bombs 50 The journalist Jerry Langton described Croitoru as an essentially weak character who was always too anxious to please those he considered his friends such as Dube 50 Croitoru had a member of the Hamilton chapter Jure Jerry Juretta build a bomb 49 Juretta was a former soldier in the Canadian Army and was accustomed to handling explosives 49 Croitoru and Juretta then drove to Sudbury to hand over the bomb to Dube and vice president Brian Davies of the Sudbury chapter in a Tim Horton s coffee shop where Highway 69 and Notre Dame Avenue intersected in South Sudbury 49 They changed their minds and decided to bomb the local police station instead 48 The bombing on December 15 1996 caused 133 000 in damages to the Sudbury Ontario police station and a nearby bank and injured a police officer 51 Croitoru seemed surprised that Dube had decided to bomb the police station instead shouting on his phone which unknown to him had been tapped by the police What do you mean the police station It was supposed to be the Solid Gold 44 Croitoru Dube and Juretta were arrested and charged but the trial did not begin until almost two years later 52 Kenneth Murdock a hitman has claimed he was hired by the Musitano brothers to kill Croitoru but instead chose to spare his life 53 54 Murdock was given a list of four men to kill by his employers Pasquale Fat Pat Musitano and his younger brother Angelo Ang Musitano 55 Murdock was to kill Johnny the Enforcer Papalia the boss of the Papalia Mafia family Carmen Barillaro the right hand man to Papalia Mario Parente the president of the Outlaws Hamilton chapter and finally Croitoru 55 The Musitano brothers wanted Croitoru killed because of his connections with the Hells Angels as they feared that he might allow the Angels to establish more influence in Hamilton at their expense 55 At the time the Hells Angels had no chapters in Ontario through their national president Walter Stadnick lived in Hamilton Additionally Croitoru had started to work for the rival Luppino family which Fat Pat Musitano regarded as a betrayal 46 Murdock assassinated Papalia on May 31 1997 and on killed Barillaro on July 23 1997 56 On August 20 1997 Murdock knocked on the door of Croitoru s house to tell him John I ve been sent here to kill you But I m not going to do it 55 Croitoru was left speechless for a moment before thanking Murdock 55 Unknown to the Musitano brothers Murdock was a friend of Croitoru and could not bring himself to kill him 57 Shortly afterwards Murdock was arrested on unrelated charges of extortion for the Musitano family and while in police custody the detectives played audio tapes of the Musitano brothers mocking and laughing at him which inspired him to turn Crown s evidence and testify against his former employers 58 While Croitoru was awaiting trial for the bombing the Hamilton branch of Satan s Choice was shut down after an informant gave the police information about the gang s involvement with drug dealing and extortion 48 On April 16 1998 the police raided the Satan s Choice Hamilton clubhouse 9 The gang s clubhouse was confiscated and the club s national leadership decided to disband the Hamilton chapter 51 Croitoru s attempt to transfer over to the Toronto chapter was rejected as it was felt that he was a loose cannon who was a liability for Satan s Choice 59 Croitoru got in a fight in Hamilton with another former Satan s Choice member Jimmy Rich on January 13 1998 59 A police officer saw Croitoru punch Rich in the face and arrested Croitoru for assault 51 In addition to the assault charge Croitoru was charged with extortion from an unrelated incident as well as carrying a concealed weapon and breaking the conditions of his release following the police station bombing 51 11 In September 1998 Croitoru was brought to trial for his role in the bombing 52 He was convicted and sentenced to 33 months in prison 48 Croitoru pleaded guilty to his role in having the bomb built 60 Besides for his role in the bombing Croitoru was also convicted of illegally selling steroids largely on the basis of the testimony of his former friend Jimmy Rich 61 Dube who was facing two counts of murder plus charges relating to the bombing hanged himself in jail on September 22 1998 62 Isnor explained Dube s suicide as Johnny K 9 was the only friend he had left in the world and he knew that we had him and he was going away forever 62 The Gravelle family edit The police maintained that Croitoru worked as an enforcer and a debt collector for the Gravelle family of Hamilton after he was expelled from Satan s Choice 23 Croitoru maintained that he rarely had to strike anyone as a debt collector because he was sufficiently intimidating to make people pay up 12 A couple named Smith who stated that they worked as drug smugglers for Denis and Paul Gravelle describe Croitoru as a regular visitor to Paul s house 63 According to Bill Smith when one of the runners for the Gravelle family mouthed off to Paul Gravelle Croitoru beat him bloody in the basement of Paul Gravelle s house 63 Smith stated he saw pieces of the runner s face smeared all over the wall and there was blood everywhere as Croitoru had broken his nose jaw and orbital bone 63 The Gravelle family were French Canadians from northern Ontario and Paul Gravelle in a 2005 interview stated when he moved to Hamilton the only words in English he knew were Stick em up 46 The Gravelle family were generally considered to be lesser players in the Hamilton crime scene being only a fourth family behind the three main Mafia families in Hamilton namely the Luppino Musitano and Papalia families 63 Unlike the three Mafia families the Gravelle family specialized in selling hashish 60 In 1992 the Gravelle brothers were arrested in connection with a shipment of 450 kilograms of hashish in Florida worth 14 million for which Andre Gravelle served four years in prison while Paul Gravelle served two years 60 After both Smiths were arrested at Toronto s Pearson Airport on February 11 1998 with some 500 000 worth of hash in their bags while returning from Ocho Rios they hired Lynn Gilbank as their lawyer 64 Gilbank felt that the Smiths were mere pawns and was outraged that members of the Gravelle family had been arrested many times but had never done any serious prison time as they always shifted the blame onto their subordinates 64 Bill Smith stated that Lynn Gilbank had a real hard on for these people and she definitely was gonna step on some toes 64 Danny Gravelle was arrested with 314 kilograms of hashish in the tubing of his boat trailer while Denis Gravelle was arrested returning from Manitoulin island to Hamilton with some 20 000 worth of hashish 64 After Denis Gravelle was arrested his lawyer approached Smith to tell him You re the one who ratted out Denis 64 Gilbank arranged for both Bill and Angie Smith to go into the witness protection later that day 64 At about 5 30 am on November 16 1998 someone broke into Gilbank s home in Ancaster and executed her and her husband Fred with a shotgun 65 Murder accusations edit Croitoru s most famous encounter with the law occurred on January 6 2005 when he was charged with the November 16 1998 murders of Lynn and Fred Gilbank 66 The couple was shot execution style with a shotgun 67 Police suspect that the murders were in response to Lynn Gilbank s assistance in getting William and Angie Smith into a witness protection program after William Smith gave the police information about the Gravelle crime family 68 Croitoru who had several contacts within the Gravelle family including a contract to kill police inspector Rick Wills who was investigating the Gravelles 69 was a suspect in the investigation and had his phones tapped during the investigation 70 While awaiting his murder trial he ran a home renovation business until he was unable to secure a bank loan to cover business expenses 71 After closing the business he supported himself by working as a used car salesman 71 The police tried to trick Pat Musitano into naming Croitoru as the killer by starting a rumor that Paul Gravelle was accusing Musitano of being behind the murder of the Gilbanks a ploy that did not work 46 After an investigation that lasted six years and cost 6 million police laid charges against Croitoru and Andre Gravelle 70 Croitoru was charged with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder 8 After spending seven months in prison Croitoru was released on 100 000 bail 71 He was arrested on December 2 2005 for violating his bail terms and police filed another extortion charge against him 11 Evidence against Croitoru and Gravelle was presented over the course of eight weeks in 2006 but the judge stated that the case against the two accused was not strong 72 A key witness for the Crown was a British immigrant and a professional lip reader who had been paid 20 000 to decipher what Croitoru was saying in a videotape of him talking in a restaurant 73 During the trial it was revealed that before she came to Canada she had been convicted of perjury in her native Britain 73 Furthermore it was revealed that she had overstated her abilities as a test showed that she was only able to decipher 55 of the words being spoken by people right in front of her 73 As a result the judge in the trial excluded her as a witness and ordered the jury to disregard her testimony 73 Without the transcript provided by the lip reader of what Croitoru was alleged to be saying the Crown s case was fatally weakened 73 Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant withdrew the charges on June 12 2006 74 Following this action by the attorney general both Croitoru and Andre Gravelle announced plans to file lawsuits against people involved with the prosecution Gravelle sued for 25 million and Croitoru sought 15 million for wrongful imprisonment and malicious prosecution 8 72 Hamilton Police Services was ordered to pay Gravelle 10 000 for court costs 75 In June 2006 Croitoru also pleaded guilty to the charges of extortion and violating the terms of his bail As a result he was forced to forfeit 10 000 of the bail money 71 The children of the Gilbanks went on the W5 television show on March 10 2007 to claim that there was serious police corruption that compromised the case against Gravelle and Croitoru 73 On the same show the Hamilton police chief Brian Mullen was interviewed and denied that his force was corrupt 73 Bryant appeared on the same show to call the claims of the Gilbank children false baseless scurrilous and potentially libelous and defamatory 73 Croitoru was asked to appear on the show but he declined 73 Instead Croitoru sent an email to the producers of W5 reading I am suing for what happened to me so I cannot provide an interview for your program I do want to say that what happened to me was very wrong I did not have anything to do with the murder of Mr and Mrs Gilbank and do not know who did It is wrong that after six years of investigation they watched everything I did and wiretapped all my calls after six years of investigating me the police did not find any evidence I committed this crime everything showed that I m innocent but they charged me with two murders I did not commit I sat in jail for months when there was no case no evidence that I was guilty What happened to me was not right it should not happen to anyone 76 The case ruined the career of Inspector Rick Wills of the Hamilton police who had once dined with Charles the Prince of Wales during a royal visit to Canada as the outstanding representative of the Hamilton police 77 The police allege that Andre Gravelle had hired Croitoru to kill Wills but Langton wrote that Wills had met with Gravelle and after talking with Andre things cooled down 77 Wills promptly retired in August 2008 under a cloud of suspicion but was ended up being charged in February 2009 for corruption for his actions during the Gravelle Croitoru case as an investigation was opened into his handling of the case 77 Additionally Wills was charged with stealing some 57 000 from the police evidence room 77 In 2010 Wills was found guilty of theft and was sentenced in 2011 to two years of house arrest 78 The eldest of the Gravelle brothers Paul had retired to Mexico 65 Gravelle told the media I ve just gone out of it altogether now I ve retired It s no secret yes I was a drug importer Mostly hash oil and marijuana 65 When asked if he ordered Croitoru to kill the Gilbanks Gravelle said No That s not true Our family is not killers That s beyond us to do a thing like that That s a despicable act That s a cowardly act 73 Life in Vancouver edit Croitoru lived in Vancouver British Columbia with his common law wife Tracy Edwards from 2007 onward 8 He most recently worked as a bodyguard for Lion s Gate Entertainment providing protection for entertainers such as Jack Nicholson and Cyndi Lauper 8 71 He also had a brief acting career appearing in a movie titled Oklahoma Smugglers in which he portrayed a wrestler and in such television shows as Reaper 79 80 Croitoru told the media that he loved Vancouver saying It s beautiful out here oh my God the ocean the mountains Hamilton makes me puke now when I think about it all those years wasted sitting there in that garbage you know what I mean 77 About his new profession as a bodyguard he stated I love it I dress up nice eat the best food just hang around and make sure nobody screws with these people 77 Croitoru stated that he was writing his autobiography saying This will be a bestseller I ve been on every extreme in the world the bikers I was a wrestler Major Junior A hockey player for the Kitchener Rangers I ve done a lot of things people can only dream about 81 Afterwards Croitoru was reported to be looking for a ghostwriter to complete his autobiography 82 Although he moved to Vancouver to get away from his underworld associates he proved unable to resist the allure of the gangster subculture and soon fell in with the United Nations gang active in the Fraser river valley 12 Police sources told the author Jerry Langton that Croitoru tried to join the Hells Angels Vancouver chapter but they directed him to the United Nations gang 83 United Nations gang edit In 2008 2009 there was a gang war for the control of the drug trade in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia 23 Clayton Roueche the leader of the United Nations gang had heard of Croitoru and recruited him The police had tapped the phones of both Roueche and Croitoru and often overheard them discussing cocaine deals 23 During his time on the Lower Mainland Croitoru continued to use his Johnny K 9 pseudonym as his name 84 Jonathan Barber was a young man who vaguely resembled Jonathan Bacon one of the three Bacon brothers warring against the United Nations gang 84 On May 9 2008 Barber whose job was to install audio systems inside automobiles was driving a Porsche Cayenne SUV owned by Bacon from Bacon s house in Abbotsford to his shop in Vancouver along the Kingsway highway when his vehicle was ambushed and shot up 84 The police allege that there was a group of United Nations members consisting of Croitoru Dan Russell Dilun Heng Yong Lee Barzan Tilli Choli and Karwan Saed who were also driving down the Kingsway and opened fire on Barber in the mistaken belief that he was Bacon 84 Barber s girlfriend Vicky King who was driving his car behind the SUV was also injured but she survived while he was killed 84 On May 15 2009 Croitoru was arrested along with seven other members of the United Nations gang They were charged with conspiracy to commit murder for allegedly plotting to kill the Bacon Brothers and other members of the Red Scorpions gang 85 79 Charged alongside Croitoru on charges of conspiracy to commit murder were United Nations leader Barzan Tilli Choli aged 26 Daniel Russell aged 27 Karwan Saed aged 32 Soroush Ansari aged 28 Dilun Heng aged 25 Young Sung aged 27 and Aram Ali aged 23 Croitoru at the age of 45 stood out in the group 83 On January 24 2011 Croitoru was charged with first degree murder in connection with the execution of Jonathan Barber 86 and the attempted murder of Barber s girlfriend Vicky King then 17 in Burnaby on May 9 2008 87 In July 2013 he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and the murder charges were stayed 88 He was sentenced to 13 years in prison which was reduced to four years and eight months after factoring in time served 89 90 Last years edit In January 2015 he applied for parole stating that he had agreed to help with the murders to impress members of the United Nations gang but that he did not intend to kill anyone The application was denied 90 The parole board in its report stated that he was a man that engaged in a criminal lifestyle for over 20 years with a long history of negative associates and organized criminal activity that included violence was extremely concerning 23 The report concluded You appear comfortable using violence 23 On September 1 2016 Croitoru was released to live in a halfway house in Toronto and was ordered not to have any contact with gangsters or criminals 91 Another parole condition was that he was not to enter Hamilton under any circumstances 23 Croitoru lived at the Keele Community Correctional Centre in Toronto which was the only halfway house in Canada that was willing to accept him 23 In his last years Croitoru learned that the original spelling of his surname in Romania was Kroitoru and started to use that spelling 23 Despite the withdrawal of the murder charges in 2006 the police saw Croitoru as the prime suspect in the murder of the Gilbanks and continued to investigate him much to his vexation 23 One outlaw biker who asked not to be named stated He just became a nobody Lost all of his fame Lost all of his clout Nobody wants to end up in the Keele Centre The type of guys who go there are guys who can t go anywhere else He had seen his better days 46 Death editCroitoru died on February 21 2017 at a federal halfway house in Toronto at the age of 53 2 88 Besides his widow he left behind three children 23 His widow Tracy maintained that he was not a killer saying the murder accusations had ruined our life 23 One of his underworld associates who asked not to be named told Humphreys in 2017 Wow that s really too bad I didn t like the guy but damn He definitely was notorious Johnny was not the most pleasant person but he fought for his beliefs Had a passion for riding and the biker lifestyle He was a bulldozer 12 Just days after his death Jim Cornette and Brian Last discussed Croitoru on The Jim Cornette Experience podcast 23 Last stated Despite blowing up the police station and allegedly murdering people he was very nice to me 23 Cornette stated He was two different people There was no happier guy in the locker room A smile on his face every time you saw him and totally dedicated to the wrestling business 23 Last s comments were said ironically about people eulogizing him fondly and Cornette s comments were based on his friendship with Croitoru while also noting that he had difficulty reconciling Croitoru s double life 23 Championships and accomplishments editAmerican Wrestling Association AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship 1 time 13 Border City Wrestling BCW Can Am Heavyweight Championship 1 time 32 International Championship Wrestling Cambridge Ontario ICW Heavyweight Championship 1 time 1 4 Midwest Territorial Wrestling MTW Heavyweight Championship 1 time 29 Smoky Mountain Wrestling SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship 1 time 28 Books editEdwards Peter 2013 Unrepentant The Strange and Sometimes Terrible Life of Lorne Campbell Satan s Choice and Hells Angels Biker Toronto Vintage Canada ISBN 9780307362575 Kayser Tracy 2021 Johnny K9 My life with the pro wrestler turned serious gangster Chicago Illinois Crime Book Services ISBN 979 8 483 94131 6 Legall Paul January 11 2005 Croitoru revelled in bad guy image The Hamilton Spectator pp B1 B2 Langton Jerry 2010 Showdown How the Outlaws Hells Angels and Cops Fought for Control of the Streets Toronto John Wiley amp Sons ISBN 978 0 470 67878 7 Langton Jerry 2015 Cold War How Organized Crime Works in Canada and Why It s About to Get More Violent Toronto HarperColllins ISBN 978 1 4434 3255 9 Langton Jerry 2013 The Notorious Bacon Brothers Inside Gang Warfare on Vancouver Streets Toronto John Wiley amp Sons ISBN 978 1 118 40459 1 References edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oliver Greg SLAM Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame Bruiser Bedlam SLAM Wrestling Archived from the original on January 15 2013 Retrieved February 18 2008 a b Clairmont Susan February 22 2017 Johnny K 9 Suspect in Ancaster Murder Found Dead at Toronto Halfway House Hamilton Spectator Retrieved February 22 2017 WrestlingData com Bruiser Bedlam General Information a b c d e f Wrestler Profiles Bruiser Bedlam Online World of Wrestling Retrieved February 18 2008 a b c d Profil von Bruiser Bedlam Cagematch The Internet Wrestling Database in German Retrieved February 18 2008 Ion Croitoru s a bătut cu Hulk Hogan Libertatea in Romanian March 20 2010 Retrieved April 16 2013 a b Legall 2005 p B1 a b c d e f Oliver Greg February 6 2007 Johnny K 9 starts a new life SLAM Wrestling Archived from the original on January 15 2013 Retrieved February 18 2008 a b c d e f g h Legall 2005 p B2 HockeyDB com Kitchener Rangers All Time Players List a b c Mooneyham Mike December 18 2005 Wrestlers in Jail for the Holidays The Wrestling Gospel Archived from the original on April 17 2008 Retrieved December 5 2009 a b c d e f Humphreys Adrian Humphreys February 22 2017 Natural causes succeed where mob hit men and gangsters failed Johnny K 9 is dead The National Post Retrieved June 21 2021 a b NWA AWA Southern Heavyweight Title Wrestling Titles Retrieved February 18 2008 a b c d e f g h Langton 2010 p 114 Langton 2010 p 113 114 Ring Results 1985 The History of WWE Retrieved December 5 2009 a b Ring Results 1986 The History of WWE Retrieved December 5 2009 Ring Results 1987 The History of WWE Retrieved December 5 2009 Ring Results 1988 The History of WWE Retrieved December 5 2009 a b Langton 2010 p 35 Langton 2010 p 65 Regional Territories Smoky Mountain Wrestling 14 Kayfabe Memories Retrieved February 18 2008 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Ojst Javier Bruiser Bedlam The Insane Crime Life of Wrestling s Ion Croitoru Pro Wrestling Stories Retrieved June 20 2021 a b c Smoky Mountain Wrestling April June 1994 Pro Wrestling History Retrieved February 22 2008 a b Smoky Mountain Wrestling July September 1994 Pro Wrestling History Retrieved February 22 2008 Smoky Mountain Wrestling October December 1994 Pro Wrestling History Retrieved February 22 2008 Duncan Royal Gary Will 2006 Wrestling Title Histories Archeus Communications ISBN 0 9698161 5 4 a b Smoky Mountain Wrestling Beat the Champ Television Title Wrestling Titles Retrieved February 18 2008 a b c d Midwest Territorial Wrestling Title Histories Pro Wrestling History Retrieved February 22 2008 Ring Results 1995 The History of WWE Retrieved December 5 2009 Cleveland All Pro Wrestling Online World of Wrestling Retrieved December 5 2009 a b c BCW Can Am Heavyweight Title Wrestling Titles Retrieved February 18 2008 Insane Championship Wrestling August 11 1996 Pro Wrestling History Retrieved February 18 2008 Holiday Hell Pro Wrestling History Retrieved February 18 2008 WCW Ring Results 1996 The History of WWE Retrieved December 5 2009 Powell John Valentine still hammering away SLAM Wrestling Archived from the original on July 29 2012 Retrieved February 22 2008 Singles Wrestlers Great Lakes Championship Wrestling Archived from the original on June 30 2008 Retrieved February 22 2008 Women Wrestler Profiles 21st Century Fox Online World of Wrestling Retrieved February 22 2008 Bruiser Bedlam Langton 2010 p 114 Langton 2010 p 113 a b Langton 2010 p 114 115 Langton 2010 p 47 amp 93 94 a b c d e f Langton 2010 p 115 a b c d Langton 2010 p 109 a b c d e Edwards Peter May 16 2021 An Ontario criminal lawyer killed at home with her husband Why the prime suspect was a Satan s Choice biker who once wrestled Hulk Hogan The Toronto Star Retrieved October 10 2021 a b c d e f Edwards 2013 p 240 a b c d e Kelvin T A 2007 Headless Man in Topless Bar Studies of 725 Cases of Strip Club Related Criminal Homicides Dog Ear Publishing p 505 ISBN 978 1 59858 324 3 a b c d e f Langton 2010 p 121 a b c Langton 2010 p 123 a b c d Dunphy Bill Bruiser Bedlam arrested on street SLAM Wrestling Hamilton Spectator Archived from the original on January 15 2013 Retrieved February 18 2008 a b Explosion au quartier general des policiers Radio Canada in French September 16 1998 Retrieved February 18 2008 Edwards Peter August 13 2010 Mafia hitman reveals his code for killings The Toronto Star Hamilton wrestler Johnny K 9 a member of B C gang The Star August 29 2011 Retrieved December 11 2016 a b c d e Langton 2010 p 19 Langton 2010 p 18 Langton 2015 p 151 Langton 2010 p 19 20 a b Langton 2010 p 238 a b c Langton 2010 p 239 Langton 2010 p 125 126 a b Langton 2010 p 126 a b c d Langton 2010 p 240 a b c d e f Langton 2010 p 241 a b c Langton 2010 p 242 Johnny K 9 held in double slaying SLAM Wrestling January 7 2005 Archived from the original on January 15 2013 Retrieved February 18 2008 Clairmont Susan March 10 2007 Gilbanks say it s corruption Canadian Crime Victim Foundation Hamilton Spectator Retrieved February 18 2008 The Police File on the Gravelle Family Media Awareness Project Retrieved February 18 2008 Clairmont Susan May 15 2009 From top cop to 20 000 bail Hamilton Spectator Archived from the original on May 16 2009 Retrieved May 15 2009 a b Mitchell Brett March 10 2007 A Tale of Two Families CTV Archived from the original on March 15 2007 Retrieved February 18 2008 a b c d e Legall Paul December 19 2007 Unruly wrestler must pay crown 10 000 Hamilton Spectator Archived from the original on October 22 2008 Retrieved June 14 2010 a b Kari Shannon May 24 2007 Murder mystery deepens as 25M lawsuit filed National Post Retrieved February 18 2008 a b c d e f g h i j Langton 2010 p 243 A complicated path Hamilton Spectator May 25 2007 Archived from the original on September 1 2011 Retrieved December 28 2012 Hamilton Police Ordered to Pay Convicted Drug Smuggler Andre Gravelle 10K CBC February 10 2015 Retrieved August 25 2015 Langton 2010 p 243 244 a b c d e f Langton 2010 p 244 Clairmont Susan February 15 2011 Disgraced police inspector sentenced to house arrest for fraud The Hamilton Spectator Retrieved October 21 2021 a b Bolan Kim May 15 2009 Eight UN gangsters now charged with conspiracy to murder Bacon brothers Vancouver Sun Retrieved May 15 2009 Oklahoma Smugglers 1988 Acting Credits Movies amp TV Dept The New York Times 2011 Archived from the original on May 19 2011 Retrieved February 18 2008 Langton 2010 p 246 Langton 2010 p 262 a b Langton 2010 p 252 a b c d e Langton 2013 p 147 8 alleged UN gang members charged CBC May 15 2009 Retrieved May 15 2009 Johnny K 9 faces murder charge January 25 2011 Archived from the original on January 28 2011 Retrieved January 25 2011 Edwards Peter August 29 2011 Hamilton wrestler Johnny K 9 a member of B C gang Toronto Star Retrieved October 16 2011 a b Humphreys Adrian February 22 2017 Natural Causes Succeed where Mob Hit Men and Gangsters Failed Johnny K 9 Is Dead National Post Retrieved February 22 2017 Former Hamilton biker boss Johnny K 9 guilty in BC drug gang murder plot Hamilton Spectator July 9 2013 Retrieved April 6 2015 a b Dolan Kim January 30 2015 Ex wrestler who was part of UN gang plot to kill Bacon brothers is denied parole Vancouver Sun Retrieved November 8 2015 Bolan Kim August 31 2016 Two Men with UN Links to Be Released from Prison Vancouver Sun Retrieved February 22 2017 External links editA Complicated Path Hamilton Spectator timeline of the Gilbank murders and investigation Archived February 7 2012 at the Wayback Machine Ion Croitoru s profile at Cagematch net nbsp Wrestlingdata com nbsp Internet Wrestling Database nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ion Croitoru amp oldid 1171313002, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.