Undercover police agent David (Shaky Dave) Atwell was repeatedly scolded by his police handlers and Hells Angels friends to stop his cocaine use, court heard today.
“I was feeling very stressed,” Atwell said during the Superior Court trial of Thomas Bogiatzis, who was charged with trafficking cocaine and conspiracy to traffic. Bogiatzis is not a member of the Hells Angels.
“I was feeling very alone as an agent,” Atwell said. “I felt I had no friends. I let my guard down.”
Court heard that Atwell snorted a line of cocaine in Vienna with a Hells Angel member while discussing the possibility of a drug shipment into Toronto.
He also snorted the drug off a CD case in the washroom of a biker clubhouse near London, Ont.
Atwell said senior Toronto Hells Angel Donnie Petersen and downtown Toronto Hells Angel president John Neale chided him over his cocaine use at the same time he was working with police in his undercover operation.
Atwell said his reputation in the Hells Angels was that of a frequent cocaine user and if he halted use of the drug suddenly, it would have blown his cover.
“It’s all over the place,” Atwell said under cross-examination from defence lawyer Glen Orr. “It’s just like hors d'oeuvres at a party.”
Orr noted that Atwell also smoked at joint of hashish and marijuana with Larry Pooler, another member of the downtown Toronto Hells Angel chapter.
“Why would you do it?” Orr asked.
“It’s a very difficult thing, being an undercover agent, and you have to keep up appearances,” he replied.
Court earlier heard Atwell was paid about $450,000 to work as a police agent during an 18-month investigation targeting the Hells Angels in Ontario.

A 34-year-old man who is believed to be a member of the California Hells Angels motorcycle club was arrested at his Pacifica home Thursday morning on assault charges, following several months of police investigation, the Police Department announced. At about 6 a.m., Pacifica police, in coordination with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and the Daly City Police Department, served search warrants in Pacifica and East Palo Alto, according to police. Rodney Gee was arrested at his home on charges of assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury, police reported. He was booked into the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office detention facility in Redwood City with bail set at $50,000.
No other information was immediately available.