by Kim BolanSpecial to the Langley Advance
United Nations gang founder Clay Roueche complained in a jailhouse phone call that his enemies were probably thrilled that he had been arrested in the U.S.
Some of Roueche’s intercepted calls were played this week in B.C. Supreme Court at the trial of accused UN gang killer Cory Vallee.
“I bet the other guys who are trying to do things to me are probably having a big dance right now,” Roueche said to his girlfriend.
The woman agreed.
Roueche said he was frustrated that his enemies were free while he had been arrested.
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CAPTION: Clay Roueche in recent photo at Coleman Prison, Florida
“I don’t understand how it works like that. These other guys can go around doing all these things and then they pick on me.”
At the time of the call, UN gangsters had been locked in a bloody gang war with the Bacon brothers and their Red Scorpion gang.
Vallee is charged with conspiracy to kill the Bacons and other Red Scorpions over several months in 2008 and 2009. He is also charged with first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of Bacon associate Kevin LeClair in Langley in February 2009.
He said to his girlfriend in one of the calls that he didn’t understand how he could be charged in the U.S. but not in Canada.
“And whatever is going on up there, it’s my country — just send me to my f***ing country to deal with my own shit and not sit down here,” he said.
He sounded mostly upbeat in the calls, although he said several times that “They are going to hang me down here.”
His woman friend repeatedly broke down and cried, but also told Roueche not to worry about her.
The two appeared to talk in code at times, referring to his “bros” by first initials only or by nicknames like “Ugly” and “Lazy.” Their calls were regularly interrupted by recorded messages saying: “This call is from a federal prison.”
The girlfriend also said Roueche’s arrest was “all over the news” and that one TV station had broadcast photos of his parents and kids.
“Are you serious?” he asked. “They can put pictures of me all they want. If they put pictures of my family and those I care about I am going to sue their ass.”
She also told Roueche that he had been identified in the media as a “kingpin drug lord” and that there were references to other associates also indicted in the U.S. case.
“The two other people should have lawyers to make sure they don’t get brought down here,” Roueche advised.
He said he didn’t yet have details of the conspiracy case against him, but believed it was weak.
“Sometimes things happen and you don’t know what the hell is going on,” he said.
“I personally look at the stuff and I can’t really see there being much to it, you know. I think it is all based on hearsay. I don’t know how shit works down here. But I think the people who said my name don’t personally know me. They probably just heard about me.”
Less than a year after the intercepted calls, Roueche pleaded guilty in a Seattle courtroom to conspiracy to export cocaine, import marijuana, and money laundering. He was sentenced to 30 years in jail.
Several other UN gangsters and associates have already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kill the Bacons.
Vallee’s judge-alone trial before Justice Janice Dillon is expected to last until June at the Vancouver Law Courts.
– Kim Bolan is a writer for the Vancouver Sun
