You never know what they do for a living 
Canadian hitman admits killing 28
A convicted Canadian contract killer has confessed to 28 murders and 12 attempted murders in the course of three decades, at his trial in Quebec.
Gerald Gallant's victims included bikers and alleged members of organised crime groups, as well as bystanders who were not intended to be targets.
Already serving life for a 2001 murder, he pleaded guilty to a further 27.
Gallant, 58, was caught in 2006 after fleeing to Europe when detectives linked him to that killing.
Having turned police informer, he will not get additional jail time for his other crimes and is eligible to apply for parole in 25 years.
Under his plea deal, he is barred from writing a book or making a film about his crimes but prosecutors said he would receive protection and would be given $50 (US $40, £28) a month to spend at the prison canteen.
Quebec has been wracked by drug-related turf wars between motorcyclist gangs.
Gallant's unintentional victims included a waitress he wounded in 2000 while killing Robert Savard, an associate of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, who was using her as a human shield.
“ He looked like an ordinary Joe, hard to identify in a crowd as someone who would commit crimes ”
Andre Marcoux Mayor of Donnacona, interviewed by the National Post
In 1999, he mistakenly shot dead a private detective living in an apartment formerly occupied by his intended target.
Gallant apologised before survivors and relatives of his victims in court on Tuesday.
"I regret the hurt I have caused the victims and their families," he said.
"I understand that forgiving will be difficult, maybe even impossible. I accept that. I agreed to co-operate with police in order to repair the damage I caused and to seek forgiveness."
Acting on information provided by the killer, police arrested 10 people across Quebec last week in connection with dozens of biker-related murders.
Gallant fled to Europe after police found a sample of his DNA on a glass in a restaurant in Quebec which linked him to the murder of a bar-owner in Ste-Adele, north of Montreal.
He was eventually arrested in Switzerland.
The mayor of Donnacona, a town near Quebec where Gallant lived for 20 years, has described the killer as an inconspicuous man with a fondness for cycling.
"He went pretty much unnoticed," Andre Marcoux told Canada's National Post last week.
"He was clean-cut, had clean cars and a tidy home. He rode his bicycle a lot.
"He looked like an ordinary Joe, hard to identify in a crowd as someone who would commit crimes."
Gallant, who often shot his victims down in bars or restaurants, reportedly received his "contracts" on pieces of paper passed to him inside a church.
Correspondents note that while Gallant is one of Canada's most prolific known killers, he is not the worst to date.
That dubious distinction goes to Yves (Apache) Trudeau, one of the founding members of the Hells Angels in Quebec, who was sentenced to life in prison in 1986 over 43 counts of manslaughter.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/7975704.stm
Published: 2009/03/31 23:56:26 GMT
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