Author Topic: Former Toronto neo-nazi leader gunned down  (Read 104 times)

davida.b.

Former Toronto neo-nazi leader gunned down
« on: April 17, 2005, 09:02:56 PM »
This happened on the 15th, didn't see it posted here, so I figured I'd post it

For much of his life, he preached hate and white supremacy. But a valuable lesson can be extracted from the violent demise of Wolfgang Droege on Wednesday - in death, we’re all equal.

Droege, one of the Canada’s most infamous neo-Nazi leaders is Toronto’s latest murder victim.

The man who made a name for himself as the former leader of the Heritage Front was gunned down in an east end apartment building.

Heavily armed police and the E.T.F. raced to the scene at 2 North Drive in the Victoria Park and Gerrard St. area just after 3pm, following reports that shots were fired.

Droege was discovered dead at the scene, clad only in his underwear and a T-shirt. The suspect in the shooting was holed up inside the building and refused to come out until he spoke with his brother by cellphone.

He hasn’t been identified, but sources say he's 44-year-old Keith Deroux, and that he was known to the victim. Police are still unsure of the motive behind the killing, but don't believe it was tied to Droege's racist views.

The Nazi sympathizer was known to have made a lot of enemies in his 55 years. He was into drug trafficking and cigarette smuggling, but his political views made him a target, too.

Droege lived in the area for over 10 years and despite his stormy past he was generally well received.

“Nice guy," shrugs one neighbour. “Wouldn't expect this from anybody in this building. It's just kind of a shame that it happened.”

Blantyre Public School across the street was locked down during the drama, but the kids were allowed to go home after the scene was secured.

Droege had a lengthy criminal record that included assaulting a reporter and he spent several years in jail for a variety of other crimes. His life began peacefully in Bavaria in 1949. It ended violently in Toronto on Wednesday.

Matrix Heart

  • Guest
Re: Former Toronto neo-nazi leader gunned down
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2005, 09:18:03 PM »
Thanks for reminding me, I left a Bavarian donut in my car  :o fuck him.
 

davida.b.

Re: Former Toronto neo-nazi leader gunned down
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2005, 09:39:08 PM »
Here's another article, it seems he was an important figure in the white supremecy movement. Rest in piss.

For years he stood for hate, but in the end notorious white supremacist Wolfgang Droege may have died for love.
Police said today they had charged a friend of the one-time Heritage Front leader with second-degree murder and that they were investigating the possibility the two men were involved in a love triangle with an unnamed woman.

“Our investigation to this point has turned up no information that would indicate that the homicide . . . had anything to do with Mr. Droege’s political activities,” said Det.-Sgt. Peter Callaghan.

“One of the pieces of information we have been provided is that (the accused) had been in a relationship with the woman (Droege dated). It’s been suggested to us that that may have played a role here.”

Keith de Roux, 43, appeared briefly in court today and was remanded until tomorrow.

Callaghan said de Roux was known to police but he refused to provide details.

Droege was gunned down and left for dead in his underwear in the hallway of his east-end apartment yesterday afternoon.

De Roux was arrested after a tense one-hour standoff at the apartment.

As leader of the neo-nazi Heritage Front, Droege was among Canada’s best-known white supremacists, although associates said he had drifted away from the movement over the past decade.

B’nai Brith acknowledged his death by distributing a report listing a litany of racist incidents they attribute to Droege and the Heritage Front.

White supremacist websites reported the news prominently, although praise was muted.

David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan in the southern United States admired by Droege, talked about him on his radio show.

Some of his former associates, however, said he may have been working for police or intelligence services.

“He was dealing in drugs, everybody knew it (but) he was never arrested,” said Don Andrews, leader of the Nationalist Party of Canada.

Callaghan said police had not had an interest in Droege for ``quite some time” but would look into “gossip” that he had been a drug dealer.

Droege had a long criminal record that included more than a half dozen convictions for offences such as assault and possession of dangerous weapons and possession of cocaine. He spent two years in an American prison.

As a result, he lost his job as a bailiff in the mid-1990s and was unable to find regular work, turning instead to drug dealing and smuggling, associates said.

Andrew Mitrovica, contributing editor for the Walrus magazine, has written extensively on the white supremacist movement and says Droege was “the real meal deal.”

“He was a racist superstar,” Mitrovica said.

“He was able to give form and structure to the ideology of hate in Canada. His `brilliance’ was to attract attention and recruit to his cause.”

The German-born Droege became a Canadian citizen in the early 1970s. He was involved in ultra-extreme white supremacist politics, including Ku Klux Klan activity in British Columbia and Toronto.

He was also involved in an attempt to overthrow the Caribbean island of Dominica in 1981, which landed him in prison.

Droege founded the Heritage Front in 1988 and quickly attracted attention and recruits.

Associate Paul Fromm, said Droege “sacrificed his own well being and financial position for the cause” for almost 20 years.

In 1992, he was expelled from Preston Manning’s Reform party, one of the precursors to the federal Conservative party, because of his links to racist organizations.

Droege reappeared in the news again last summer when Grant Bristow, the co-founder of Heritage Front who was revealed in 1994 as a paid informant for Canada’s spy service, said he took the job because it “was the right thing to do.”

Associates said Droege appeared to have been emotionally shattered at having been duped by someone he had trusted and withdrew, at least publicly, from the cause.

Police said they had not been able to find any information that would help them locate any immediate family.