The Strange Death of Tom Gisby

By aci for Borderland Beat

The mall was busy and crowded. A man walked up to a counter and ordered a coffee, moments later he would be dead, the victim of a Mexican assassination.  The victim was a prominent Canadian gangster by the name of Tom Gisby.  The gunmen shot Tom twice at point blank range with a 44 magnum, he was dead before he hit the ground.  There were two assassins, one managed to escaped into the crowds the other, captured.  Tom, whose nickname was the Tank had come down to Mexico to lay low after a rival  firebombed his motor home, Tom suffered minor burns from this attack.

Canada at that time was in the midst of a violent year as biker gangs killed one another over territory and revenge.  The violence continued to escalate after the death of Jonathan Bacon, a man who was not so friendly with Tom. Tom was known to associate of several biker gangs and heavily involved in the trafficking of high grade marijuana known as Bubblegum.  Tom had been in the business for over twenty years, certainly long enough to make a mistake. At the time of Tom's death he was said to be worth millions but the truth was Tom was low on funds.  While Tom’s connections to the bikers were well known and documented, little was known about his connections to the Mexican Cartels, until now.

At the time of his death Tom was spending most of his days in Mexico to avoid the carnage being unleashed in Canada. He thought he was safe, too far to be touched. Vancouver was where Tom was based, he owned a garage which customized cars and trucks.  This business was used to launder drug proceeds and construct hidden compartments in vehicles.  These vehicles would later be used to hide drugs and money.  Tom was liked by the the Mexicans, they respected him and considered him a professional and he was compared to the violent and unpredictable nature of the biker gangs.  He once joked that Customs Agents at the airport knew him by name.  They would smile and tell him, “Come here Tom, you know we have to look in your luggage.”  Even though he was known to the Canadian Royal Mounted Police, they were unable to effectively put together a case against him.  

Tom was responsible for the introduction of hundreds of kilos of cocaine to Canada.   The drugs would come to Vancouver by airplane arriving at the Vancouver International Airport.  This was accomplished by corrupting airport employees.  The network was still intact and functioning at the time of Tom’s death.  It was widely believed Tom was killed because he became indebted to the Fernandez Clan a powerful narco family almost invisible to law enforcement.  Others have suggested Tom was assassinated by his rivals known as Dhak-Duhre.   Tom was one of six prominent Canadian gangster to die within the span of a few months but that is a very long reach for a localized organization.      

Tom’s connection to the Mexican Drug Cartels began with a man named Albert Fernandez Mario Ojeda, who also goes by the alias ‘El Gringo’.  He was the son of Mario Fernandez Sr who goes by the name of ‘La Guajolota’.  For those who do not know, the term guajolota refers to a tamale put in a bun, it's quite delicious. 

Mario Fernandez Jr held two passports; one issued by the US and the other issued by Mexico.  These allow Mario to easily travel between the US and Mexico. This is of logistical importance because the family is headquartered in San Diego.  In San Diego the family owns a luxurious mansion where Maria Ojeda Felix lives.  This mansion is said to have been bought with proceeds from drug money. 

El Gringo

Maria Ojeda Felix plays an important role for the organization.  Maria is the wife of Mario Fernandez Sr, she is also the mother of Mario Jr and Hans Christian.   She handles all the proceeds from drug transactions and is responsible for sending cash back to Mexico.  It is said she is both beautiful and elegant and very unassuming.  Her husband resides in Guadalajara with Mario Fernandez and Hans Fernandez, though Mario also sometimes resides in San Diego.

Hans Christian Fernandez Ojeda is the brother of Mario.  He is in charge transporting the cocaine from Guadalajara to San Diego and Vancouver.  The family is known to own several mansions and several small businesses in and around Guadalajara.

Mario Fernandez Sr is in charge of the transporting the cocaine from Panama to Mexico.  He owns two cargo ships which he uses to smuggle the cocaine.  In Panama, Mario has  fostered a long standing relationship with several major traffickers who also help him launder some of his profits. 

He is known to have been affiliated with Ignacio Coronel Villareal or "Nacho"  and elements of the Beltran Leyva Organization. It remains rather unclear as to whether he operated independently or for these organizations.  There is also speculation that Mario Fernandez Sr was connected to the Guadalajara Cartel which saw the height of it's power in the 1980's.  It is interesting to note La Politica has made several references about the connection between Guadalajara and Canadian drug traffickers.

The cocaine arrives on the cargo ships at Nuevo Vallarta.  The city that borders the famous vacation destination Puerto Vallarta. The cocaine is then transported by truck to Benito Juárez International Airport.  This is the main hub for Mexico City and is infamous for its corruption.  It is said the Mexican Federal Police charge around 1,800 dollars US per kilo but it varies depending on how many kilos are sent or received, sometimes the price was higher.  The kilos were then flown to Vancouver and unloaded by Tom’s boys. 

Once the cocaine was sold and all the money was collected, Tom would then transport the cash either in cars of trucks.  The money was hidden in special compartments and sent back to San Diego where Maria would make sure everything was correct.  The money was then smuggled across the US border and then down the Pacific Coast to Guadalajara where Mario Sr would launder it. To date there have been no reports that the Fernandez Clan has been dismantled and no reason to believe they stopped trafficking narcotics.  It is highly likely they are still in operation at this time.

And that is the story of Tom Gisby and his Mexican connections.