Ion Croitoru

Canadian professional wrestler (1963-2017)

Ion William Croitoru (December 7, 1965 – February 21, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was born and raised in Ontario, Canada.

Croitoru is better known by his ring names, Johnny K-9 and Bruiser Bedlam. He competed in several Canadian wrestling promotions, including Stampede Wrestling, and later wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

He wrestled as a jobber in the WWF, but he was booked to win titles in several other promotions.

Croitoru is also famous for his history of legal problems. He was a member of Satan's Choice, a biker gang, and has also been convicted of assault, trafficking cocaine and bombing a police station.

In 2005, Croitoru was arrested for the murder of lawyer Lynn Gilbank and her husband Fred. After a lengthy investigation, the charges were dropped in June 2006 because of insufficient evidence. He worked as a security guard in Vancouver, British Columbia until being arrested in May 2009 for conspiracy to commit murder.

On January 24, 2011, Croitoru was charged with first degree murder in connection with the 2008 execution of Jonathan Barber in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Croitoru died while under house arrest on February 21, 2017, at a federal halfway house in Toronto from a suspected heart attack, aged 51.[1][2]

References

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  1. Clairmont, Susan (2017-02-22). "Johnny K-9, Suspect in Ancaster Murder, Found Dead at Toronto Halfway House". Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
  2. Humphreys, Adrian (2017-02-22). "Natural Causes Succeed where Mob Hit Men and Gangsters Failed — Johnny K-9 Is Dead". National Post. Retrieved 2017-02-22.