Ion William Croitoru (December 7, 1963 – February 21, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. To wrestling fans, he is better known by his ring names, Johnny K-9, Taras Bulba, and Bruiser Bedlam. He worked 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 was also known for his history of legal problems. He was a member of Satan's Choice, a biker gang. He was convicted of assault, trafficking cocaine, and bombing a police station. In 2005, he 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 murder the Bacon Brothers. Jonathan Barber was killed when the plan went awry, and Croitoru was charged with first-degree murder. He pleaded guilty in July 2013 to conspiracy in exchange for a stay of proceedings on the murder charge. He was the focus for episode 11 of the third season of the Vice TV's documentary series Dark Side of the Ring. Personal life Croitoru was born to Romanian parents in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Croitoru grew up in the working class district of east Hamilton and as a teenager liked to work out at a local gym known as Bad Boy's. Before entering professional wrestling, Croitoru claimed that he played junior hockey for the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League. According to the journalist Paul Legall of The Hamilton Spectator, Croitoru played very briefly for the Kitchener Rangers, going on to write: "But a coach-who didn't like his bruising style-bounced him and squelched any dreams he had of professional hockey." However, no record of his time with the Rangers can be found. He was an accomplished weightlifter and once bench pressed 625 pounds. Professional wrestling career Early career (1984–1994) He started work as a bouncer in a Hamilton bar, and was recruited into wrestling after a wrestler who come there to drink saw him in the bar. Croitoru trained with Nick DeCarlo and Victor Rosettani Sr. before debuting in Stampede Wrestling