HTTP/1.0 200 OK Content-Type: text/html Wilson Admits Ordering Murders 
Pubdate: Thu, 08 Apr 2004
Source: Halifax Herald (CN NS)
Copyright: 2004 The Halifax Herald Limited
Contact:  http://www.herald.ns.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/180
Author: Sherri Borden
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?188 (Outlaw Bikers)

WILSON ADMITS ORDERING MURDERS

Two Hells Angels Killings Net Drug Dealer Life Term; Parole Possible in 4 Years

Paul Albert Wilson ordered the contract killings of two Hells Angels 
associates because he felt threatened by both men, a Nova Scotia Supreme 
Court hearing heard Wednesday.

Mr. Wilson, 38, was charged in October 2000 with first-degree murder in the 
deaths of Robert MacFarlane, 34, and William St. Clair Wendelborg, 35.

But the former manager at Reflections cabaret in Halifax cut a deal with 
the Crown after months of negotiations and pleaded guilty Wednesday to 
reduced charges.

During a lengthy hearing in Halifax, Mr. Wilson pleaded guilty to 
second-degree murder in the MacFarlane killing and to conspiring with 
William Marriott and Larry Pace to kill Mr. Wendelborg.

In an emotional address, Mr. Wilson apologized to Mr. MacFarlane's widow 
Denise, the Wendelborg family and his own family.

"Denise, as you have suspected for some time, I was instrumental in 
Robert's death," Mr. Wilson said. "We were friends and I betrayed you. I 
hope you can at some point forgive me although I do not ask or expect 
anything from you."

Mr. Wilson told the packed courtroom that he has paid a very high price for 
what he has done. The most devastating impact, he said, is the loss of his 
wife Karen, who has divorced him, and their two young children.

He said he is committed to being a different person.

"I did not have to resort to a criminal lifestyle," he said. "I chose to do 
that. And society is entitled to expect me to pay a heavy price."

Chief Justice Joseph Kennedy handed Mr. Wilson an automatic life sentence 
in the MacFarlane case and 10 years concurrent on the conspiracy charge.

The judge set his parole eligibility at 10 years.

But because Mr. Wilson was granted double credit for the 40 months he spent 
in custody before trial, he could apply for parole in about four years.

Mr. MacFarlane, a Halifax businessman, was gunned down in the Lakeside 
Industrial Park outside Halifax in February 1997.

Mr. Wendelborg's decomposed body was found in October 1998 in woods in 
Harrietsfield, Halifax County. He had been badly beaten and died of a 
forced cocaine overdose.

Mr. Wilson wanted Mr. MacFarlane killed because he believed the Hatchet 
Lake man was going to harm members of his family, defence lawyer Anne 
Derrick told the court.

Okan Arslan, one of Mr. Wilson's drug couriers and a key Crown witness, 
told police that before Mr. MacFarlane's murder, Mr. Wilson was very upset 
that Mr. MacFarlane had threatened his mother, Beverley Wilson, after Mr. 
MacFarlane was barred from Reflections. Ms. Wilson owned the cabaret.

"Okan Arslan told police about an incident in August 1996 when Mr. 
MacFarlane returned to the bar and insisted on being served," Ms. Derrick said.

"When Mrs. Wilson told him he had to leave, Mr. MacFarlane made threats to 
finish Mrs. Wilson, Paul Wilson and his family."

Mr. Wilson was not present.

"Robert MacFarlane returned to the bar with a gas can, threatening to burn 
it down, damaged a coatroom and assaulted a waitress," Ms. Derrick said.

Staff called police and Mr. MacFarlane was charged with threats, property 
damage, sexual assault and causing a disturbance.

Mr. Wilson and his mother decided not to make an issue of the incident and 
the charges were dropped.

"Witnesses were afraid to testify against Mr. MacFarlane because they 
feared he would seek retribution against them," Ms. Derrick said.

Mr. Arslan also told police that Mr. Wilson indicated that Mr. MacFarlane 
had threatened to break into Mr. Wilson's home while he was away, tie up 
his wife and children and rob him.

Mr. Wilson believed that "eliminating Mr. MacFarlane was the only realistic 
option for protecting his family from serious physical harm or death," Ms. 
Derrick said.

Crown attorney Frank Hoskins described for the court the circumstances 
leading up to Mr. Wendelborg's death.

"William Marriott and Larry Pace entered into an agreement with Paul Wilson 
to kill William St. Clair Wendelborg, as Paul Wilson perceived that William 
St. Clair Wendelborg was a threat and therefore should be eliminated," Mr. 
Hoskins said.

"After entering into the agreement, Paul Wilson had changed his mind and 
tried to call off the contract because he did not want William St. Clair 
Wendelborg killed and did not want to draw more police attention to himself."

Mr. Wilson told Mr. Arslan, who was later arrested in May 1999 on marijuana 
cultivation charges, he "didn't want it (the murder) done and they did it 
anyway."

Mr. Wilson gave Mr. Pace and Mr. Marriott two kilograms of hashish to sell. 
After Mr. Wendelborg was killed, they told Mr. Wilson that they were 
keeping the hash as payment for doing the deed and wanted more money.

Mr. Wilson also received a 12-year concurrent sentence Wednesday after 
pleading guilty to 14 drug trafficking and proceeds-of-crimes charges.

The deaths of three potentially key witnesses had put the Crown's case 
against Mr. Wilson in a precarious position.

Mr. Marriott, 38, hanged himself in his jail cell in August 2000 while 
awaiting trial for Mr. Wendelborg's death.

Dany Kane, a reluctant biker-turned-informer, and his lover, Aime Simard, 
both of Quebec, were charged with killing Mr. MacFarlane.

In August 2000, Mr. Kane, 31, died in his car of carbon monoxide poisoning 
inside his Quebec garage. Police at the time called the circumstances 
"curious."

Mr. Simard, 35, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 
MacFarlane killing and later testified against Mr. Kane, was stabbed to 
death in his Saskatchewan prison cell last July 18.

Mr. Kane's trial ended with a stay of proceedings in December 1998 when a 
judge concluded two veteran RCMP officers had lied in their testimony.

Mr. Pace, of Williamswood, was sentenced to six years in prison for being 
an accessory by helping to dispose of Mr. Wendelborg's body. Mr. Pace, in 
his late 30s, was paroled in January 2003.

In 2001, Mr. Marriott's girlfriend, Wanda Lynn Campbell, was sentenced to 
three years in prison for helping Mr. Marriott evade justice. She wiped 
blood off the walls after Mr. Marriott murdered Mr. Wendelborg in the 
couple's apartment.
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