ww.yahoo.Newshawk: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap Pubdate: Wed, 09 Aug 2006 Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU) Copyright: 2006 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc. Contact: http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/274 Author: Ann Carroll Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) VETERAN POLICE OFFICER FACING DRUG CHARGES RELEASED ON BAIL Judge Sets Long List Of Conditions A police officer has the same right to get out of jail on bail as other citizens charged with serious criminal offences, a Quebec Court judge ruled yesterday. Judge Gilles Cadieux ordered Montreal police Constable Pierre Goulet released from detention, pending his trial on charges of conspiracy to import drugs, money laundering, drug-trafficking and possession of the proceeds of crime. Goulet, 41, is alleged to have taken part in a network that smuggled cocaine into Canada from February 2000 to February 2002 through the border town of Lacolle and the states of New York and Florida. The judge said he took into account the fact Goulet had no previous criminal record and was not accused of committing crimes while on duty. The accused, a 14-year veteran of the police force, was providing security at Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport in Dorval prior to his arrest on June 26. Cadieux also cited severe shortcomings - witnesses who could not be located or were imprisoned outside Canada, circumstantial evidence and contested testimony by an undercover RCMP agent - in the federal government's case outlined last week during Goulet's two-day bail hearing. There is a publication ban on testimony at the hearing. The judge noted that Goulet's mother and sister, who were present at the hearings, pledged their homes as collateral to win his release. Goulet "is not rich," and there is little chance of his fleeing before his court proceedings, Cadieux said. A "reasonable citizen informed of the circumstances of the case" would not consider Goulet's continued detention necessary to public confidence in the justice system, he added. But the judge set a long list of bail conditions: Goulet's mother, Claudette Lalande, must provide a $50,000 mortgage on her South Shore home as security. Goulet must post a $25,000 bond. The accused must live with his mother, respect an overnight curfew and report once a week to Montreal police. He cannot possess a weapon, associate with known criminals or drug dealers, or contact crown witnesses. He cannot leave Quebec or possess a passport. Goulet has been suspended from the police force without pay since his arrest. Defence lawyer Gerald Souliere said Goulet's family members "are very relieved" by the bail ruling. "The judge took into account he (Goulet) had a clean record and there was no reason to detain him." Souliere noted it could take a couple of days for Goulet to pull together the $25,000 bond necessary for his release. Crown prosecutor Richard Roy declined to comment on Cadieux's decision. "The judge seems satisfied with the guarantees," he noted. Goulet's next court date is Oct. 10, when the crown prosecutor is to provide the defence with information about the evidence against the accused. If found guilty on conspiracy to import cocaine, Goulet could face life in prison. The maximum jail sentence on the other charges is 10 years. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman