Pubdate: Thu, 25 Jan 2007
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2007 Southam Inc.
Contact:  http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Paul Cherry, CanWest News Service

GANGSTERISM LAW PASSES COURT TEST

5 Convicted in Canadian First: Drug Traffickers Hijacked Montreal Neighbourhood

MONTREAL - Five drug traffickers who held a street in Montreal 
hostage while their gang dealt crack cocaine on sidewalks and out of 
a high school parking lot have been convicted of gangsterism in a 
case described as a first in Canada.

Bernard Mathieu, 35, his two top lieutenants and two other men were 
convicted of at least four charges each in a trial heard at the 
special courthouse built years ago to handle the Hells Angels megatrials.

In delivering his verdict yesterday, Quebec Court Judge Jean-Pierre 
Bonin said there wasn't enough evidence to convict five other men who 
were also charged with gangsterism, or committing a crime for the 
benefit of a criminal organization. In total, 15 men were convicted 
of drug trafficking and 14 of those were found guilty of conspiracy 
to traffic drugs.

The unique trial targeted street gang members, alleging they were 
part of a large-scale conspiracy similar to the Hells Angels or the 
Mafia. It also put to test a section of the Criminal Code amended in 
2001 to broaden the definition of a criminal organization. 
Prosecutors are no longer required to prove an accused knew the 
identity of any of the people who were part of the criminal organization.

The investigation into Mathieu's gang began in 2004. Dubbed Project 
Abat, it targeted drug trafficking on Montreal's Pelletier Avenue 
after two men delivering drugs were shot to death in November, 2003. 
They were killed in front of an apartment building often used by 
Mathieu's dealers. An innocent victim was left paralyzed as a result 
of the shooting.

Detective Sergeant Jean-Claude Gauthier, a Montreal police expert on 
street gangs, testified during the trial that Mathieu was suspected 
of controlling the street for a decade. His dealers were a constant 
presence there, drinking rum, playing cards and dealing crack, even 
out of the parking lot of the Calixa-Lavallee high school.

Undercover officers bought several rocks of crack from Mathieu's 
dealers during the course of the investigation. They also recorded 
several incriminating conversations that proved Mathieu was the leader.

In April 2005, Montreal police arrested Mathieu and more than 25 
people tied to his network.

Valter Fernandes, a member of Mathieu's gang, smiled as he was 
acquitted of all the major charges the co-accused faced, including 
the gangsterism charge, which carries a maximum 14-year sentence.

He was convicted of trafficking in marijuana, but Mr. Bonin said 
there was not enough evidence to convict him of gangsterism or 
trafficking in either cocaine or crack. It was Fernandes who learned 
Mathieu and his dealers were under investigation. His girlfriend 
noticed surveillance photos of Mathieu's dealers posted on the walls 
of a neighbourhood police station. When Fernandes warned Mathieu, the 
dealers suddenly packed up and moved to a parallel street.

Wilson Longin, one of several dealers convicted of drug trafficking 
and conspiracy, said he planned to appeal.

"I am ready to accept what I have done," Longin said outside the 
courtroom while admitting he sold crack to undercover officers. But 
Longin added he felt he was convicted of the more serious conspiracy 
charge simply because he was present while Mathieu and his associates 
were under police surveillance.

During the trial, defence lawyers generally accepted that their 
clients were guilty of drug trafficking but argued the accused were 
working individually and for their own profit.

"Obviously, we think it raises questions about gangsterism, questions 
that will probably be addressed to the Quebec Court of Appeal in 
order to determine what is a criminal organization in Quebec," said 
Marie-Helene Giroux, the lead defence lawyer in the case. "We wonder 
what the difference is between a conspiracy involving three people or 
more and a criminal organization."

Sentencing arguments in the case of the minor figures in the trial 
begin today. In Mathieu's case, they begin in February.

Mathieu is currently fighting a deportation order that would see him 
be sent to Haiti. He moved to Canada with his family when he was 
eight and is a permanent resident.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine