Pubdate: Fri, 21 Sep 2007
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2007 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Author: Tony Blais, Court Bureau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/af.htm (Asset Forfeiture)

VANCOUVER WOMAN GETS HER MONEY BACK

A Trip To Alberta And Buying A Friend A Guitar Makes  For An
Expensive Mess

A Vancouver-area woman who sued Edmonton city police  after claiming
cops illegally seized nearly $90,000 in  cash from her will get most
of the money back.

A provincial court judge approved Friday a deal in  which Justice
Canada will return $81,510 of the $89,010  seized and Nicole Gill will
forfeit $7,500 to the  federal Crown.

Defence lawyer Lynn Rideout told court Gill maintains  the money was
lawfully hers, but said she had agreed to  the forfeiture as a
compromise to end the court battle.

According to court documents, Gill claimed the money  belonged to her
and Larry Rust, of Coquitlam, and she  had been in Alberta to buy
collector musical  instruments.

The police maintained the confiscated money was  proceeds of crime and
the result of alleged drug  trafficking.

After the May 6, 2005, seizure, Gill and Rust filed a  $143,000
lawsuit against Const. Rick Manasterski,  Const. Jonathan Morrison,
Justice Canada, and the  Edmonton Integrated Proceeds of Crime (EIPOC)
section.

According to a statement of claim, Manasterski and  Morrison pulled
over a rented SUV for speeding and  seized the cash from Gill, who was
a passenger in a  vehicle, following a search of the SUV and its three
  occupants.

The lawsuit alleged the cash was the lawful property of  Gill and Rust
and police had no authority to seize the  money, had not provided any
reasonable explanation for  keeping it and wrongfully refused to return it.

In a sworn affidavit, Gill claimed she had been working  as a
bookkeeper as well as a letter carrier and courier  for Canada Post at
the time and had no criminal record.

In Rust's affidavit, he said he was an aircraft  maintenance engineer
and had been buying and selling  musical instruments for 20 years. He
said he gave  $55,000 to Gill to buy guitars for him while she was in
Alberta.

Det. David Schrader, a city police officer attached to  the EIPOC
unit, said in an affidavit that police  smelled marijuana after
pulling over the rental SUV  Gill was in.

Schrader said the officers found a duffel bag "full of  money" while
searching for drugs and came to the  conclusion the three occupants
were trafficking in  narcotics.

Schrader said he was also told a police dog on scene  had alerted its
handler that a controlled substance had  been present in a hockey bag
found in the rear of the  SUV.

The trio was arrested, but were never charged.
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