Tag: Secret Recording

BREAKING HERE: Ottawa Police Wiretapped ‘Sudden Infant Deaths’ Detective Helen Grus – And Her Family

Court Documents reveal Ottawa Police wiretapped Detective Grus and her family

Detective Helen Grus is charged under the Police Services Act with ‘Discreditable Conduct’ for allegedly conducting “unauthorized” investigations into nine Sudden Infant Deaths where she sought to know the vaccine status of the mothers in January 2022.

Her internal trial is scheduled for August 14, 2023.

“The wiretap was calculated to intimidate Detective Grus and her family – but all these ‘Urgent Emergency’ wiretaps during the Freedom Convoy backfired.

 The wiretaps served only to galvanize Canadians and strengthen the legitimacy of protest against governments that overstepped their authority and power.”

Rob Stocki – former Ottawa Police Sergeant

For seven months the Ottawa Police Service (‘OPS’) refused to provide the motions and decisions in the Grus Case to journalists or the public.

Now we know why the Ottawa Police refused to let the public and press see the court documents. The documents are explosive – and not just because of the wiretapping revelation.

Only after famed NYPD Detective Frank Serpico publicly slammed the Ottawa Police and accused them of a cover-up did OPS provide five of the documents they had refused to release in January through April, 2023.

Some documents are still missing but I’ll work with what we have while the OPS decides if they will release further documents.

Prosecution Response Reveals Section 188 ‘URGENT’ Wiretap against Detective Grus

Ottawa Police Conducted ‘Urgent Emergency’ Wiretap Targeting Detective Grus and her Family

On December 29, 2022, the lawyer for Detective Grus filed a ‘Motion Regarding Disclosure’ demanding further access to police records and evidence in the case.

Section 42 (13) of this Defense Motion reveals that the Ottawa Police wiretapped Detective Grus…

“42. Further, on review of the disclosure provided so far, the Applicant requests the following disclosure be made and any and all disclosure in relation to the Discreditable Misconduct Charge:

13) Authorizations to Intercept Private Communications, namely decision to wiretap the Applicant:”

So, the defense lawyers received some type of disclosure that the Ottawa Police had wiretapped Detective Grus. Due to the OPS response below, I speculate that Grus might not have learned about the wiretap as part of the prosecution’s disclosure process. Instead, she (or her lawyers) might have been served with a standard notice of the wiretap after it ended.

In the ‘Respondent’s Factum’ dated January 12, 2023, the Ottawa Police state in paragraph 47…

“Authorizations to Intercept Private Communications, namely decision to wiretap the Applicant”. (Item 13 at paragraph 42 of the Applicant’s factum).

“47. There was no Wiretap authorization sought or granted in relation to this PSA matter. Further, any application to access materials filed and sealed in support of a Criminal Code s.188 (wiretap) authorization must be brought pursuant to section 187(1.3) of the Criminal Code, i.e., an application to unseal the packet must be brought before a provincial court judge, a judge of a superior court of criminal jurisdiction, or a judge as defined in section 552 of the Criminal Code.”

This response is an admission that the Ottawa Police did wiretap Detective Grus under the Emergency Authorizations for Interception of Private Communications under Section 188.

The passage also purports that the police did not wiretap Grus as part of her current Police Services Act charge before the Trials Officer.

Should we believe the Ottawa Police that Wiretapping Detective Grus had nothing to do with her Investigation of Sudden Infant Deaths?

Ottawa Police Professional Standards Unit began investigating Detective Helen Grus and suspended her with pay on February 4, 2022 after at least one of her fellow officers complained that Grus was re-investigating and “auditing” nine Sudden Infant Deaths.

According to the CBC, Detective Grus was also one of only ten Ottawa Police employees to refuse the mandatory mRNA genetic treatment injections that some call Covid ‘vaccines’. In September of 2021, she sent an open letter to the Chief of Police and fellow officers asking questions about the safety and effectiveness of the Covid ‘vaccines’.

One of Detective Grus’s questions to the Chief was: “Will Ottawa Police take full legal and financial liability for any injuries, adverse effects and/or death occurring to members following the receipt of any EUA vaccine potentially mandated?”

Detective Grus’s February 4, 2022 suspension was only a few days after hundreds of Freedom Convoy trucks and thousands of protestors arrived in Ottawa.

Notice to Rob Stocki of Urgent Emergency Wiretap – Courtesy of Rebel News

Police Used Freedom Convoy as an Excuse to Wiretap Grus and her Family

The Ottawa Police used a Section 188(2) ‘Urgent Emergency’ Wiretap against Detective Grus – a special shortcut authorization typically reserved for only the most urgent of cases like abduction, hostage taking, terrorism, murder, or organized crime violence in situations where there is no time to organize formal affidavits and evidence.

Section 188 allows a judge to authorize a wiretap at much lower thresholds of proof and judicial oversight. The ‘evidence’ placed before the judge does not have to be sworn – a huge red flag ripe for abuse.

The judge can issue an authorization good for only a limited period up to 36 hours. This is typically done to allow time for police to ready and present the full sworn evidence and ‘Information To Obtain’ (‘ITO’) a normal wiretap authorization under Section 186.

We know that the Ottawa Police did NOT follow up after the 36 hours with a ‘real’ Section 186 wiretap against Detective Grus because that would be mentioned in the defense motion and prosecution response. That says everything.

In other words… there were no real grounds, no evidence, no urgency, to obtain the ‘Urgent Emergency’ Section 188(2) wiretap against Detective Grus and her family. Ottawa Police did it because they could get away with it during the Convoy – just to ‘see’ if they might catch Grus doing something, and to intimidate and punish her.

What the Ottawa Police did wiretapping Detective Grus and her family was probably illegal – and at the very least a gross violation of Charter Rights and privacy. It also shows the malicious intent of the Ottawa Police command officers to continue the shut-down of Detective Grus’s investigations into the nine Sudden Infant Deaths.

Someone in charge of obtaining the ‘Urgent Authorizations to Intercept Private Communications’ simply threw Detective Grus’s name on the list as a 36-hour fishing expedition – with no intention of applying for a ‘real’ warrant later.

Make no mistake… Wiretaps strip families naked to a degree that most Canadians never contemplate or realize.

The decision to wiretap Detective Helen Grus and her family was without any legitimate basis. The Ottawa Police knew exactly how invasive a wiretap would be against Grus and her family – and that Detective Grus would know that too when she was served Notice of the wiretap.

The wiretap was intended as punishment and intimidation for Detective Grus and her family members.

Ottawa Police Legal Counsel Probably Advised on the Grus Wiretap

Christiane Huneault

Throughout the Freedom Convoy, Ottawa Police senior legal counsel Christiane Huneault worked with the Chief of Police and even substituted for Chief Sloly at meetings with the RCMP and OPP. (CBC article here)

It seems reasonable that the Senior Legal Counsel to the Ottawa Police would have provided legal advice and perhaps even supervised the wiretapping of Detective Grus and other serving and retired OPS employees during the Freedom Convoy.

Ottawa Police Repeated the Abuses of 1970’s ‘FLQ Crisis’ War Measures Act

During the 1970 ‘FLQ Crisis’, police across Canada took advantage of the War Measures Act to violate rights, illegally enter homes, and to perform illegal searches – all of which had nothing to do with the FLQ kidnappings, murder, and bombings in Quebec.

Some 52 years later the police behaved in the same manner during the Freedom Convoy. Detective Grus and her family are probably one of the best illustrations of this abuse in 2022.

Across Canada during the Freedom Convoy there were many ‘Urgent’ wiretaps issued against serving and retired police employees. To my knowledge, no charges were laid because of evidence collected during these ‘Urgent’ wiretaps.

Ottawa defense lawyer Paul Lewandowski explains on his excellent website that “URGENT” really does mean “URGENT”…

Section 188(2) of the Criminal Code of Canada provides a legal avenue for law enforcement agencies to intercept private communications without obtaining prior authorization under section 186, but only if the urgency of the situation demands it.

[…]One strategic consideration is whether the urgency of the situation justifies the interception of private communications without prior authorization. In determining the urgency, law enforcement agencies must assess the risk to public safety and security, the potential harm that could result, and whether the information that could be gained by intercepting private communications is crucial to the investigation.

Former Ottawa Police Sergeant Rob Stocki

Former Ottawa Police Sergeant Rob Stocki Was Also Wiretapped

Rob Stocki is a former Ottawa Police Sergeant turned New Blue Party candidate in the 2022 Ontario Provincial election. He too received notice that police had wiretapped him during the Freedom Convoy under an ‘Urgent’ Section 188(2) from February 18 to 19, 2022.

Just as with Detective Grus, the Section 188 ‘Urgent’ wiretap was not followed up with a ‘real’ wiretap authorization.

That says everything to Stocki, who told me,

“The ‘Urgent’ wiretaps are a dangerous precedent because in this case they were used as a political tool to serve the interests of politicians. To accept this use is to normalize tyranny.”

“I accept the fact that there are real and dangerous criminals out there who deserve to be wiretapped. But in this particular case, the wiretap had nothing to do with justice. It had nothing to do with a danger to society. The fact that the ‘Urgent’ wiretap wasn’t followed up with a ‘real’ wiretap says it all. It was a political tool on a fishing expedition.”

Rob Stocki also advised about Detective Helen Grus,

“I was working in one of the convoy command centers along with Daniel Bulford, Tom Quiggen, and others. Of course, I met and knew of many others associated with the convoy.

I can definitively and absolutely say that Detective Helen Grus had nothing to do with the organization or planning of the convoy.

The fact that the Ottawa Police wiretapped Detective Grus is an example of politicians using the resources and power of the state to crush those who disagree with political policies.

The wiretap was calculated to intimidate Detective Grus and her family – but all these ‘Urgent Emergency’ wiretaps during the Freedom Convoy backfired.

The wiretaps served only to galvanize Canadians and strengthen the legitimacy of protest against governments that overstepped their authority and power. When the news broke that the police wiretapped me, so many people told me “When I saw what they did to you, I knew they were evil.”

Dave Menzies from Rebel News produced an excellent presentation on the wiretap against Rob Stocki… Did you take part in the Freedom Convoy? Maybe you were WIRETAPPED like this retired cop

Uher 4000 Report Monitor – Standard wiretap recorder used by Ontario Provincial Police in 1977

My Background in Wiretapping

Starting in 1977 I spent almost a year at the old Ontario Provincial Police HQ working wiretaps against motorcycle gangs and the Italian Mafia.

What an education for a naïve 23-year-old rookie cop!

We had wiretaps on home and business phones. We planted microphones in cold cellars, garden sheds, trucks, boats, and in the parts-room at a major auto dealership. At one home we planted a microphone in a gazebo where the target loved to bring his friends to smoke smuggled Cuban cigars and discuss heroin shipments from Hong Kong.

Against two wiretap targets – a husband and wife – with special judicial authorization we planted microphones over and beside their marital bed. And in the master bedroom ensuite washroom.

In the 1970s, everything was recorded on Uher ‘Report 4000’ reel-to-reel tape recorders – the standard German wiretap machine used by intelligence agencies on both sides during the Cold War.

I soon learned that some of our targets were so evil that they frightened me.

My police comrades and I listened as Mafia mobsters so casually discussed the future abduction, torture, and murder of a minor gang member for the purpose of delivering a message to his boss – their business rival. The plan was to castrate the man alive, then kill him, and send his organ and photos of the killing to his family via Canada Post.

I listened as motorcycle gang members discussed the pros and cons of raping the 15-year-old daughter of a bakery store owner who refused to pay protection money.

I listened as a thug called a prostitute and told her that she had better perform three ‘tricks’ a day or she wouldn’t be so pretty anymore. I heard her cry, promise to work harder, and beg the thug to deliver more “go” (methamphetamines).

Listening in to such evil every day can take a toll on a police officer, so as doctors do, cops learn to compartmentalize – to put the unpleasant in a box in the mind and leave work at work.

After my first week of listening to all this evil, my new squad mates took me out for a beer… or ten. I don’t quite remember except that Tex and Donny R. drove me home and poured me in the front door.

You see, there is much that ordinary decent people haven’t a clue about. They live their lives with love and integrity. They fight the normal daily battles, work hard for their families, and obey the laws – never knowing what evil people live across the street and two doors down.

Wiretaps allow police to listen in on your most intimate moments.

Wiretapping Detective Grus’s Family – Reality of Modern Wiretaps

It is 100% certain that the wiretap targeting Detective Helen Grus also recorded members of her family, her friends, and other people she communicated with.

Properly obtained, judicially supervised wiretaps are an unfortunate necessity against the monsters who live among us. But because wiretaps are such a gross violation of privacy, they should only be used to investigate the most egregious criminals and crimes.

Every wiretap also violates the privacy of innocent people – the target’s family, spouse, children, and friends. When someone calls the home, police listen because the caller might be leaving a message for the target. If a boyfriend calls the daughter and asks to come over while the parents were away, police listen because she might say where her parents traveled to. (“They went to Sudbury and won’t be home tonight so come on over.”)

Now ‘wiretaps’ aren’t just telephone taps. “Interception of Electronic Communications” includes email, chats, photos, faxes – everything. Not to forget that police are now capable of turning on the microphone in your smart phone to listen to everything in the room without your knowledge.

And so it is that the wiretap targeting Detective Helen Grus, was also a wiretap against her family.

For the year that I ‘worked the wires’ I came to know the targets’ spouses, children, relatives, and friends. Some you would feel sorry for, others you would silently cheer on as they faced some personal challenge. And you would learn their most intimate secrets.

I knew that a 17-year-old daughter was pregnant three months before she told her parents. I knew that a wife was having an affair with an old high school boyfriend. I listened as a sobbing son told his father about the affair.

We knew that a grandmother who lived with her daughter’s family kept a bottle of vodka in the garden shed – for those difficult days when she couldn’t find methamphetamine. We knew that grandfather was terribly embarrassed because he had cancer and had to wear diapers – often soiling himself at dinner or when out in public.

Make no mistake… Wiretaps strip families naked to a degree that most people never contemplate or realize.

The decision to wiretap Detective Helen Grus and her family was an abusive fishing trip without any legitimate basis. The Ottawa Police knew exactly how invasive it was against her family – and that Detective Grus would know that too.

The wiretap was intended as punishment and intimidation for Detective Grus and her family members.

Donald Best

August 7, 2023

Revision History

August 7, 2023 8:35pm ET – Originally published.

Valarie Findlay: Wolves, Sheep and the Inconvenience of Sheep Dogs

“As source in a media story this past summer, I was aware of the rough road ahead: A sworn officer had revealed information on an active undercover operation targeting a long-time municipal politician for bribery.”  …Valarie Findlay

Show me how to lie,

You’re getting better all the time.
And turning all against the one

Its an art that’s hard to teach.
Another clever word

Sets off an unsuspecting herd.
And as you step back into line,

The mob jumps to their feet.

by Valarie Findlay

Where fact and perspective meet, our personal values churn both of these, binding them into what we believe to be right and fair. Beyond common law and more than moral platitudes, these complex, emotional judgments help us to separate the ‘good guys’ from the bad, the law-abiding from the law-breaking and those who pull ‘sheep’s clothing’ over their wolf-like intentions, as they stride into the light of public interest.

It’s not uncommon for the public to be dazzled by sleight of hand that leaves us doubting our intuitions, even in the face of facts – it happens all of the time. The unknowing – or those not wanting to know – are transformed into complicit shills, bit players in the theatrics of the corrupt. Everyone knows that following the crowd is easier than standing up, or worse, standing alone.

Not a fan of acting on a single vector of information, balancing the material and immaterial with historical actions or patterns and intuition is critical. These are the pillars of anecdote, facts and the pathology of behaviours. The simplicity of when someone shows themselves to you, believe them is not lost on me, but it is rarely enough to grind the gears of public opinion.

(Above LiveLeak video: Ottawa Police Association President Matt Skof talking about Chairman of the Ottawa Police Service Board and alleging, quiet clearly, that Eli El-Chantiry is involved in Organized Crime. Note: none of his allegations have yet been proven true.)

Ottawa Police Association President Matt Skof first denies, then admits secret recordings are of him

As source in a media story this past summer, I was aware of the rough road ahead: A sworn officer had revealed information on an active undercover operation targeting a long-time municipal politician for bribery. The local politician was Ottawa Police Services Board Chair, Eli El-Chantiry. The ‘officer’ was Ottawa Police Association president, and former Ottawa Police Services (OPS) sergeant, Matt Skof. The receiving party was me.

Matt Skof Ottawa Police Association President

When Matt informed me that El-Chantiry was the target of a bribery play, I had no intention of acting on the information. But that changed when I was told the operation was disbanded without cause, charges nor explanation and that emails existed between El-Chantiry, his secretary and others coordinating the bribe.

The only statement I will make with regard to Matt with any certainty is that he grossly misjudged my principles. Under no circumstances would I hide serious assertions that an elected official was involved in criminal activities and that the investigation stood up on that information was seemingly quashed.

As the information was socialized by others, it was not exactly a shock to a tight circle of cops and myself. For three years, I had been the conduit for many sources of testimony and material evidence on El-Chantiry’s conduct – and then I had my own. I had no reason to doubt Matt’s accuracy, truth and veracity of the information. In instances prior to this, any information shared on El-Chantiry and others was corroborated by those who were directly involved. Matt, in my opinion, acted in good faith, as I did.

Over the months that followed, much was underemphasized that would have lent context.

Firstly, the information provided by Matt was not coerced, as some have suggested. It also occurred over several months with increasing detail and cohesion. To that and on the matter of why the calls were recorded, this was an automatic function on the cell phone that Matt often called me on; calls made to my other numbers were not recorded.

There was no grand entrapment scheme and there was no personal benefit to me. The recordings were all but forgotten, until it was indicated to me that the operation was apparently “buried” – keeping in mind, this operation was executed and funded in a way that kept it shielded from the executive.

“I am one hundred percent convinced that Eli El-Chantiry is full out involved in organized crime, no doubt…”  Ottawa Police Association President Matt Skof talks about Ottawa Police Service Board Chair Mr. Eli El-Chantiry.

Secondly, there was no manipulation or misrepresentation of the recordings, as claimed by Matt. The original files’ were substantiated and verified by a number of factors: time/date stamps, call logs showing phone numbers and length of calls and correlation of information from the conversations to material elements, such as emails. The integrity of the audio files was maintained and verified as such.

Eli ElChantiry, Chair Ottawa Police Services Board

Many asked why Matt would share such sensitive information with me. Obviously, I know why, but this is a question for Skof to answer, not me. From our many conversations over the years on El-Chantiry’s conduct, I can presume he was dually disgusted and overjoyed that this may signal the end of El-Chantiry’s fourteen year reign as Ottawa-Ward 5 Councillor and nearly ten years on the Ottawa Police Services Board.

Additionally, many have asked whether Matt and I had a “romantic” relationship. We did not – it was not romantic in the slightest. Others shifted the focus to his error in judgement, and in some cases, mine. To this, I will vigorously state that on the face of the information and its serious implications, the necessity for the matter to be independently investigated is crucial. I stand by that one-hundred percent. Read more

British lawyer jailed four and a half years for fabricating evidence. Three corrupt Canadian Bay Street lawyers get pass for same crime.

Same crime – different outcomes for corrupt lawyers in England and Canada.

Jailed lawyer Diljit Bachada

British solicitor Diljit Bachada fabricated evidence and placed false documents before the court in a civil dispute. She was caught when it was found that her documents contained a copyright notice that didn’t come into existence until six months after the date of the forged documents. (Law Society Gazette: Solicitor jailed for falsifying legal documents)

As a result, Bachada will spend the next four and a half years as a guest of Her Majesty’s Prisons. A second solicitor, Tharinjit Biring, assisted by providing a false witness statement and will spend eighteen months in prison.

In Canada though, Ontario’s Law Society of Upper Canada covered up and whitewashed hundreds of crimes by lawyers who committed criminal offences against their clients – according to the Toronto Star’s Broken Trust investigation.

In my own case, three corrupt Bay Street lawyers fabricated evidence and committed other criminal offences – yet the Law Society of Upper Canada, the legal profession and the courts gave them a pass.

The Law Society of Upper Canada is an exclusive club, and once you’re in it the rule of law doesn’t always apply. It just wouldn’t do to send senior members of the club to jail – even if an innocent man must go to prison instead.

Corrupt Ontario lawyers Sebastien Kwidzinski, Gerald Ranking & Lorne Silver lied to the courts.

The three corrupt Bay Street lawyers in my case are:

On November 17, 2009, Ranking, Silver and Kwidzinski crafted a false ‘Statement for the Record’ of a telephone call they had with me, Donald Best. They falsely told a judge in writing and then orally in court that I had informed them during the call that I did receive a certain court order. In fact I had told them many times that I had not received the court order and they cross-examined me on this point.

The corrupt lawyers did not know that I was in Asia and had secretly recorded the phone call which proved they lied to me in the call and to the judge. Further, later evidence showed that Ranking and his secretary lied to the court about sending me the court order via courier.

Further, Ranking and Kwidzinski’s purported ‘Barbados registered’ client was in fact a phony, non-entity which had been fraudulently created for the purpose of deflecting liability from their real client. Ranking was of course never able to present registration documents for his phony client. In January 2013 he was again caught red-handed filing fraudulent documents intended to legitimize his non-existent client some three years after the case had ended.

Then there is the fact that Gerald Ranking and Fasken Martineau law firm received over a million dollars in settlement and court costs which could not have been transferred to their non-existent client. That, my friends, is a badge of fraud and money-laundering.

Oh… and did I mention that Ranking and Kwidzinski illegally hired a corrupt Ontario Provincial Police officer to perform an illegal investigation for them? It’s called bribery of a peace officer under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Yes, the Law Society of Upper Canada and the courts were and are well aware of all of this – but the Bay Street lawyers are members of The Club, and rule of law doesn’t apply to them.

Notice to readers, including Persons and Entities mentoned in this article

As always, if anyone disagrees with anything published at DonaldBest.CA or wishes to provide a public response or comment, please contact me at [email protected] and I will publish your writing with equal prominence. Comments left on articles are moderated at least once a day. Or, of course, you can sue me and serve my lawyer Paul Slansky. You can find Mr. Slansky’s information here.

Photos have been included to put context to the article. Their use is the same as with other Canadian news outlets.

Donald Best
Barrie, Ontario, Canada

* Thanks to a loyal reader who informed me of the jailed British lawyers.

 

Ghomeshi verdict highlights a Double Standard

Former CBC Radio host Jian Ghomeshi

Former CBC Radio host Jian Ghomeshi

Courts slam witnesses for lying, but one group gets a pass.

by Donald Best, former Sergeant, Detective, Toronto Police

by Donald Best, former Sergeant, Detective, Toronto Police

The reality in criminal courts is, like it or not, that if a major witness is exposed lying, fabricating evidence, grossly exaggerating or in any way modifying their evidence to better ensure a conviction, then the charges against the accused will likely be dismissed.

Jian Ghomeshi, the former CBC Radio host, was found not guilty on four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance in connection with allegations made by three women. The judge overseeing the case, Ontario Court Justice William Horkins, said about the witnesses, “The act of suppression of the truth will be as damaging to their credibility as a direct lie under oath.”

Each of the three witnesses did not tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but truth, therefore the judge tossed the charges.

Justice Horkins came down hard on the witnesses, going as far as to criticize the three complainants for their “willingness to ignore their oath to tell the truth on more than one occasion.” (Globe & Mail: Truth and deception: Ghomeshi verdict a good day for justice)

The judge found that the witnesses were on a mission to bring Mr. Ghomeshi down. In one of the thousands of e-mails Ms. DeCoutere exchanged with S.D, she said she wanted to see Ghomeshi “decimated.” Add the fact that each of the witnesses was caught lying to the court and you open the door for charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice and commit perjury. Those charges will not happen because the public would be outraged, but perjury is perjury even if the witness was sexually assaulted and is truly a victim.

Ghomsehi was a trial very much in the public eye, so everything had to be done according to the law as best as the judge could. Public interest and press scrutiny really do assist to keep judges on the straight and narrow.

Justice Horkins did what had to be done in the Jian Ghomeshi case. He followed the rule of law and ignored the political, public and other influences.

Double Standard when it comes to lying to the court

The judge’s action in Ghomeshi highlights a double standard in the justice system; the courts always condemn witnesses for lying – but regularly look the other way when lawyers lie to the judge and knowingly place false evidence into the court record.

Even when irrefutable evidence proves that lawyers fabricated evidence and lied to the court, the rules about perjury and obstruction of justice go by the wayside as the legal profession and the courts do everything possible to save fellow members of ‘The Club’ – even if it means sending an innocent man to jail.

Superior Court Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy

Superior Court Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy

In my case, Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy convicted me in absentia (I was not present) of ‘contempt of civil court’ and sentenced me to three months in jail; during a hearing I was unaware of.

I was in Asia at the time when opposing lawyers rushed through a civil costs hearing over the Christmas season. At that hearing, lawyers Gerald Rankin and Lorne Silver lied to Justice Shaughnessy and knowingly placed false evidence into the court record.

The lawyers falsely told the judge in a written ‘Statement for the Record’ and also orally in court that, during a phone call with the lawyers, I told them that I had received a copy of a certain court order. In fact, during that phone call I told the lawyers over twelve times that I had not received the court order and would they please send it to me.

Later, when confronted with my letter to the judge accusing them of lying to the court and fabricating evidence, Mr. Ranking (Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP) and Mr. Silver (Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP) doubled down on their corrupt activities and assured Justice Shaughnessy that their version of the events was true, that they categorically rejected my version and that I was therefore lying.

What Ranking and Silver did not know was that I had secretly recorded the phone call.  Read more

Advice for self-represented litigants, Part 3: LSUC Bencher Joseph Groia “Lawyer-bullies prey on the weak and inexperienced”

Lawyers Gerry Ranking and Lorne Silver-private

Lawyers Gerald Ranking (left) & Lorne Silver. Strategies for cross-examination of self-represented litigant included screaming, yelling foul words and throwing objects at the witness. (as indicated in transcripts of cross-examination with the Judge not present. The lawyers later apologized to the court, but not to the self-represented litigant.)

The Legal Profession’s culture of bullying

Law Society of Upper Canada bencher Joseph Groia and BC lawyer Gerry Laarakker are two of the high profile people weighing in with comments on law professor Adam Dodek’s excellent article: Ending Bullying in the Legal Profession.

In January 2012, the Law Society of British Columbia found Laarakker guilty of misconduct for not being polite to a bullying Ontario lawyer. Laarakker had to pay $4,500 in fines and costs. The Ontario lawyer-bully walked free because the legal profession has a culture of bullying that law societies tolerate and even support through attacks on lawyers who stand against the practice.

According to lawyer Katarina Germani of Clyde & Co. LLP in Toronto, “(lawyer-bully) behaviour is so often normalized by the profession.”

And as Chris Budgell comments, bullying by lawyers is a problem in the courts, not just within law firms.

Self-represented litigants need to be aware of lawyer-bullies

There is a sometimes difficult to define line between a lawyer diligently representing their client – and engaging in bullying. Although there are contrary opinions I’m sure, I believe that most judges and most lawyers dealing with self-represented litigants try to be fair – if for no other reason than to avoid appeals and complaints.

But, as LSUC bencher Joseph Groia points out, some lawyers are bullies who attempt to prey on the weak and inexperienced. That description certainly includes self-represented litigants.

In my own case, during a January 2013, cross-examination where the judge was not present, senior counsel Lorne S. Silver of Cassels Brock & Blackwell yelled, screamed foul language at the top of his voice and threw objects at me. All this is supported in the transcripts. Co-counsel Gerald Ranking of Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP later apologized to the court (but not to me), for the disgusting behaviour, of which Mr. Ranking played his own part during the same cross-examination.  Read more

When lawyers and police break the law together, what justice can exist for ordinary citizens?

Faskens lawyer Gerald Ranking illegally hired OPP Sergeant Jim Van Allen to perform an illegal investigation. Section he Criminal Code calls it

Fasken Martineau lawyer Gerald Ranking (left) illegally hired OPP Sergeant Jim Van Allen to perform an illegal investigation to benefit Ranking’s clients. Section 120 (1)(a)(i) & (ii) of the Criminal Code calls that ‘Bribery of a Peace Officer’

Alabama: Yet another case of corrupt police and corrupt lawyers working together. 

by Donald Best

by Donald Best, former Sergeant, Detective, Toronto Police

Leaked documents reveal that for over ten years a group of corrupt Dothan, Alabama police officers (including the current Chief of Police) planted drugs and weapons on hundreds of innocent young black men.

Instead of stopping the practice and freeing the innocent prisoners, the local District Attorney covered up and colluded with the corrupt police.

Collusion between corrupt police and corrupt lawyers is a worrisome issue in the justice system simply because we are beginning to see increasing reports of this type. The news from Dothan, Alabama is only the latest story.

As I reported last March, Louisiana plaintiff Douglas Dendinger was arrested and charged with battery, obstruction of justice and intimidating a witness after five police officers and two prosecuting attorneys jointly provided false evidence that they saw Dendinger physically assault and intimidate a police officer as he served the officer with legal documents. Luckily for Mr. Dendinger that (as in my case) he had a hidden recording proving that the police and attorneys perjured themselves and lied to the court.

In my own case, lawyers and police committed various wrongdoing; including fabricating false and deceptive evidence, lying to the court, committing a fraud upon the court by representing a phoney non-existent business entity, anonymously threatening witnesses and illegally hiring a corrupt Ontario Provincial Police officer ‘on the side’ to perform illegal acts and other misconduct.

Canadians rely upon the legal profession to monitor the police, make rogue officers accountable and to act as a deterent. When corrupt lawyers work hand in hand with corrupt police officers, and the Law Society of Upper Canada covers up and whitewashes, how can ordinary citizens hope for justice?

Purolator Courier confirms Faskens lawyer Gerry Ranking and secretary Jeannine Ouellette lied to Justice Shaughnessy in Ontario Superior Court

Public Domain photos of Lawyer Gerald Ranking (L) and secretary Jeannine Ouellette (R)

Public Domain photos of Lawyer Gerald Ranking (L) and Ranking’s secretary Jeannine Ouellette (R)

“Purolator Courier confirms: No tracking number, no shipping documents exist. Gerald Ranking and his secretary lied to the court. This article lays out the evidence.“

by Donald Best

by Donald Best

On January 15, 2010 while I was in Asia, I was convicted of civil contempt of court in absentia and sentenced to three months in prison during a hearing in Ontario Superior Court that I was unaware of. My conviction and three-month sentence were based upon provably fabricated evidence and lies told to the court by senior partners from some of Canada’s top law firms.

Amongst many other lies, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP senior partner Gerald Ranking told the court that he and his secretary couriered to me a copy of a draft court order on November 6, 2009. Then on top of that lie, Mr. Ranking and his fellow lawyer Lorne S. Silver falsely told the court that during a November 17, 2009 phone call I had ‘confessed’ to receiving the draft court order purportedly couriered to me on November 6, 2009.

Purolator Courier confirms that Gerald Ranking and his secretary did not send me the draft court order as they assured Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy of the Ontario Superior Court. Purolator Courier confirms that Gerald Ranking and his secretary lied to the court. This article lays out the evidence.

My fellow Canadians, don’t believe anything I say; just examine the evidence and judge for yourself.

Secret recording of telephone call

Public domain photo of Lorne Silver

Public domain photo of Lorne Silver

I have already shown how Faskens senior partner Gerry Ranking and Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP senior partner Lorne Silver falsely told the court that, during a November 17, 2009 telephone call with them, I admitted receiving the draft court order purportedly couriered to me on November 6, 2009. Silver and Ranking lied to the court. I said no such thing and these lying lawyers knew it then and know it now.

My secret and legally made recordings of the call prove that I did not say that I had received the purported November 6, 2009 courier package or any court order. In fact, I stated exactly the opposite over a dozen times; that I had NOT received such an order and did not receive the purported package. Nonetheless, both Ranking and Silver lied to the court in writing and orally; falsely informing Justice J. Bryan Shaughnessy that I had told them during the phone call that I had received the draft court order.

Creating a second lie to support the first

Mr. Ranking and Mr. Silver were willing to lie to the court about what I said in the phone call, but their lie would be so much better if they had ‘proof’ that they did send me the draft court order they were falsely telling Justice Shaughnessy that I had ‘confessed’ to receiving.

In a very telling moment after the November 17, 2009 phone call, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP lawyer Gerald Ranking stated that his legal secretary* Jeannine Ouellette on November 17, 2009 swore an affidavit of service that on November 6, 2009 she had sent to me via Purolator Courier a draft court order of Justice Shaughnessy dated November 2, 2009.

Download a pdf of Jeannine Ouellette’s affidavit here.

Jeannine Ouellette’s affidavit was a lie. Mr. Ranking lied to the court about sending me the draft court order, and lied to the court about me ‘confessing’ to him that I had received it.   Read more

Judge: Hidden video and audio recordings prove Ontario police officer committed criminal acts

Durham Police Corruption-private

“I hurt people… and then I make their cocaine fuckin appear…”

Durham Regional Police Constable James Ebdon threatens violence and to plant drugs on motorcycle gang associate.

by Donald Best

by Donald Best

Durham Regional Police officer James Ebdon was caught in a hidden video / audio recording threatening to plant drugs and commit acts of violence against a member of the public. (You can watch and listen to the hidden recording at YouTube)

Some people might be inclined to excuse or ignore the incident because the officer threatened an associate of Hell’s Angel motorcycle gang member Harley Guindon. We cannot let the fact that the police officer was threatening a criminal associate to allay our personal and societal fear of such behaviour by police. Fabrication of evidence and perjury by police is a very dangerous and slippery slope, indeed.

In her decision, Ontario Superior Court Justice Laura Bird wrote:

“The evidence establishes that Constable Ebdon committed several criminal offences in the course of his duties. He has no appreciation for the seriousness of his conduct and continues to patrol the streets of Durham. Conduct such as that exhibited by this officer has no place in our society and it must be condemned by the court.”

Quoted in the The Star

Once police or lawyers fabricate evidence and lie to the court, where does it stop?

It is true that many law enforcement officers have at one time or another (even if for only an instant) thought of planting or fabricating evidence to take down gang members or other serious criminals.

I know from my experience as a Toronto Police sergeant and internal investigator that a number of factors stop police officers from fabricating evidence or committing crimes to obtain evidence: commitment to our justice system, personal values and character, risk of getting caught and the high penalties if they are caught.

Justice Bird knows that allowing, excusing or ignoring this criminal behaviour by police officers will undermine our justice system, and so Her Honour correctly condemned the officer using the most robust language.

Ontario’s legal community soundly condemns police officers who perjure themselves before the courts, but it seems that a different standard applies to lawyers.

But what if, as in my personal case, recordings prove that Lorne Silver and Gerald Ranking (senior lawyers from two of Canada’s largest law firms) fabricated evidence and lied to the court to obtain my ‘in absentia’ conviction for contempt of court; but the courts refuse to listen to the recordings?   Read more

Some Canadian lawyers are too big to jail

Canada Lawyer SAN

How the corrupting influence of large law firms undermines Canada’s justice system and threatens self-regulation of the legal profession (Part 1 of a series)

“I see you as an embittered, vengeful, 82 year-old liar, stupid enough to espouse the desires of a venal Canadian backer, the pawn of totally incompetent counsel and of stupid and revenge-driven children.”

“Now, what happens if you die before the matter is resolved (as, at your age, you may)…”

“BITCH.
We will kill you while you are asleep. Lock your doors and windows real good.”

From a series of anonymous threatening emails sent to an 82 year old witness by unknown personnel from Miller Thomson LLP’s Toronto law office, and by other co-conspirators.*

by Donald Best

by Donald Best

This is the first of a series of articles that will examine the corrupting influence of large law firms, and how senior lawyers from some large Canadian law firms are Too Big to Jail; even when the evidence against them is devastating, irrefutable and uncontested.

Today we present an overview of concerns with the operations of large law firms. We also look at the financial pressures and greed that some lawyers and judges believe is motivating increased unethical and even criminal behavior by large law firm lawyers.

There have always been quietly discussed concerns within the Ontario legal profession, that large ‘mega’ law firms have become so powerful and influential that they dominate and skew trial outcomes, the justice system itself and the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) that is responsible for the self-regulation of Ontario’s lawyers.

Some time ago the law society adjusted its system of electing regional ‘Benchers’ in an attempt to mitigate to some extent the dominance of the large Toronto law firms in the governance of the legal profession.

The law society changes, however, did not even begin to address concerns that the operations of mega law firms:

  • Limit access to justice for ordinary citizens and small to medium businesses,
  • Cause and conceal conflicts of interest that can harm clients,
  • Undermine national and public interests, and the political process, in the pursuit of profits above all else,
  • Compromise professional integrity in the pursuit of money and in ‘winning at any cost’ to attract and maintain large top-tier clients,
  • Receive unhealthy deference from the legal profession and the courts, and
  • Receive unhealthy deference from the Law Society of Upper Canada and other regulators in matters of misconduct and discipline.

Concerns about the impact of large law firms upon society and the legal profession are universal in North American jurisdictions. Some twenty years ago, now Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Robert A. Katzmann published:   Read more

Body cameras only a part of the solution to re-building trust in the police

police-body-video-camera

by Donald Best

by Donald Best

The Toronto Police recently announced a one-year $500,000 pilot project to outfit 100 officers with body cameras to record investigations and dealings with the public. At first look, $5,000 per officer seems outrageous until we consider that this is a pilot study with many facets of which the physical equipment comprises only a small portion of the budget. Online research shows dedicated police body cams starting at only US$199, but the data storage and management costs typically exceed the cost of the equipment by many times per year. The costs to outfit every Toronto officer would be many millions initially, with significant ongoing costs annually.

Nonetheless, the cost/benefit ratio to both the police and Canadians in general will, I strongly believe, fall on the side of implementing the system for every police officer in contact with the public or involved in conducting investigations.

As a former Toronto Police sergeant and undercover investigator of organized crime, I know that the simple knowledge that events are being recorded has a profoundly positive effect upon the behaviours of both police officers and citizens. Even the possibility of hidden recordings due to the universal presence of cell phone videocams is already having an impact upon officer behaviour, to the benefit of all concerned.

I have often relied upon hidden audio and video recordings because they present to the court and everyone the irrefutable truth. Such recordings are only a part of the evidence and have their own limitations, but at least they deter any liars on all sides from fabricating evidence and narratives out of thin air: or expose them after they have done so as more than a few rogue police officers in Canada and the USA have discovered lately.

Other citizens commented on a recent Globe and Mail editorial praising the Toronto Police initiative, that the real test of the police body cameras will be in whether the police and justice system actually use the video recordings to hold police officers accountable for serious wrongdoing.

Time for independent civilian oversight of Ontario’s lawyers?

At least with the police, there is independent civilian oversight on several levels as well as the efforts of the media and hardworking lawyers to try to ensure justice is done and also seen to be done. Not so with Ontario’s legal profession though.   Read more

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