RevisitedVille
Former BC Liberal Government Minister of Gaming Rich Coleman testified at the Cullen inquiry on Wednesday.
From Sam Cooper's Global News report:
...The inquiry has previously heard testimony from a number of witnesses that said Coleman was alerted many times by his subordinates, police officers and even fellow B.C. Liberal MLAs, that money laundering was growing in B.C. Lottery Corporation casinos as organized crime took control of these venues.
But instead of seeking police investigations inside casinos, according to the testimony of former RCMP officer Fred Pinnock, Coleman disbanded the province’s anti-illegal gaming unit in 2009. The inquiry previously heard from Pinnock, the unit’s former commander, that former B.C. Liberal solicitor-general Kash Heed blamed Coleman for turning a blind eye and it was “all about the money.”...
{snip}
...On Wednesday, Cullen Commission lawyer Brock Martland asked Coleman to respond to the allegations...
Coleman said “it’s just ridiculous” that he turned a blind eye to money laundering to boost provincial revenue...
Former BC Liberal Government Minister of Gaming Rich Coleman testified at the Cullen inquiry on Wednesday.
From Sam Cooper's Global News report:
...The inquiry has previously heard testimony from a number of witnesses that said Coleman was alerted many times by his subordinates, police officers and even fellow B.C. Liberal MLAs, that money laundering was growing in B.C. Lottery Corporation casinos as organized crime took control of these venues.
But instead of seeking police investigations inside casinos, according to the testimony of former RCMP officer Fred Pinnock, Coleman disbanded the province’s anti-illegal gaming unit in 2009. The inquiry previously heard from Pinnock, the unit’s former commander, that former B.C. Liberal solicitor-general Kash Heed blamed Coleman for turning a blind eye and it was “all about the money.”...
{snip}
...On Wednesday, Cullen Commission lawyer Brock Martland asked Coleman to respond to the allegations...
Coleman said “it’s just ridiculous” that he turned a blind eye to money laundering to boost provincial revenue...
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Ridiculous, indeed.
But what did the good Mr. Coleman specifically tell the Cullen Inquiry this week, in April of 2021, about why he dismantled the 'Illegal Gambling Enforcement Team' (IGET) back in 2009?
For that we return to Sam Cooper's report:
...Coleman acknowledged that he was responsible for disbanding the B.C. anti-illegal gaming unit, but he said he believed the unit was ineffective, and he expected other anti-gang police units in B.C. to target organized crime....
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But what about back in the day? What did Mr. Coleman say his plan was then?
Well, to understand that, now is the time for us to once again re-visit an interview that Sean Holman held with the good Mr. Coleman in 2010:
The key, with respect to Mr. Coleman's stated plan to replace IGET is, in my opinion, the following from the 2010 interview, above:
"I had a team (IGET) that wasn't working (i.e. in 2009) and it was costing the taxpayers money. I decided to do it differently and get better results."
****
Well, I guess now we finally know precisely what Mr. Coleman meant about doing something 'differently' to fill the void after he dismantled the unit whose actual job it was to keep tabs on things like money laundering in casinos.
Because, according to his testimony this week, Mr. Coleman did not do things differently by forming a new unit to replace IGET.
And, according to his testimony this week, Mr. Coleman did not do things differently by actively working to put together members of existing teams to focus on money laundering problems in casinos.
Instead, according to his testimony this week, Mr. Coleman decided to do things differently by expecting that existing anti-gang units would fill the void.
And did they?
Well, it would appear that the proof is in the bundles of 12 year-old pudding.
None of which has been delivered to us in hockey bags.
If you get my drift.
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Note: I would have cited the transcript of Mr. Coleman's April 28th testimony in front of the inquiry directly...However, the transcript has not yet been uploaded to the Cullen Commission website.
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19 comments:
https://cullencommission.ca/data/transcripts/Transcript%20April%2028,%202021.pdf
Coleman April 28, 2021
Ahhh...Somebody was working late on a Friday night - thanks NVG.
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I find myself having the urge to take a shower after reading anything about Coleman. What a stain he was/is on the body politic of BC, while Campbell and Clark are bad, Coleman is in a league all his own. BC Waterboy
The news reports of the Cullen Commission remind me of how bad our governance under the BC Liberals was. All the lies and scandals...almost daily.
Many people are critical of the current NDP government and I'm not too happy with some of the things they do either, but I'm thankful the BC Liberals are no longer running the province.
What saddens me the most is that nothing will come from this commission. Basically, to me, a whitewash.
Coleman 2009:
“The potential for fraud can never be completely eliminated: However, the work completed by the Branch in the past two years has ensured that the risk of fraud will be effectively managed through proper safeguards and regulatory oversight.”
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/sports-recreation-arts-and-culture/gambling/gambling-in-bc/reports/annual-rpt-gpeb-2008-09.pdf
Coleman 2010:
“As of 2009/10, the Integrated Illegal Gambling Enforcement Team has been disbanded. Investigators in the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch continue to work with local police to increase awareness of gaming enforcement issues and identify suspects participating in illegal activities related to gaming.”
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/sports-recreation-arts-and-culture/gambling/gambling-in-bc/reports/annual-rpt-gpeb-2009-10.pdf
Bond 2011:
“To ensure the Province’s current anti-money laundering policies, practices and strategies are appropriate and to find ways to improve these wherever possible, my predecessor commissioned an independent review of anti-money laundering measures in B.C. casinos.”
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/sports-recreation-arts-and-culture/gambling/gambling-in-bc/reports/annual-rpt-gpeb-2010-11.
Coleman 2012:
“...in 2010, I commissioned a review to examine anti-money-laundering (AML) measures at B.C.’s gaming facilities. Released in 2011, the report found that the Province already has a robust anti-money- laundering regime in place, and made recommendations to further strengthen this regime. Over the past few months, GPEB and BCLC have been hard at work addressing these recommendations.”
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/sports-recreation-arts-and-culture/gambling/gambling-in-bc/reports/annual-rpt-gpeb-2011-12.pdf
De Jong 2013:
“BCLC, GPEB and police forces also remain committed to deterring money laundering in British Columbia’s gaming facilities by shifting the gaming industry away from its reliance on cash.”
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/sports-recreation-arts-and-culture/gambling/gambling-in-bc/reports/annual-rpt-gpeb-2012-13.pdf
These excerpts from the transmittal letters by Rich Coleman, Shirley Bond, and Mike de Jong informing the legislature about gaming enforcement indicate they were well aware of money laundering, but were assuring everyone that all was in hand, and they were right on top of it. Nothing to see here folks.
Something happened in 2017 to change the message coming out of the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
Seems ol' Kash got "The Talk" and he has heeded the word to do his level best to forget whatever he'd said about Big Rich and all the money following at the BCLibs and the government of those days.
Below, Dirk Meisner reports on April 30, 2021:
"VANCOUVER — A former cabinet minister bluntly denied telling a gaming investigator members of the B.C. Liberal government knew about illegal activities at casinos but were doing little to prevent it.
"Kash Heed told the Cullen Commission public inquiry into money laundering on Friday that he recalled a lunch in Victoria in 2009 with former gaming investigator Fred Pinnock, but his memory of the meeting differed from what the inquiry heard last year.
"Pinnock testified last fall that he met with Heed in November 2009 shortly after he was appointed solicitor general to raise concerns about large amounts of suspicious cash that were likely linked to organized crime at B.C. casinos.
"The former RCMP officer, who once led its now-disbanded integrated illegal gaming enforcement team, said he was shocked when Heed told him the gaming minister at the time, Rich Coleman, was more concerned about making money for the government than fighting casino crime.
"Heed, who is also a former chief of the West Vancouver Police Department, testified he didn't make such a comment.
""Did you say anything to him in that meeting in November of 2009 about members of government knowing what was going on in casinos and turning a blind eye to it?" asked commission lawyer Brock Martland.
"No," said Heed.
"Did you make the comment or say Mr. Coleman knew what was going on inside the casinos?" Martland asked.
"No," said Heed.
Coleman testified earlier this week he never put gaming profits ahead of fighting crime at casinos.
Martland said Pinnock suggested to the inquiry that Heed knew about money laundering at casinos while he was solicitor general.
Cont'd below...
"I was not aware and it was never brought to my attention," Heed said, when the question was put to him.
Cont'd:
"Heed agreed he did make several candid opinion comments about the money laundering issue to Pinnock during conversations in 2018 that were taped by the ex-Mountie.
He said Pinnock only told him days before he was about to speak with Cullen Commission officials in January 2020 he was going to provide the inquiry with copies of three recordings he made of their earlier conversations.
Heed said he was upset to learn he was secretly recorded by a trusted fellow police officer.
"How do I view it: absolutely, absolutely a breach of any trust I would have with anyone that I thought was a longtime friend, an associate of mine, in policing," he said.
Heed was recorded saying the Liberal government was aware of suspicious activities linked to money laundering at casinos and Coleman had manipulative powers over top RCMP officers.
"They are not based on any first-hand knowledge or experience from my time in policing or government," he told the commission. "There was a lot of rhetoric about what two long-serving former cops would discuss."
Heed said when he was solicitor general, money laundering at casinos was not an issue he was dealing with.
Guns, gangs, grow-ops and domestic violence were priority policing issues when he was in cabinet, he said.
The first time he encountered the money laundering issue at casinos was when a reporter asked him in a legislature hallway, he said.
"That was from out of the blue," said Heed. "This was not an issue I was aware of. I guess I was a little curt with him. I had to ask my ministerial assistant what (integrated illegal gaming enforcement team) stood for."
The NDP government called the inquiry in 2019 after three reports outlined how B.C.'s real estate, luxury vehicle and gaming sectors were being used to launder illegal cash.
Commissioner Austin Cullen, who is a B.C. Supreme Court justice, thanked Heed for his testimony, saying it was "helpful to have two sides to the story.""
Notice that former gaming investigator Fred Pinnock recorded Heed (in 2018) talking smack about the BC.Lib.gov willfully aiding and abetting the BC Laundr-O-Crimatica.
Not a chance that those recordings would be admissible in a court of law but in the arena of public opinion, Heed has given us the first solid proof that the BC.LIb.gov was willfully complicit in these laundering scheme$.
Now, for this washing side to matter, the cash has to be clearly tied to a criminal source. Hence, we can see why it was so important to get that criminal proceeding "stayed" against Mr.Jin and Silver International. Thanks for that, guys! Moreover it no mere coincidence that Mr.Jin and his partner were then targeted for assassination. And as far as I know, Mr.Jin still walks this earth with an important source of evidence stored above his shoulders. He is, however, only a bit player in this scheme.
What we are up against is a $indicate, a powerful one, with tentacles stretching into multiple areas of society. It's going to take some real passion to begin hacking at even some of the branches of the corruption, let alone succeed in pulling the whole of it up from the roots.
Our best move appears to be that Mr.Pinnock, who has had a real bee in his bonnet about this dirty-laundry business for years. But, he's going to need some powerful helping hands and soon. In this regard I am hoping (against hope, perhaps) that the old grand master on the hill might do us one last good turn by letting his pit-bull protege off the leash just long enough to exact some proportional pay-back for that punking that he took through his kitchen window on that fateful night when the lights went up and the storm began hitting.
Reckon by getting the say-so to go-ahead and put some pressure on ol' Kash (truly ironic name), the scales could be tipped in favour of warrants into specific tax and bank records.
Which begets the question we've been faced with all-along: Who's got the stones and hands clean enough to open this pandor's box?
And now Eby is walking back, or should I say--being walked back--thereby limiting the hanging.
Ian Mulgrew reports in the Sun Apr. 30, 2021: "Eby said it took him time to fully understand the dynamic and tensions between key players — the RCMP, the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, and the B.C. Lottery Corp.
At first, the NDP minister was puzzled — how could anyone wash money through casinos?
He came to learn he was focused on “traditional money-laundering typologies,” but what was happening was more complex.
“The money laundering was taking place at the doors of the casino and not inside the casino,” he explained.
In November, Premier John Horgan (read, Geoff Meggs) took responsibility for gaming away from Eby and gave it to Solicitor-General Mike Farnworth.
Excellent move: Put Farnworth on a new portfolio with several super steep learning curves, right in the middle of an incredibly complex commission of inquiry.
Nice timing!
The end result will probably be;
“ we will make sure this never happens again.”
I believe that if it wasn’t for Sam Cooper, this enquiry wouldn’t have happened.
At BCrail trial judge was replaced during proceedings.? by way of promotion?
Was Coleman part of BCRail transaction?
Who was bank for casinos? Hey whats with all the 20$ Fintracless?Off the rails?
Maybe ask Wayne Rideout?
regarding the topic at hand, would anyone like to make a bet as to whether or not Coleman et al fulfilled the Commissioner's requirement that to be able to testify, it had to be done without bias:
..... Witness Exclusion Order In Effect.
If you have been notified that you will be testifying, the Commissioner has directed that, unless you have permission, you may not view hearings, read transcripts or review exhibits for the hearings beginning October 26, 2020
https://cullencommission.ca/transcripts/
Did Coleman, as one example, listen in on Christy Clark's testimony or Michael De Jong's, or anyone else?
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/mounties-got-their-man-and-the-taxpayer-paid-1.534626
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kash-heed-cullen-commission-1.6008958
On page 102 and 103 of the transcripts, Rich Coleman is explaining why the Integrated Illegal Gaming Enforcement Team (IIGET) was disbanded.
Q -The decision was made that you -- I missed the
last part.
A -We would not continue funding IIGET.
Therefore --
Q -You would not continue.
A -Yes.
Q -Okay. And then --
A -That would effectively close it.
Then on page 123 he is explaining why it might have taken six years to establish a replacement, the Joint Illegal Gaming Investigation Team (JIGIT). There were complexities, but he doesn’t think funding was a problem, saying, “Never in the time that I was in government did I ever see the government not fund a police budget, including some very
significant investigations.”
I think he might have seen at least one.
Thanks for doing the digging Lew.
Very illuminating about things seen and not seen.
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