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Tieleman Hit by Break-In

Reporter thinks intruders sent Railgate 'message.'

By Rob Annandale
Published: December 4, 2007

TheTyee.ca

The office of a Vancouver journalist has been broken into in an incident he believes is linked to the political scandal he is covering.

Bill Tieleman, a regular contributor to The Tyee who has been writing about the B.C. legislature raid case, discovered upon his return from the courthouse Monday that someone had broken into his office via the ceiling and a vacant adjacent office after attempts to force his door apparently failed.

Although nothing was missing, Tieleman said the intruders had moved a copy of a book about the raid and an accompanying press kit across his office and placed them on top of fallen ceiling tiles.

"Somebody was sending me a clear message about the B.C. legislature raid," he told The Tyee. "There's no question about it."

Tieleman has been documenting the twists and turns of an affair that is still in the pre-trial phase nearly four years after it burst onto the public scene.

Police raided the B.C. legislature offices of two ministerial aides on Dec. 28, 2003 and suggested at the time there might be links to drugs and organized crime going to the highest levels of government. In the end, the heart of the matter was the $1 billion privatization sale of B.C. Rail to CN Rail. {Snip} ...

"They tried pretty hard to get in the door," he said. "They just didn't do a good enough job."

Police have investigated the crime scene and taken a statement from Tieleman who says he takes the incident seriously but refuses to be intimidated.

"The main thing is I'll continue writing for The Tyee and 24 Hours about this."

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Bill: Very sorry about this. First thing I thought of, when I read this in Tyee, was that it sounds like what happened to the lawyer, Bruce Torrie, who had been advising the B.C. Liberal Party on (in his words) two factions of Organized Crime operating within the party. When he returned to his Victoria home, he found -- as you did -- his documents ransacked but nothing taken except a jar of coins. I'll look up the story. Cripes, this is unsettling. But perhaps it's a wake-up call, too, that the people in Courtroom 54 should get moving to resolve Case #23299 without any more delays. - BC Mary.

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Found this, Bill:

Victoria Independent Media Center

Did Bxxx's Bxxs Burgle Bruce Torrie's Victoria Home?

by Alan Rycroft and Bruce Torrie , Friday February 06, 2004

Bruce Torrie is a well-known environmentalist with a keen interest in climate change. He is also a long-time member of the Liberal Party who has been investigating the infiltration of the Liberal Party by organized crime. Recently his home in Victoria was burgled by unknown persons. The RCMP is investigating....

LIBERAL LAWYER'S HOUSE BURGLARY FOLLOWS BRIEFINGS ON ORGANIZED CRIME

For Immediate Release: February 4, 2004

VANCOUVER -- The Victoria home of Bruce Torrie was burgled last weekend, three weeks after he began briefing high-placed Liberals about the possible infiltration of the Liberal Party of Canada by organized crime. Bruce Torrie is the former Legal Counsel to the LIberal Party of Canada (BC) and the Liberal Party of BC, as well as the former President of the Vancouver Centre Provincial Liberal Riding Association, and the former Policy Chair of the LIberal Party of BC.

"Police tell me that this was the work of professionals, who cut phone lines to disable the alarm system," said Torrie. "They left almost everything of real value, taking only three large jars of pocket change and a few other items. They found two secret hiding places in my home that I didn't even know existed, and turned my house upside down apparently looking for information."

Torrie has been briefing high-placed LIberal Party officials and activists from his Vancouver home since January 9, and believes the burglary is related to his briefings.

"After the RCMP raid on the B. C. Legislature, it's no secret that police are investigating organized crime at the highest levels of Canadian society," said Torrie. "I think organized crime was trying to find out what I know about their activities within the Liberal Party of Canada."

Torrie believes that there are two crime rings fighting for control within the LIberal Party of Canada, and that several prominent politicians and party functionaries are "patsies or proxies for organized crime."

Information:

http://www.brucetorrie.ca

Bruce Torrie, 604. 685 0222

RCMP, 250 474. 2264 (file no. 20041551)

The burglary is being investigated by the RCMP. Media outlets wishing to gain access to the crime scene in Victoria are asked to schedule an appointment through Bruce Torrie.

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