The Legislature Raids

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New Judge In Basi-Virk Corruption Case Following BC Liberal Election Win?

The Link - Indo-Canadian Newspaper
Read the full report HERE.

VANCOUVER—Is it a coincidence or just bureaucratic procedure that a new judge will most likely be appointed in the continuing legal saga surrounding the BC Rail corruption scandal involving former BC Liberal aides Dave Udhe Basi and Bobby Virk as well as other prominent BC Liberal party insiders, including Premier Gordon Campbell’s buddy Patrick Kinsella.

The current judge Elizabeth Bennett, who was overseeing the case in B.C. Supreme Court, has been appointed to the provincial Court of Appeal by federal Conservative Justice Minister Rob Nicholson.

Bennett had made several rulings that favored the Basi-Virk defence team but more importantly created problems for Campbell by allowing the lawyers and the opposition NDP to delve deeper into the government’s role in the scandal.

Bennett’s departure means that a new judge must be chosen to take over a complex case that began with a police raid of the provincial legislature more than five years ago.

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Biggest crime groups thrive, street gangs rage
Excerpt:

While the number of identified B.C. crime groups has gone from 51 in 2003 to 135 this year, the greatest increase has been in independent crime groups, which jumped from 11 six years ago to 51 today. As well, the number of biker gangs or their associated groups climbed from 10 to 33 in the same period, while Asian crime groups tripled in number from eight to 24.

In the same period, there was an apparent decline in the number of Eastern European gangs and so-called traditional or Italian crime groups seen by police.

But that could in part be due to a lack of intelligence, the report says.

“Persistent intelligence gaps and diminishing infrastructure in any agency to develop and retain corporate knowledge in the Eastern European and Traditional Organized Crime portfolios have resulted in a substantial decline in the number of these groups reported over the same time period,” it says.

While organized crime in the province primarily profits from the drug trade, it has diversified to earn more.

“The most common examples of organized crime activity include drug trafficking, money-laundering, a variety of financial frauds, extortion, illegal gambling, trafficking in alcohol, tobacco and firearms, and people, as well as corruption of public officials to thwart apprehension and prosecution efforts,” the document says.

Some crime groups have developed innovative ways to work together and increase their profits.

“Increasing level of influence, interconnectivity and/or linkages between all organized crime groups identified in the province has provided new opportunities for some organized crime groups to expand.”

Read Kim Bolan's column HERE.

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