Ontario moves to seize bike-theft suspect's property

Sounds like a Police State, where no conviction is needed, when the THUGS in Government Seize your property, sell it and cut up the proceeds for vote grabbing propaganda.



Anthony Reinhart

Last updated on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009 02:56AM EDT


.Accused bicycle thief Igor Kenk is still a long way from justice on dozens of criminal charges, but that isn't stopping the Ontario government from moving to take ownership of his bike repair shop, pickup trucks and 2,292 bicycles seized in police raids across west-end Toronto last summer.

On Monday, Mr. Kenk will be hauled into court in handcuffs to face a forfeiture hearing under the Civil Remedies Act, a controversial law that allows the province to seize and sell property deemed to be connected to crime, regardless of whether its owner has been criminally convicted or even charged. If government lawyers can link Mr. Kenk's property to the “large-scale organized bicycle theft ring and drug distribution network” police have accused him of operating, the province stands to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars, court documents suggest, based on the $700,000 value Mr. Kenk placed on his shop site, on a trendy stretch of Queen Street West, last year.


Globe and Mail

Retired OPP officer faces sexual assault charges

Two in one week.......................see post below.

Updated: Thu Aug. 27 2009 12:58:44 PM

The Canadian Press

KAWARTHA LAKES, Ont. — A 62-year-old retired provincial police officer has been arrested and charged with two alleged sexual assaults.

Police say Robert George Lewis was on duty at the time of the alleged assaults between 1981 and 1987 in Kawartha Lakes, Ont.

Lewis, of Fenelon Falls, Ont., is charged with two counts of sexual assault, indecent assault and gross indecency.

He was released from custody after a bail hearing in Lindsay, Ont., on Wednesday and is scheduled to reappear in court on Sept. 10.

Lewis became a constable in 1967 and worked at the Downsview, Snelgrove (now Caledon), Minaki, Islington and Coboconk detachments.

He was posted at Coboconk, near Kawartha Lakes, from 1978 until his retirement in 1997.

CTV.CA

OPP Police Officer Charged............

OPP Police Officer Charged
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Aug. 27 /CNW/ - The Director of the Special
Investigations Unit (SIU), Ian Scott, has reasonable grounds to believe that
an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer committed criminal offences in
relation to a young female and has caused charges to be laid against the
officer.
The OPP - Kapuskasing Detachment contacted the SIU on August 13, 2009
regarding allegations of a sexual nature against one of their police officers.
The SIU assigned two investigators and one forensic investigator to probe the
circumstances of the occurrence.
As a result of the SIU investigation 31 year old Constable Jean-Guy
Beaudet of the OPP - Kapuskasing Detachment is facing one charge of Sexual
Assault, contrary to s. 271 of the Criminal Code of Canada and two charges of
Sexual Exploitation, contrary to s. 153 of the Criminal Code of Canada.
Constable Beaudet was arrested today and subsequently released on a
Promise to Appear along with an Undertaking compelling his appearance before
the Ontario Court of Justice in Kapuskasing on Tuesday September 29, 2009 at
10:00 a.m. to answer to the charges. Justice Prosecutions of the Ministry of
the Attorney General will have carriage of the prosecution.
As this matter is now before the courts, and in consideration of fair
trial interests, the SIU will make no further comment pertaining to this
investigation.

The SIU is a civilian agency that investigates cases of serious injuries
(including allegations of sexual assault) and deaths involving the police.
Pursuant to section 113 of the Police Services Act, the Director of the SIU is
mandated to consider whether a criminal offence has been committed by an
officer(s) in connection with the incident under investigation and, where
warranted by the evidence, to cause a criminal charge or charges to be laid
against the officer(s). The Director reports the results of investigations to
the Attorney General.

CNW.GROUP

Piglets left outside premier's office

Seven pink piglets in a makeshift pigpen were left outside Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's constituency office on Kilborn Avenue in Ottawa Tuesday morning.

The plywood pen, which contained some bedding, was found with a note saying they were a gift to the premier, as there is no market for small pigs and animals are consequently being euthanized.

McGuinty chuckled when asked about the incident Tuesday.

"I've never raised piglets before, so it wouldn't be fair to them for me to take on that responsibility," he said.

But he added that he sympathized with pork producers.

It's up to consumers to "wise up to reality," McGuinty said, and keep in mind that the H1N1 swine flu virus is transmitted to humans by other humans, not pigs.

"So, let's cut the pigs some slack," he said. "Let's go out there as Ontario consumers, and let's continue to buy good, quality, healthful Ontario pork."

City of Ottawa bylaw officers arrived at McGuinty's office Tuesday morning, examined the animals and found them in good health. They turned them over to the Ottawa Humane Society.

Whatever the motivations for leaving these pigs in the middle of the city, it's disturbing that someone would make a choice to abandon helpless animals like this," said Bruce Roney, executive director of the society, in a statement. "Now, we're left to care for these piglets on top of the hundreds of abandoned and homeless domestic animals we care for on a daily basis."

Christine Hodgins, who works for McGuinty's brother Dylan and found the animals when she showed up for work, said she didn't think much of the apparent protest either.

"All they're doing is endangering the public and endangering the pigs — the poor little baby pigs," she said. "They're not proving anything."

The piglets were expected to be moved to a foster farm later on Tuesday. The Ottawa Humane Society is investigating and said charges could be laid in the case.

Ontario hog farmers appealed to the Ontario and federal governments for help earlier this year, saying increasing costs for essentials like feed and fears around swine flu have made it difficult for them to earn a living.

The federal government has been working with pork farmers to develop a long-term loan program as well as an initiative to help pork producers get out of the hog industry.

CBC.CA

Number four!

For cop in racing case, things move slowly


Clocked at 160 in April, not charged until August

Aug 20, 2009 04:30 AM
Robert Benzie
Queen's Park Bureau Chief
A senior OPP officer has been charged with street racing after a police cruiser was clocked at 160 km/h in a 90 km/h zone, the Star has learned.

While acting Staff Sgt. Mike Pilon was pulled over on April 14, charges were not filed until Aug. 6 – and he still has not been served with a court summons, said Ontario Provincial Police Supt. Jeff Dupuis.

Dupuis said yesterday there appears to be a procedural snag in Cochrane, where the incident took place, which has led to the unusual delay.

"It's never happened before," the superintendent said from North Bay.

"I'm not sure what the battle here is. If our guy is at fault, then he's at fault and let the chips fall where they may."

Pilon's Chevrolet Impala was pulled over four months ago on Highway 11 outside Cochrane, a remote community near Timmins that is about 700 kilometres north of Toronto.

Perhaps coincidentally, the charges were filed two weeks after OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino issued a July 20 edict imploring officers to drive safely because "the OPP's image and reputation are adversely affected by the unacceptable actions of a few."

Fantino, who successfully pushed the provincial government to increase penalties for reckless driving, has clamped down on speeders. The commissioner's crusade is credited with cutting speed-related deaths on Ontario highways by 42 per cent last year.

"He is not going to be happy about this," confided one source, noting Fantino has not been shy about reprimanding his own.

Even the elite OPP officers who guard Premier Dalton McGuinty are careful to obey the speed limit when ferrying him to and from events, which is one reason why he often runs late.

Under the new anti-racing laws, if Pilon is convicted he faces a fine of up to $10,000 or six months in jail, plus a licence suspension.

Last week, an undercover Durham Region police officer was charged with racing and had his unmarked car impounded after being accused by the OPP of driving 150 km/h on Highway 115 in Peterborough County.


The Toronto Star