JOSE NEVES FORFEITS HOUSE, TOYS; NOW HE FACES PRISON TERM

Drug Kingpin Watches Kingdom Vanish

HE'S lost his house, his boat and his Jeep. This morning, Jose Neves
finds out for how long he will lose his freedom.

The convicted drug kingpin, already stripped of personal assets under
proceeds of crime legislation, will learn his fate when Queen's Bench
Justice Barbara Hamilton hands down her sentence.

At a day-long hearing yesterday, the Crown asked for a term of 10 to 12
years. Defence lawyer Jeff Gindin, citing his client's lack of a prior
record and strong ties to his family and Winnipeg's Portuguese
community, asked for five years.

Hamilton wanted time to sleep on her decision before announcing it
today.

"He is not remorseful. He is only sorry he got caught," said Crown
attorney Erin Magas. "This was not a momentary lapse of judgment. He
didn't wake up one day and decide to be a multi-kilogram-level drug
dealer. This required a significant amount of planning," she said.

"I'm sure he's a loving father. But take a look at the other side of
Mr. Neves. At the same time he is (being a family man), he is running a
sophisticated drug operation. And none of these people close to him
seemed to know about it."

Neves, 43, was convicted last month of being the mastermind behind a
large, city-based cocaine ring. The Crown said Neves was clearly the
"kingpin" who helped broker drug buys and shipments from Vancouver and
Montreal.

Police estimate the entire operation brought millions of dollars worth
of drugs to city streets. They arrested the group following a lengthy
undercover investigation.

At the time, Neves was the manager of the Nocturne Club, a
bar/nightclub operating out of the Ramada Marlborough Hotel on Smith
Street.

Gindin said his client, who has three children, is a devoted family man
who fell into a criminal lifestyle through business associates he met
while running the club.

"Mr. Neves made some big mistakes, and the biggest one, no question,
were some of the associations he made," he said.

Among those associations were bikers, including members of the
Redliners who used a Notre Dame Avenue property owned by Neves as
their clubhouse, according to the Crown.

Neves buried his head in his hands through much of yesterday's
sentencing hearing, while his wife, two teenaged children and several
other loved ones sobbed in the public gallery.

He had been out on bail but was taken into custody at the Remand
Centre following his conviction late last month.

"He has now had his first taste of being locked up. I can tell you, he
is not handling it very well," said Gindin. "Even good people do bad
things. Basically, he has lost everything."

Four other co-accused have already been convicted and received prison
sentences of between three and five years. The Crown said Neves
deserves a much stiffer sentence and has asked Hamilton to order Neves
to pay a $32,000 fine.

Neves has already signed over part of net proceeds from the sale of his
home, boat and vehicle, which were seized by the Crown under proceeds
of crime legislation.

Under terms of the deal, which still must be approved by Hamilton, the
justice department will get exactly half the $48,000 which were
collected from the sale of the three items after taxes.

Of the remaining $24,000, Neves will get $13,000 while the other
$11,000 will be used to pay his legal fees.