CROWN WANTS BALDASARO'S HOME

Prosecutor Calls Church Of Universe Pair Unrepentant Lawbreakers

A federal prosecutor describes Church of the Universe clergymen
Walter Tucker and Michael Baldasaro as unrepentant lawbreakers who
cannot be deterred from trafficking in marijuana.

Crown counsel Lou Strezos described the well-known Hamilton pair,
with their long grey beards and colourful hemp-woven hats, as the
"spiritual leaders of an organized drug-trafficking operation" that
carries on business under the "charade of religious freedom."

Tucker, 75, and Baldasaro, 58, were convicted in November on five
counts of trafficking in marijuana. Between them, they sold $70 worth
of pot to an undercover police officer who visited their Barton
Street East church on several occasions in 2003 and 2004. On each
occasion, she bought a small quantity of marijuana, which church
members refer to as the Tree of Life and smoke as their sacrament.

Strezos urged Superior Court Justice John Cavarzan to impose a
two-year prison term for Baldasaro, 58, and a jail sentence of 12 to
15 months for Tucker, 75. They will be sentenced tomorrow.

Federal prosecutor David Rowcliffe asked the judge for an order
forfeiting to the Crown the church headquarters, which has an
estimated value of $98,000.

Baldasaro has a number of drug-related convictions on his record and
was last found guilty of trafficking in 1996, when he served nine
months in jail. Tucker has no recent convictions.

Strezos cited as aggravating factors on sentencing the fact that
police seized from the church 6.4 kilograms of marijuana, 7,000
plastic baggies, weigh scales, and $2,100 in cash from Tucker, along
with his bank book, which showed $14,000 in deposits.

Defence lawyer Peter Boushy pointed out that the marijuana seized was
"shake," meaning it did not contain the valuable buds of the plant
but just stems and leaves. Tucker told the judge he used the shake to
bake cookies and make tea.

Boushy argued it was unfair for the Crown to raise the issues of the
shake and cash when the Crown, for its own tactical reasons, had
withdrawn the charges involving this seized evidence at the
preliminary hearing.

He also argued that the seizure of the church where his client lives
was a disproportionate punishment, given that he was convicted of
selling just 2.5 grams of marijuana.