MAN'S DENIAL OF GROWING POT WEB OF LIES: CROWN

A 53-year-old Toronto man who claimed he was in Windsor only to be a
caregiver to his grandkids was painted by the prosecution Thursday as
a caretaker of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of marijuana plants.

That two children, ages two and four, were staying in [Name redacted]
one-bedroom apartment on Tecumseh Road West -- where police found no
toys but boxloads of growhouse equipment including transformers and
bags of 1,000-watt bulbs -- instead of in their parents' spacious
three-bedroom home, "doesn't make sense," federal prosecutor Richard
Pollock said in closing arguments for [Name redacted] trial.

He described [Name redacted] previous testimony, in which he denied
having any part in the growhouse operations perpetrated by relatives,
many of whom have already pleaded guilty, as a web of lies.

[Name redacted] is one of seven relatives arrested in 2004 when
police raided 11 homes and seized $5.5 million worth of marijuana,
the largest growhouse bust in Windsor history. His lawyer, John
Liddle, argued there is reasonable doubt that [Name redacted] is guilty.

"[Name redacted] , I would concede, I don't think his evidence was
perfect," said Liddle. However, on the "critical points," [Name
redacted] was definite that: he was never at [address redacted] , a
growhouse owned by his Toronto-based son [Name redacted] ; he was not
involved in the Windsor grow operation (although he has been
previously convicted of operating a growhouse); and he was not
involved in the affairs of his son-in-law, Sinh Kim Ho, 30, who has
already pleaded guilty to nine drug-related charges stemming from the
growhouse raids.

But Pollock said if there was any validity to [Name redacted] story,
it would be backed up by corroborating evidence, including testimony
from friends and relatives. Instead, the trial comes down to [Name
redacted] word versus evidence compiled by police surveillance.

Superior Court Justice Mary Nolan reserved judgment on the charges of
production and possession for the purposes of trafficking, and theft
of electricity, until Dec. 5.

Earlier this week, another grandparent charged as a result of the
June, 2004, growhouse raids, Anh Sy Hoang, 58, who has pleaded
guilty, had her sentencing put over to Dec. 11.

The other outstanding case is against [Name redacted] daughter [Name
redacted], which is scheduled to go to trial next spring.