YOU'VE REACHED THE LIMIT, JUDGE TELLS PELADEAU

More jail time for media heiress; 'If it was just a relapse, my
decision might be different, but these crimes are serious'

Anne-Marie Peladeau's most recent breach of bail conditions - trying
to bribe someone to cover up cocaine in her urine sample - was the
last chance the court will give her, a judge ruled yesterday.

Instead of attending therapy sessions for severe drug addiction, the
41-year-old daughter of the late media tycoon Pierre Peladeau will be
sitting in Tanguay prison until her November trial for armed robbery,
Quebec Court Judge Jean-Pierre Lortie said.

Peladeau, 41, had been in 24-hour therapy in Sherbrooke and had
successfully completed three months of "personal growth" workshops,
when she was allowed a five-day pass this month and immediately fell
off the wagon.

When she returned to the centre, she refused to give a urine sample,
Jacques Loubier, clinical director of La Maison l'Estime testified yesterday.

She then asked another resident to provide her urine and pass it off
as Peladeau's, Loubier said.

When that woman refused, Peladeau then offered a former resident, now
working at the centre, an undisclosed amount of money to keep a
positive urine test result quiet.

As a result, Peladeau has had two counts of attempting to obstruct
justice added to her growing file. She is to appear in court for
those on Oct. 13, and at the same time, Lortie will sentence her for
breaking her bail conditions.

"If it was just a relapse, my decision might be different," Lortie
said. "But these crimes are serious and the court has a reputation to
uphold. It can't be seen as giving you favourable treatment because
of who you are."

Peladeau, who has hepatitis C, looked pale and tired as she stood in
the prisoner's box, her hair tied in pigtails.

Since her arrest last October for assault and armed robbery, Peladeau
has broken her bail conditions three times by using drugs, an
addiction Loubier said she has had for 30 years.

"The court needs to maintain its credibility by giving people a
certain number of chances," Lortie told Peladeau. "And you're at the limit."

The original charges stem from a highly publicized police chase in
October, which was recorded by a television news channel owned by her
family's media empire, Quebecor Inc.

The footage of Peladeau being manhandled during her arrest led to
assault charges being filed against two Montreal police officers.