DEALER'S REDUCED TERM IRKS U.S., CANADIAN POLICE

TORONTO - When Sean Erez was found crumpled and bleeding in the
elevator of the Westin Harbour Castle hotel this week, shot when an
alleged drug deal went awry, he could well have still been inside an
American prison for his international drug trafficking enterprise.

That a decade was shaved off his 15-year sentence imposed in a
Brooklyn courthouse in November, 2001 -- after he applied to serve his
sentence in Canada rather than in the United States -- is angering
victims-of-crime advocates and police officers on both sides of the
border.

"He won the lottery when he was transferred here. What a hell of a
deal he got on the exchange rate," said Tony Cannavino, president of
the Canadian Professional Police Association, which represents 54,000
police officers.

"That's what you do with drug traffickers in Canada, is it? Did your
government pay for his hotel room as well?" asked a U.S. federal drug
investigator.

Steve Sullivan, spokesman for the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims
of Crime, an Ottawa-based advocacy group, said: "Here they erase any
attempt they made in the States to deter these crimes."

The objects of that ire are policies that, for Mr. Erez, made the
difference between a U.S. prison cell and a Toronto hotel room.

The math is made clear in National Parole Board records and U.S. court
documents.

First, Mr. Erez applied under the Convention on the Transfer of
Sentenced Persons, a treaty between Canada and the U.S. that allows
citizens of both countries to serve their sentence in their homeland.

On April 19, 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice was notified that
Anne McLellan, then Canada's minister of public safety, had approved
Mr. Erez's transfer.

Once in Canada, Mr. Erez -- like all those transferred to Canada --
was governed by the more generous parole allowances here.

By crossing the border his actual sentence was cut in half.

"You were convicted in New York State initially to a jail term of 15
years but, since the maximum sentence in Canada is at 10 years [for
the same drug trafficking offence] and also that you benefited from
some jail credits, it amounts now to [six years and eight months],"
says the parole decision record on Mr. Erez.

His good fortune was not over.

Since drug trafficking is not considered a crime of violence in Canada
and because this is Mr. Erez's first time in a Canadian prison, under
law, he was eligible for Accelerated Parole Review.

That meant almost immediate release for Mr. Erez unless the National
Parole Board had evidence he would commit a crime of violence before
the expiry of his now abbreviated sentence.

The parole board had several concerns about Mr. Erez, but none
involving violence.

Mr. Erez had masterminded a plot to smuggle more than 1.5 million
Ecstasy pills into New York from Amsterdam using young Orthodox Jews
as couriers.

"You were very refined in your recruiting of young Orthodox Jews that
would not draw attention on them at customs and airport security,"
ruled a parole board panel in its decision to release Mr. Erez.

"You have made millions of profit from that illicit activity," the
board said.

"All of this was to satisfy a luxurious 'jet set' lifestyle where you
spend large amounts of money to satisfy your needs."

The board noted that the U.S. government seized US$2-million from Mr.
Erez that was found in a Luxemburg bank.

The parole board notes that he has a prior conviction for possession
of drugs from 1998, also in New York, and had frequently used Ecstasy
and Ketamine prior to his arrest in 1999.

"After a thorough review of your case, the board is satisfied that
there are no reasonable grounds to believe that, if released, you are
likely to commit an offence involving violence before the expiration
of your sentence, and directs your release," the parole panel ruled on
Aug. 24, 2005.

Mr. Erez was allowed out of prison immediately on full parole -- just
two months after being transferred from a Pennsylvania prison on June
23, 2005.

Less than a year after his release, Mr. Erez came to the attention of
police in a dramatic shooting Monday night at the Westin Harbour
Castle hotel.

When heavily armed officers arrived at the upscale hotel they found
Mr. Erez bleeding from gunshot wounds to his stomach and legs, another
man who had been handcuffed by his assailants and Mr. Erez's
Quebecoise girlfriend.

Also found were four kilograms of powdered cocaine, with an estimated
street value of $400,000, hidden in an ice dispenser. Investigators
believe it had been stashed there for safe keeping in case a deal went
sour.

Mr. Erez survived but has been charged with drug trafficking. Police
described the incident as a botched drug transaction.

This case highlights the need for changes in Canada's justice system,
critics said.

"It seems odd that anyone can pretend there isn't an element of
violence in this person's lifestyle and career choice and the kind of
activities he has done," said Mr. Sullivan. "If it wasn't so serious
it would almost be funny."

Mr. Cannavino called on the new Conservative government to conduct a
review of the prison and parole system in Canada.

"They are handling cases like they get a bonus every time they let
someone out," he said.