TRAFFICKER GETS 11-YEAR SENTENCE

Tony Terezakis 'Capitalized' On Others' Misery, Videotaped His
Assaults Of Drug Users

A B.C. Supreme Court judge sentenced drug trafficker Tony Terezakis to
more than 11 years in jail Wednesday for preying on "the most
vulnerable people in our city."

Justice Heather Holmes gave the long-term criminal 71/2 years for his
role in a heroin and cocaine trafficking ring that fed the addicts of
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and another four years for brutal,
prolonged assaults, including three with weapons, on some of those
addicts.

But Holmes also gave Terezakis 51/2 years credit for the 33 months he
has been in pre-trial custody, meaning he could apply for day parole
in just two years.

Holmes accepted that he has tried to turn his life around while in
jail, helping other inmates study the Bible and teaching about the
dangers of crystal meth.

"Mr. Terezakis has a very deep religious commitment," Holmes
noted.

When his trial opened two months ago, the 46-year-old Hells Angels
associate, pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to traffic
drugs. He was then convicted by a jury last month in a series of
assaults captured on video.

Terezakis, who had a fresh Mohawk haircut for his sentencing, turned
to supporters and said "God bless you" before being led away by sheriffs.

Holmes accepted the prosecution argument that Terezakis headed a "very
organized" drug ring, with layers of employees that operated out of
the American and Cobalt hotels on the edge of the Downtown Eastside.

She said the operation was designed to profit off the city's worst
addicts and to beat and threaten any of them who interfered with the
operation.

Thirteen hours of videotaped beatings and interrogations were part of
the evidence against Terezakis. The videotape showed Terezakis --
dressed in black leather jacket, gloves and wraparound sunglasses,
with a religious cross on a chain around his neck -- confronting
people at the American and Cobalt hotels on Main Street.

He tried to explain the tapes as the pilot for a reality-based movie
he was making about the Downtown Eastside, but Holmes said the jury
rejected that claim and decided that none of those seen being struck,
kicked, slapped and bloodied had consented to the assaults.

"They found the assaults to have been committed in support of Mr.
Terezakis' drug business," she said. "I find that their very character
amounts to an aggravating factor."

Holmes said Terezakis had "enormous psychological and physical
control" over the addicts from whom he was profiting, and she accepted
the argument of prosecutor Peter Hogg that Terezakis "was capitalizing
on the misery of others."

Police first uncovered the drug ring when they were investigating five
1995 drug-related murders. A two-year investigation dubbed Project
Ecru led to the charges against Terezakis, including the first under
new, federal, organized-crime legislation. Holmes threw that charge
out during the trial, calling it unconstitutional.

RCMP Chief Supt. Bob Paulson, who headed the investigation, said
Wednesday he was pleased with the sentence.

"He is a dangerous, dangerous guy," said Paulson, a biker expert who
is now stationed in Ottawa.

"He is probably the middle management of organized crime on the West
Coast there. He delivers the service unfortunately."

Paulson said there were other things uncovered by investigators that
weren't part of the trial, such as Terezakis taking people to
polygraph exams and making collections for the Hells Angels.

"He has certainly done work for the Hells Angels," Paulson said. "But
he is not an exclusive devotee of the Hells Angels."

Paulson praised Hogg and his colleague, Judith Kliewer, for their
years of devotion to the case.

Hogg said: "the sentence reflects the seriousness of the
offence."

Terezakis' lawyer Pamela Smith-Gander said she had not had time to
meet with her client, but appreciated that Holmes noted the positive
accomplishments in his life.

"Madame Justice Holmes took a lot of time and a lot of effort in
crafting what she thought was an appropriate sentence," Smith-Gander
said.

Holmes said Terezakis was from a close-knit Greek family. Two brothers
suffered early drug-related deaths within the last three years, Holmes
said.

Prior to the latest charges against him, Terezakis was convicted of
marijuana trafficking and carrying a prohibited weapon.