THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE TURNING 'VERY SLOWLY'

View From the Ledge

As we approach the third anniversary of the police raid on the
legislature, it's time to step back and ask an important question:
What in the heck is happening with this case anyways?

Shortly after the raid occurred in late December 2003, the RCMP held
a news conference and grandly and seriously talked about organized
crime somehow coming perilously close to the legislature. There was
also talk of money laundering and drug trafficking.

But almost three years later, the case has dwindled into an alleged
affair of tawdry low-level lobbying.

In any event, it now appears that the trial of three former Liberal
government political aides won't even begin until next spring. There
is a tentative start date set for early December, but a seemingly
endless argument over how much evidence the Crown must disclose to
the defence has shackled the process.

In the meantime, some interesting tidbits about the case have
emerged, and some important questions remain unanswered.

Much of the mystery and intrigue surrounds the Crown's star witness,
Erik Bornman. A former lobbyist and federal Liberal activist, Bornman
is almost the entire case against the three provincial Liberal
government workers (Dave Basi, Bob Virk and Aneal Basi).

According to the search warrants that have been unsealed, it is
Bornman who is making the allegations of bribery and corruption in
regard to the privatization of B.C. Rail. In fact, without Bornman's
assertions, it's hard to see much evidence of wrongdoing in this affair.

But the treatment afforded Bornman by the RCMP and, possibly, the
special prosecutor, raises important questions.

Bornman has claimed he funnelled money to Dave Basi through Aneal
Basi in exchange for information, documents and client referrals and
that he gave Dave Basi a "benefit" in violation of the Criminal Code
- - yet he has not been charged with any crime.

As well, in the middle of the investigation and well after the search
warrants containing his allegations were sworn in front of a judge,
he was in law school and then became an articling student at a
prestigious law firm in Toronto. He also continued to be registered
as a government lobbyist in B.C.

But why didn't any official connected with this case contact the
Upper Canada Law Society and point out to it that someone about to be
called to the bar had claimed to the police that he tried to bribe
public officials? And why didn't anyone contact the official
registrar of government lobbyists in B.C. and relay the same information?

(In an ironic twist, Bornman was registered in a University of B.C.
law class in September 2004 that had as a guest lecturer on one
evening the special prosecutor of this case, Bill Berardino, but
Berardino says he hasn't actually met Bornman).

More than two years after the raid, Bornman finally quit the law firm
after someone did indeed complain to the Upper Canada Law Society.

Speaking of special prosecutors, did you know that Berardino is
actually the third one on this case? Two other Vancouver lawyers
preceded him - Len Doust and Josiah Wood - but both resigned shortly
after getting the file because of possible conflict of interest
problems. Their appointments were not made public at the time because
the case was still hidden from the public.

Another interesting development: did you know the RCMP quietly
visited federal Liberal party headquarters in B.C. on May 6, 2005,
and seized electronic copies of the financial donor list? And in
another odd twist, did you also know that the RCMP officer who is the
main investigator in the case once bought a house from the Dave Basi family?

The more I learn about this case - from leaks, from interviews of
those with some inside knowledge of it - the more I get the
impression that what was once painted to be a gigantic criminal
conspiracy is actually a lot less than that.

It wouldn't be the first time the police have overreached when they
entered the B.C. political scene. As I wrote last week, they made
that kind of error when dealing with two B.C. premiers.

Whether they're making the same kind now may not be known for many
more months yet. The case drags on and on. To put how long this is
all taking in perspective, here's one last tidbit: since he lost his
job as a result of the legislature raid, ex-Liberal aide Bob Virk and
his wife have had two children.

The wheels of justice are indeed turning very, very slowly here.