CIANCIO'S LAWYER BLASTS KEY WITNESS

Calling Moyes A 'Habitual Liar,' Defence Makes Closing Arguments

VANCOUVER -- A B.C. Supreme Court judge was urged to acquit Salvatore
Ciancio because the prosecution's case rests on the testimony of "an
evil and despicable man" who should not be believed.

The character of Robert Moyes, and the evidence he delivered, were
attacked repeatedly by defence lawyer David Butcher as closing
arguments began yesterday in the first-degree murder trial.

Mr. Ciancio is accused of ordering Mr. Moyes to kill Eugene Uyeyama
in December, 1995, because he was a suspected police drug informant.

Suspicions were raised when the RCMP seized 174 kilograms of cocaine
at an east Vancouver home that fall and arrested Mr. Uyeyama but then
released him without any criminal charge.

Mr. Moyes testified at the trial that he participated in the killing
of Mr. Uyeyama and his wife Michele, along with Michael Samardzich,
at the request of Mr. Ciancio and a business associate, Peter Chee.

Mr. Samardzich and Mr. Chee were also charged with murder in 2003,
based on the claims of Mr. Moyes, but the charges were later stayed
by the Crown.

Madam Justice Mary Ellen Boyd, who is hearing the case without a
jury, was told the couple was strangled and their home set on fire by
Mr. Moyes. Forensic evidence suggested Michele Uyeyama was alive when
the fire began.

Mr. Moyes, 50, is a "habitual liar" who was able to manipulate parole
and correctional officials in "extraordinary" fashion for nearly 30
years, Mr. Butcher charged.

The key Crown witness was on parole from a life sentence for armed
robbery when he took part in the Uyeyama killings and the deaths of
five people in a drug-related slaying at an Abbotsford farmhouse in 1996.

Mr. Moyes had more than 50 criminal convictions when he was released
in 1993, six years after the life sentence was imposed.

He testified that he wanted to clear his conscience, which was why he
admitted to the seven murders and testified against Mark Therrien,
who was convicted in the Abbotsford slayings.

Mr. Butcher pointed to a "theme" in Mr. Moyes's criminal record and
noted that the first time he said he wanted to clear his conscience
was in 1979, when seeking parole while serving time for attempted murder.

There is no forensic evidence that links Mr. Ciancio to the Uyeyama
murders and when he was interrogated by police in 1997, it was
alleged he was the "middle man" who hired Mr. Moyes.

Mr. Ciancio was not charged until 2002. The former prosecutors on the
case then stayed those charges in February, 2004, after interviewing Mr. Moyes.

Mr. Ciancio was rearrested a year later, on the final day the Crown
was permitted to resume its prosecution of the stayed charges.

In an unusual development, one of the former Crown prosecutors was
required to testify at the murder trial. Paul Dohm, who is now a
Provincial Court judge, testified that Mr. Moyes "felt he had let us
down" as a result of the many inconsistencies in his version of events.

The Crown is scheduled to begin closing arguments tomorrow.