JUDGE CONVICTED OF LAUNDERING DRUG MONEY

He faces 10 years: 'It's a very sad day for him'

MONTREAL -- Justice Robert Flahiff of Quebec Superior Court faces 10
years in jail and disbarment following his landmark conviction
yesterday of laundering drug money.

It is believed to be the first time a federally appointed judge has
been convicted of such serious crimes.

Flahiff, 51, was charged with laundering $1.7 million between 1989 and
1991 while he was still a practising lawyer.

He was convicted of laundering more than $1,000, of conspiracy to
launder the money, and of being in possession of more than $1,000
knowing it had been obtained through drug-dealing.

Flahiff will remain on the federal payroll for now but a spokesperson
for Justice Minister Anne McLellan said his case has been referred to
the Canadian Judicial Council.

No federally appointed judge has ever been fired from the
bench.

"Under the Constitution, a federally appointed judge can only be
removed by joint address of the Senate and the House of Commons," said
Jeannie Thomas, executive director of the Canadian Judicial Council in
Ottawa.

Flahiff's face flushed and tears welled in his eyes during the hour it
took Quebec Court Judge Serge Boisvert to read the verdict.

"It's a very sad day for him," defence lawyer Claude Girouard said of
his client, who mainly oversaw civil and family law cases. "He's
hoping for the Court of Appeal and that's where we're going."

Boisvert dismissed three other charges under provisions that prevent
multiple convictions on duplicate charges.

Flahiff, who had pleaded not guilty, was appointed to the bench in
1993 by then-prime minister Brian Mulroney.

There was no live testimony at the trial. Instead, it was based on
piles of transcripts and documents filed with the court. Many of the
key statements came from convicted cocaine dealer Paul Larue, whose
credibility was questioned by Boisvert.

Evidence at Flahiff's trial said he began taking satchels containing
thousands of dollars in cash to a bank in 1989.

Flahiff told bank officials the money came from a client who had sold
his business and wanted to duck a problematic partner. The bills were
turned into bank drafts that ended up in Switzerland.

Pre-sentence arguments will be heard on Feb. 8.