JUDGE FOUND GUILTY OF MONEY LAUNDERING

MONTREAL, Jan. 25 (UPI) - A Montreal court has found a judge guilty of money
laundering, in the first-ever case of its kind in Canada.

Justice Robert Flahill was tried for conducting a money-laundering operation
when he was a practising lawyer. He was appointed to the bench in 1995.

The court heard that Flahill deposited large quantities of cash in a
Montreal bank between 1989 and 1991 on behalf of a client who was a cocaine
dealer. He later had $1.7 million transferred to a bank account in
Switzerland.

Flahill's defense lawyers told the court during the trial that his client
did not know the money was the proceeds of drug trafficking.

Police in Montreal began investigating Flahill in 1995 after his former
client Paul Larue was arrested in a sting operation in the United States and
turned informer in return for a reduced sentence.

The trial began in October 1997 when Larue, a former night-club bouncer
currently in prison in the United States, became the star witness against
Flahill, providing details of the time, dates and places where money changed
hands.

Trial judge Serge Boisvert says bank records, airline tickets and passport
stamps make up a paper trail which complete the picture provided by the
police informant and there is sufficient evidence against Flahill for a
conviction.

The crown prosecutor says today's ruling is a victory, and sends a message
that nobody should use his position in the legal profession to commit a
crime.

The sentence will be announced on Feb. 8, when Flahill faces being
disbarred, and a sentence of up to 10 years in jail.

Flahill had tears in his eyes when he emerged from the court. His lawyer
told reporters he intends to appeal.