NEW LAW AIMS TO MAKE SURE CRIME DOESN'T PAY

Hitting gangsters in the pocketbook is the best way to slash organized
crime's sinister tentacles, according to an RCMP expert on organized crime.

Insp. Garry Clement, who heads the Mounties' integrated proceeds of crime
section, addressed the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada's National
Organized Crime Workshop here yesterday.

The five-day conference has attracted more than 150 law enforcement
delegates from across Canada.

Clement told the Sun that new proceeds of crime legislation will help smash
what he describes as "continuing criminal enterprises."

"We have to go beyond a reasonable doubt but we also have to push the
envelope," Clement said. "The new legislation has an organized crime
provision that helps us go after the money and to the very top of the
organization."

Under the legislation, investigators can now seize cars, boats, cash, homes
and any other items that may have been ill-gotten. The net effect is less
manoeuvrability on the part of underworld denizens.

For years, jailed U.S. mob kingpin John Gotti insisted he was merely a
plumbing supply salesman. Canadian crooks have also tried similar ruses but
now they have to prove it.

"We don't have to itemize everything (drugs, prostitution, gambling) now.
All we have to do is prove that an organization's main income comes from
criminal activity," Clement explained.

A criminal organization is described in legislation as a group, association
or body with five or more members whose primary income is crime.

While the legislation is a powerful tool, Clement said that so far it has
not been fully utilized.

"It puts pressure on the courts to look at sentencing in a different light
and ultimately the aim is to take the profit out of crime," Clement said.

Checked-by: Don Beck