HAND-LESS MAN MUST GO TO JAIL: CROWN

Defence Lawyer Says Disabled Drug Courier Would Be At Risk In
Prison

A Victoria man with no hands who ingested $204,000 worth of heroin and
smuggled it into Canada three years ago should not be allowed to avoid
prison because of his disability, federal prosecutor Dirk Ryneveld
argued yesterday in B.C. Supreme Court.

"You had to swallow 85 different pellets of heroin," Ryneveld said to
drug courier Terry Bazzani on the first day of the two-day sentencing
hearing.

"You had 85 times to think about what you were doing. You knew you
were committing a crime and you decided to take the risk."

Bazzani, 39, was arrested June 28, 2006, at Toronto's Lester B.
Pearson airport after arriving on a flight from Bogota, Columbia. He
was charged under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and pleaded
guilty to importing heroin Sept. 2.

Ryneveld wants Bazzani to go to prison for the offence, which until
recently carried a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years.

But defence lawyer Jordan Watt contends Bazzani should be given a
conditional sentence because of his physical limitations, arguing
Bazzani will be isolated and in danger in a federal institution, and
won't receive proper care.

Bazzani testified that his multiple disabilities, which include an
abnormality of his mouth, no hands, shortened arms and a partial left
foot with fused toes, were the result of his birth mother taking
illicit drugs.

Without hands, he can't dress himself or do up buttons. He can't brush
his teeth or shave his face. He can eat sandwiches, but nothing
requiring utensils. He can urinate by sitting on a toilet.

"When you go number two, can you wipe your bum?" asked
Watt.

"I have someone do it for me or I have a shower," Bazzani
replied.

Throughout his life, he has been cared for by his foster parents,
girlfriends and live-in caregivers. His new wife, whom he married last
week, is also helping to look after him, Bazzani testified.

Watt asked about time Bazzani spent in custody at Maplehurst maximum
security institution in Ontario after his arrest.

"In those five weeks did anyone brush your teeth?"

"No," Bazzani replied.

"Did anyone clean your ears?"

"No," Bazzani replied.

"Did anyone wipe your bum?"

"No."

"How did you eat?"

"I ate what I could and left the rest," said Bazzani, who fumbled for
a tissue to wipe away tears.

Diane Thiessen, manager of clinical services for Correctional Service
of Canada, Pacific region, testified that B.C.'s nine federal
institutions accommodate all kinds of disabilities, including
amputees, paraplegics and quadriplegics.

The case began in June 2006 when Canadian Border Services Agency
received a tip from a confidential source identifying Bazzani as a
drug courier.

When he stepped off the early-morning flight from Colombia, the
customs inspector immediately recognized Bazzani because of his
shortened arms.

After being held for a few hours, Bazzani admitted he had swallowed
drugs.

He was taken to hospital and passed 48 heroin tablets in the next few
hours, then was transferred to a holding cell at the airport, where he
continued to pass heroin tablets.

Yesterday, Bazzani testified he had travelled to Colombia to be with a
woman he'd met online.

In May 2006, Bazzani, who was unemployed and living on a disability
pension, met two men at a bar who asked him to smuggle drugs back into
Canada for $10,000, he testified.

"They kept on persisting. They said it's easy money and it's safe,"
said Bazzani.