CORNWALL – While describing him as a “committed family man,” a Cornwall judge has sentenced an Akwesasne man to just over a year in jail for a human smuggling attempt gone wrong in 2015. this morning (Wednesday) to 13 months and 25 days in jail after he was found guilty at trial on two counts of manslaughter and a breach of a probation order related to smuggling. The indictment alleges from approximately 2013 to 2016, the defendants worked together and with others to acquire cut rag tobacco and smuggle it into Canada, where it was made into contraband cigarettes, federal prosecutors said. Judge Rick Leroy sentenced 39-year-old Louie McDonald of Snye, Que. AKWESASNE. However, there could still be “very broad repercussions” if mandatory fines or a jail term were removed. A date for Lazore’s hearing is expected to be set next month. The Crown had sought three years in prison while the defence had asked for a decision in the range of a suspended sentence to 18 months jail.

Lazore is now facing a fine of $46,008 or up to 18 months in jail, according to the Canada Excise Act. Court heard Lazore had agreed to drive a pickup truck loaded with it across the Cornwall Island crossing on Feb. 21 of last year in exchange for cash. “You’ve got a 20-year-old first offender, Aboriginal who is involved in smuggling a legal substance but it’s contraband because the tax hasn’t been paid on it and he’s looking at either a $40,000 fine or jail,” said Greenspon.

Funds to purchase the cut rag tobacco were sent from Canada, often through the Northern District of New York, to North Carolina.

Around a dozen family and friends were in the gallery for the decision. Contraband capital: The Akwesasne Mohawk reserve is a smuggling conduit, police say. Akwesasne, Cornwall, News

Lazore, 20, pleaded guilty to smuggling 218 kg of shisha, the fruit-flavoured tobacco used in hookah water pipes.

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McDonald, clasping his hands on the defence desk, showed no emotion as the decision was read. The judge also was not swayed by their Charter arguments. There’s a wide range for sentencing on a manslaughter conviction – from a suspended sentence to life in prison. “If the government loses the ability to fine, I think it would encourage more smuggling,” said Daudelin. An Akwesasne man and two others been arrested for their roles in a $46.8 million money laundering scheme involving the smuggling of cut rag tobacco into Canada from the United States. He also has a 10-year weapons ban, he’s not allowed to operate a motor vehicle for three years and he has to submit a DNA sample.

Devin Lazore’s constitutional challenge comes as the federal Conservative government is proposing tough new measures to combat the trafficking and smuggling of tobacco products across Canada’s borders, including mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders. An Akwesasne man caught smuggling more than 200 kilograms of favoured tobacco across the border is …

Prison for Cornwall-Akwesasne human smuggling participant. Defence lawyer Ian Paul also declined comment on the judge’s decision.

Greenspon argues the minimum penalty also violates Lazore’s equality rights. The substance itself isn’t illegal, but Lazore’s stash was not stamped “duty paid.”. AKWESASNE. Greenspon said the Criminal Code requires judges to take into account an offender’s unique Aboriginal heritage when arriving at a fit sentence. Those recommendations include that McDonald continue to live in Akwesasne, find a job, continue his “healing journey” and deal with his grief issues and that he attend parenting courses. It’s a punishment his Ottawa lawyer Lawrence Greenspon argues is too harsh.

Akwesasne man challenges mandatory punishments for smuggling, tap here to see other videos from our team. Once purchased, the cut rag tobacco was delivered to warehouses and buildings in the Northeastern United States, including Akwesasne, where it was staged for smuggling into Canada.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The decision already takes into account about four months credit for time served in jail before trial. Four or five days later, he drowns in the St. Lawrence River at the east end of Cornwall Island.”.

Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Leroy accepted the explanation that McDonald thought he would be smuggling three pounds of marijuana for some “easy money” in order to provide for his children but ended up being faced with a last-minute situation of three people being smuggled.

Greenspon intends to argue his client should receive a conditional discharge, a sentence which would spare Lazore a criminal record if he abided by conditions set by the court for a set period of time. Members of the conspiracy sold the contraband cigarettes, making substantial profits by avoiding taxes and duties, and used some of their profits to buy more cut rag tobacco that they sent into Canada, according to federal authorities. Please try again. In November, MacKay proposed minimum sentences of three months in jail for a second smuggling offence, six months for a third offence and two years less a day for each subsequent offence. Daudelin’s study found that the majority of the illicit cigarettes in Canada arrive through the Highway 401 corridor around Cornwall. “If we’re successful in this it will result in a striking down of a section of the Excise Act which is relied upon daily by the federal prosecution service in the prosecution of offences across Canada,” said Greenspon. © Copyright 2020, First Annual FrightFest at 56 Drive-In Theater, Five arrested in connection to kidnapping of Moira couple, Kawehno:ke resident files class action lawsuit against Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, Akwesasne police use tire-deflation device to stop vehicle that fled U.S. police into Canada. It’s been estimated that smuggling in Ontario and Quebec costs the federal and provincial governments between $1 to $1.5 billion a year in unpaid tobacco taxes. This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic.

The legal challenge was filed in a Cornwall court just a month after federal Justice Minister Peter MacKay outlined tough new sentences that the Conservative party hopes to put in a place. Join the mailing list to receive daily email updates. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings. Akwesasne man challenges mandatory punishments for smuggling. While there were no victim impact statements filed with the court, Leroy surmised the loss to the families in India “has to have been significant.”, “One day your son, brother, nephew, is going to the nearest Indian airport for travel to Canada. If convicted, each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the funds involved in the conspiracy, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. OTTAWA — An Akwesasne man caught smuggling more than 200 kilograms of favoured tobacco across the border is attempting to strike down legislation that would see him fined more than $40,000 or imprisoned as cruel and unusual punishment. © 2020 Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved.

Carey Terrance, 39, of Hogansburg, along with Edgar M. Baker, Jr., 46, of Southern Pines, N.C.; and Jeffrey Doctor, 48, of Washington, D.C. were arrested last week following their indictment on July 23, 2020, on one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Syracuse. Devin Lazore’s constitutional challenge comes as the federal Conservative government is proposing tough new measures to combat the trafficking and smuggling of tobacco products across Canada’s borders, including mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders. He was found not guilty on a conspiracy charge. After his jail sentence is completed, McDonald will be on probation for a year-and-a-half. Each truckload of cut rag tobacco in the scheme (totaling over 18 million pounds) was worth approximately $3 million in lost tax revenue for the Canadian and Quebec governments, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Editor

This case is being investigated by HSI and IRS-CID and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily C. Powers. Akwesasne, which stretches into northern New York, is by far the busiest spot for cigarette smuggling along the northern border. What would be left if you couldn’t even impose a fine?” he asked. Carleton University professor Jean Daudelin, who co-authored a study on tobacco smuggling in Cornwall for the public policy think-tank the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, believes that large fines already have very little deterrent effect.

The drug ring started around 1999, a couple of years after federal agents busted a major smuggling ring on Akwesasne. He accepted all of the report’s findings and its assessment that McDonald was “worthy of a second chance.”. An Akwesasne man and two others been arrested for their roles in a $46.8 million money laundering scheme involving the smuggling of cut rag tobacco into Canada from the United States. Located in AkwesasneU.S. “It’s quite clear it would reduce the risk. The reservation is prime real estate for smugglers of … There was a co-accused in the case – a 26-year-old man from Hogansburg, N.Y. His proceedings went through the American judicial system. 0.

Two young men from India drowned Sept. 1, 2015 and a third was rescued by a Good Samaritan after McDonald attempted to take them across the St. Lawrence River to the United States on a personal watercraft when the Seadoo capsized.

Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. CORNWALL – While describing him as a “committed family man,” a Cornwall judge has sentenced an Akwesasne man to just over a year in jail for a human smuggling attempt gone wrong in 2015.

Sentencing Guidelines and other factors, federal authorities said.

It simply poses “some special challenges,” given the complexity of dealing with multiple police and border patrol agencies from two native communities, two countries, one U.S. state and two Canadian provinces. “We’re not making comments,” one said to reporters as they left the courtroom. : (518) 358-9531Canada: (613) 575-2063info@indiantime.net, Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Cornwall police officer ordered to resign or be…, Cornwall police officer appeals order to resign: Greenspon, South Dundas to regulate cannabis operations, Newswatch COVID-19 Digest: Thursday October 8, 2020, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window). Greenspon acknowledges that if his case is successful, it could have a “huge” impact in the Cornwall area, where smuggling of cigarettes and other contraband has a long history. He said Akwesasne, despite its long history of smuggling, is no longer a special case. McDonald has an adolescent daughter.

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