A fraud trial scheduled to begin Thursday at the Sudbury courthouse was postponed after a defence lawyer said he Â?ethicallyÂ? could no longer represent his client.
 |
Without getting into any details, Sudbury lawyer Craig Fleming said it would be best for everyone involved if he no longer represented Steve Allen, 40.
It is alleged that Allen, on or around Sept. 16, 2002, possessed a stolen cheque, forged a signature and cashed it at a local bank.
The total amount of money defrauded from the bank was just under $22,000, say police.
Fleming told the court he could not divulge any details as it might compromise solicitor-client privilege.
Justice Lawrence Riopelle of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice said, Â?while IÂ?m not happy at all,Â? because several witnesses were under subpoena and were in court Thursday to testify, he had little choice but to allow the case to be adjourned so Allen could hire another lawyer.
Allen will return to court Nov. 2 with new counsel and a new date will be set for his trial.
Judge not convinced man will re-offend
Family members wept after a Sudbury man accused of sexual perversion was told by a judge he will not have any restrictions against his freedom.
Justice William Fitzgerald ruled Monday while he had strong suspicions the man had masturbated near children at play areas and sports fields, and had been seen wearing womenÂ?s clothing, he was not convinced police had made a sufficient case to restrict the manÂ?s freedom.
The ruling ended an unusual case where criminal charges were brought forward and then dropped against the man. Police then sought an application
under Section 810 of the Criminal Code of Canada to hold a hearing to determine if a judge should impose restrictions against the man, which would
prevent him from being anywhere near where children regularly gather, including playgrounds, swimming pools and recreational facilities.
Under Section 810, the presiding judge must not only believe the allegations made by police and other witnesses, but also that the suspect will commit
an offence listed by the police.
Fitzgerald ruled that Â?the person involved is likely to be this defendant,Â? but he was not satisfied the offender would commit any of the offences listed by police.
Â?I must ask...if thereÂ?s a likelihood the offender will commit an offence listed...I am simply unable to come to that conclusion,Â? he said.
After his ruling, members of the suspectÂ?s family hugged him and each other and many female family members and supporters wept openly.
The suspect had no previous criminal record and, while he was no longer facing any criminal charges, the police still had the right to bring forward an 810 application.
The suspect matched the physical description testified to by several witnesses and was known to possess or have access to numerous vehicles seen by witnesses in several Northern Ontario locations, said Fitzgerald.
However, Â?the order can only be made if the court is satisfied by the evidence, the fear is reasonably based...and the court is convinced and comes to the conclusion the offender would commit an offence.Â?
Fitzgerald said the Crown had failed to prove to him this test had been met.
The court imposed a ban on reporting much of the details during the hearing, including the manÂ?s name.
Thief signs name on stolen credit card
Johnathan ReiberÂ?s former boss was obviously a good judge of character as he fired Reiber for Â?being deceitful.Â?
Little did the former boss at the gas station know Reiber had stolen a credit card used to pay for a trip in Ontario and New York State.
Reiber, 22, pleaded guilty to 13 charges, including possessing and using the stolen credit card, fraud and possession of stolen property.
Justice William Fitzgerald sentenced Reiber to 15 days in jail on top of two weeks heÂ?s already spent behind bars since being arrested.
Court heard ReiberÂ?s crime spree started in May while he was working as a gas jockey at a station just outside Espanola.
Court heard his boss fired Reiber Â?because he was deceitful,Â? but not before Reiber managed to steal a fleet card used regularly by a bus line to fill up their vehicles.
Reiber had rented a moving van and used the stolen credit card to make 13 separate transactions to fill up the vehicles at various locations on his journey. The total amount of gas purchased was almost $1,200.
The police did not have a difficult time tracking down Reiber as the person who stole the credit card, said assistant Crown attorney Guy Roy.
Not only did Reiber sign his own name to every receipt, he used his own Â?points cardÂ? to accumulate bonus points with each purchase.
Court heard Reiber later stole personal cheques from a roommate and convinced two women to cash the cheques for him, while giving them a small reward in return.
One woman was out $280 and a second woman was defrauded for $900, said Roy.
Reiber told the court he has arranged to start repaying the two women and former boss.
Fitzgerald said he must repay the $2,300 he owes within nine months.
