BY KEITH LACEY
After serving three years in jail, or about 1,100 days, disgraced Sudbury financial adviser Pierre Montpellier tasted freedom for the first time Thursday.
He spent one day in jail for every $5,000 ($5.37 million) he stole.
Montpellier has been released into a halfway house after serving six months of a two-year penitentiary term imposed against him April 14. He served
his time at the minimum security Beaver Creek Institution in Gravenhurst.
The National Parole Board confirmed Thursday Montpellier is eligible for full parole Dec. 13. He will have to spend the next two months at a halfway house. During this time, he is free to look for work or continue his education as long as he reports daily to supervisors at the halfway house.
After Dec. 13, there will be no restrictions on Montpellier?s freedom, as long as he doesn?t breach conditions of his parole.
Glenn Sandberg, who defended Montpellier along with Hamilton lawyer Norm Williams, said he understands why people are upset Montpellier is no longer behind bars.
?In the wake of any crime, when it comes to people who have been affected, it?s not uncommon for them to feel any amount of penalty is insufficient,? he said. ?The mentality is often such that people who were directly involved, because they can?t be objective, don?t feel any outcome is satisfactory. It?s just part of human nature.?
Montpellier had no previous criminal record and spending three years in jail is a harsh penalty, said Sandberg.
?It?s easy for someone who has never seen the inside of a prison cell to comment on what a just sentence should be,? he said. ?But if you haven?t been there, it?s difficult to make fair comment because, unless you?ve been there, you don?t know what it?s like to spend time behind bars.?
Because there were so many victims, Sandberg acknowledges most people in this community know someone directly or indirectly who was affected by this crime.
It?s his hope none will resort to any kind of illegal, vengeful or criminal behaviour, should Montpellier ever return to Sudbury.
?We are a mature, responsible society and it?s my hope no one would resort to vigilantism,? he said. ?This is 2004 and not the 1920s in the old West.?
Montpellier had been in custody since he was arrested in England in October of 2001 after police tracked him down.
When Sudbury police started closing in on Montpellier after numerous complaints were forwarded in late 1998, he left for England, telling police he had a European backer who would come up with millions of dollars.
After spending almost 31 months in pre-trial custody, Montpellier pleaded guilty to stealing $5.37 million from 128 former clients while he worked as a financial adviser, between 1995 and 1998, in Sudbury.
When it came to stealing from clients, Montpellier was an equal-opportunity con artist. He stole from members of his family, friends, seniors and strangers. With false promises of taking clients? money and investing it to obtain remarkable returns, Montpellier, court heard, conned lawyers,
accountants, professors, wealthy business owners and retired miners.
Montpellier, whose legal bills were paid by legal aid, spent the money on an extravagant lifestyle. He also used the stolen money to pay off $850,000 in personal credit cards and lines of credit, another $850,000 to purchase a luxury home on Ramsey Lake, and purchasing and leasing expensive automobiles for family members.
He pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000 and one count of theft over $5,000. He was originally charged with 151 counts of theft and 151 counts of fraud, but the plea bargain agreed to involved 128 former clients.
All of the money from duped investors was poured into Montpellier?s company, Foreign Capital Corp. Montpellier then went wild for three years, spending an average of $5,000 a day for three years, which is, coincidentally, the same amount of time he?s spent behind bars.
At his sentencing hearing, assistant Crown attorney Diana Fuller said many of his victims will never again enjoy financial freedom because they placed their trust with Montpellier.
?For many, this is the loss of a lifetime of work...many are becoming frail and elderly...and they soon won?t be able to provide for themselves and
their loved ones,? she said.
