Fraud is a huge crime issue facing many communities. They take immense resources from law enforcement and the legal system, yet here in Cornwall many are not even investigated.
The standard line of recent vintage cases from the CCPS is that investigations can take five months.
Now many in the public that might not have any knowledge of the process might swallow that, but frankly that duck doesn’t fly.
You have two areas to prove in any crime, motive, and action. There are latin terms for them, but that’s not really relevant here.
It’s also one consideration for the community to consider switching to the OPP as the CCPS clearly hasn’t put resources into fraud investigations.
Recently there were two large cases, the Caskenette case involving minor league hockey, and the Gilles Latour case which included him allegedly defrauding his own mother.
The amount of officers locally working on fraud is frighteningly small in Cornwall. Some annecdotal reports suggest as few as one officer has worked in fraud at one point. There are expertise needed to investigate fraud properly.
Not only that, once a decision to lay a charge is made there is even more expertise in delivering a case that a crown can get a conviction on.
Could a lack of resources spent on fraud by the CCPS jeopardize getting convictions in these two high profile cases and others?
Locally reports have come into CFN of many cases of fraud not being prosecuted. Sometimes the fraudsters have allegedly even been tipped off during those five month delays. All one has to do is look at how many leaks alone have been reported in media like the Seaway News.
While Cornwall is a city of nearly 50,000 people it behaves in many ways like a village of 5,000 so when you have officers related to journalists, or whose kids play hockey together, or go to the same service clubs things can get hinky.
It was reported that one fraud investigator was shunned at their kids hockey games because people like Caskenette, while not yet convicted, clearly had more support from hockey parents than the poor officer charged with doing their job.
Of course Cornwall is also a town that just had parents tossed from girls hockey games for tossing racial slurs.
We’re seen a recent spate of police blotter entries for Ontario Works fraud. In those cases generally the evidence is fairly clear and the police do not have to do much more than confirm allegations and records.
Are poor people being penalized when it comes to fraud investigations because they aren’t friends with Gilles Latour’s friends?
Head of the police board, Andre Rivette, apparently flashed his police board card to an officer during a road stop a few years ago. Did he get a free pass because he was “connected”? Likewise, a historical allegation against Rivette came in suggesting that during the Ice Storm he was engaged in back door selling of fire wood that he was commissioned, at great compensation, to clear for government agencies. City Councilor Rivette did not respond to questions from CFN regarding the allegations that allegedly included him transferring his home to his son’s name out of fear of a fraud conviction.
Do the poor or those “unconnected” simply get charged and convicted more than those in the loop? This is a scary and slippery slope for any community.
Fraud and white collar crime cost a community far more dollars than people that throw grass clippings or call each other names while making drunken threats. Shouldn’t local law enforcement be balancing the load a bit better instead of racking up stats to defend rising budgets?
Ultimately if outside pressures and possible corruption impact actual investigations it creates a situation where bad guys and girls feel more brazen to abuse the system which ultimately costs the community.
Clearly there needs to be a dialog regarding policing for Cornwall Ontario, especially since Chief Dan Parkinson and his staff don’t seem able to reign in rising costs.
Loading ...What do you think dear CFN viewers? Are connected fraudsters getting away with crimes while the poor don’t? Is it time to dialog about farming out fraud investigations if the CCPS do not have or choose not to allocate enough resources to this burgeoning area of crime in our community? Or ultimately is it time to seriously look at bringing the OPP to Cornwall?
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Most excellent article sir.
Fraud is one area where it helps if you are “connected” that the charges are dropped or reduced. But being “connected” helps in all dealings with police and / or legal matters, not just fraud. And to push it even further being “connected” with the right people helps in life in general.
Jamie all throughout my childhood and onwards I have heard about the well connected like doctors and others who got away with big crimes and I mean big crimes and I cannot reveal it here about who was involved but I know who they were and they are deceased since a long time but things went on way back then like they do today. Small town with small mentality and yes the poor get the shaft whereas the rich and well connected get off. Jamie you would have cursed to know about the town’s so called respected professionals involved in terrible crimes and they got off because of who they were and their associations. Nothing surprises me at all about Cornwall. There was nothing said about Holy Cow Gilles Latour nor about Casquenette and you won’t hear much and these people will get off because of who they are and who they belong to. Cornwall is a notorious town for fraud and smuggling and anything else that you can think about and I thank the Good Lord that I am long gone from that town and I am mighty embarrassed to be from such a place.
I just saw something about André Rivette obtaining fire wood during the ice storm and transferring ownership of his home to his son. This sure isn’t a crime at all. Go and look into the rich people who do things that would shame the town literally off its rails. The Rivette family come from a mighty large family and have worked mighty hard throughout their day and didn’t have the chance like most of us to further an education and André did mighty well for himself. I grew up with this family and many more and I can say that I became very proud to see how well André became with so very little. You would all cry your eyes out to see such a humoungous sized family and so mighty close. I am proud to have known André and his family throughout the many years of my life. Nobody is perfect at all but this is a fine family.
In order for cops to do a good job they should be from other cities far from Cornwall and its mighty strange and backward mentallity. The entire bunch called cops in Cornwall should be let go and replaced with people from far and not hire people with any affiliation to anyone in Cornwall nor to the clique. If this isn’t done then Cornwall can kiss itself goodbye. Too many things have to change in Cornwall and that is the truth. Get rid of the clique and send them to Toronto a city of 6 million people where nobody would give them a second look and they would all look like hillbillies to them. Cornwall’s reputation is mighty black because nothing was done about any of them and it should be done PRONTO. I have a good name for the so called cops of Cornwall and have always retained it and have a lot of laughter about it. Change the entire bunch and watch the roaches scatter. You get a cop related to BOB (brother in law) who does nothing to bring law and order and you {MODERATED} has clout in town and so many others related to someone or other. This all has to change big time. Jamie I get so many good laughs going on the video of the Cornwall cops after you at city hall – our good little Jamie with all those cops who came up so fast from their sewer hole like rats after a piece of cheese. This is laughter at its finest.
Being “connected” and getting away with things has nothing to do with where you live. It happens whether you live in Cornwall or Ottawa. No difference!!
Hugger there are crooked cops everywhere and yes I agree with you but a tiny place like Cornwall aka Peyton Place or that name that someone gave it was a prison camp oh yes Fossoli LOL LOL. is a great deal more visible than a big city. I have heard about crooked cops everywhere but for a place like Cornwall it is as visible as looking through glass. The entire bunch have to be replaced and so much has gone on throughout the years and hidden. Hugger if I was speaking to you in person as well as to Jamie I can tell you more and what and whom were in on what but I cannot tell you anything over the net. Plenty went on through the years and hid behind their profession and their connections.
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so now you can post my comment
I agree with Jules that there are crooked cops everywhere. But having said that there are good ones as well. (Hopefully) There are probably more good cops than not so good ones. The entire force does not need to be replaced here in Cornwall. Though I think the city should at least look at the option of going with the OPP. And no I am not suggesting a “consultant.” There is enough expertise on the current force and within the city to figure out what is the best course of action.
Cornwall sits at or near the top of the list when it comes to the ratio of officers to population. Chief Parkinson and his staff have no incentives to reign in policing costs. You might be interested in knowing the percentage of the city budget that is allocated/spent on police services.
The remarkable feat achieved by the Cornwall police force is the presence of the drag strip located within city limits. Very often cars on Brookdale Avenue are so over the speed limit that getting a license plate number is virtually impossible. Not that it would make a difference if you could.
Something did happen some years ago with the OPP involvement in Cornwall with the sex abuse cases and it didn’t turn out for the better. What I am thinking is not OPP but get a complete new batch of cops from places where they have no relatives or friends in Cornwall – make a complete new sweep and that they should not get involved with the public especially the clique.
About speeding cars in Cornwall something has to be done. Here in Ottawa we sure have that problem and it happens every single day and the drivers happen to be the worst in the country and even that made the headlines in Ottawa’s papers. One counsellor want to get cameras on posts in order to catch those who speed and yes this can be done. You take your life every day when you drive here in Ottawa. Accidents that are stupid, negligent and foolish and are done by people of all ages and backgrounds. Something has to be done before more people are killed or badly hurt. The same should apply for Cornwall and everywhere else.
So, replacing every police officer in Cornwall is Jules’s suggestion. Jules, they are not all bad. And can you imagine the cost of doing this?? Cornwall does not have a magic pot of cash that we can draw on for these grandiose dreams.
As for photo radar….it may make sense in Ottawa, but not in Cornwall. The cost to install such a system must be put against what would be brought in. And, IMHO, photo radar can be seen as a cash grab wherever it is installed.
Hugger not every cop in Cornwall is useless and there are a few good ones. We see the vast majority as complete failures. Getting involved with the clique from the top post of the cops down should be “taboo” and you cannot mix business with pleasure. The line has to be drawn somewhere. Something has to be done now and change most of the cops around and send them elsewhere.
Hugger a lot of people get too comfortable in Cornwall and that is the problem. People don’t live elsewhere to know how things are run. Cops should be transferred elsewhere and not just in small towns but experience the hell in big cities and it would scare the daylights out of all of them. The gangs, shootings and all kinds of very serious crimes would change them.
So now you want to be able to tell people who they can and can’t associate with? Good luck with that one. How do you propose we change the police force? Police cannot be simply transferred to other locations as you suggest. Police have contracts with their employer. I guess we’re just too comfortable in Cornwall. How do you see these things if you don’t live here & rely on one news source.
Caskenette’s arrest was Nov ’14 …dates followed in ’15 and ’16 …in ’17 we can expect to see it thrown out for “justice delayed”.
It’s the law enforcement and justice system in Cornwall, that seems to be the fraud.
An interesting news piece…
http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/when-everyones-grandma-is-the-little-league-thief-one-towns-story-of-fraud-betrayal-and-a-community-divided
I believe fully that cops who are from a certain small town like Cornhole should not work in that town and be thrown into big cities to work and that way they will see what real cop work is like. Get away from who belongs to what family. etc. and deal with the gangs and everything else and it will waken them up from their deep sleep and fraud. The cops would earn their keep.
I would love to see Cornhole’s cops deal with the high crimes here in Ottawa, Montréal, Toronto and all big cities. I don’t think that many would be able to handle this. Here in Ottawa the doctor’s son from Cornhole was caught making himself out as a lawyer but in Cornhole they would have just laughed it off. The son was off his hinges and I could see that vividly in the pictures.