A massive illegal gambling case against GTA Hells Angels bikers has been dropped because it was taking too long to move through the courts.
The multi-jurisdictional police case, called Project Hobart, made headlines with dozens of arrests in December 2019. At the time police touted 28 arrests and the disruption of a $131-million illegal gambling network with links to GTA mobsters.
Since then, one of the original targets of the police investigation has since been murdered while another escaped an attempt on his life in Cabbagetown.
A civil servant originally also left his job after being accused of corruption.
鈥淎ll of the charges on both indictments are withdrawn,鈥 Mr. Justice Bruce Durno of the Superior Court of Justice said in court on Wednesday.
Crown prosecutors cited unreasonable delay as the reason for dropping the charges.
鈥淭hese decisions are not arrived at lightly,鈥 Anil Kapoor said in court on behalf of the Crown. The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the delays in a complex case involving multiple accused and 鈥渧oluminous鈥 amounts of disclosure documents, prosecutors said, praising the Ontario Provincial Police for conducting a 鈥渢horough and effective investigation.鈥
鈥淲e of course are very happy,鈥 lawyer Craig Bottomley said in court in court Wednesday. 鈥淭he prosecution is dead.鈥
Bottomley represented full-patch Hells Angel Craig (Truck) McIlquham, 49 at the time of his arrest, of Oakville, whose charges included possession of a restricted weapon, bookmaking and the commission of an offence for a criminal organization.
The other full-patch Hells Angels who were charged were Robert Barletta, then 49, a London, Ont., strip club owner; and Eugenio (Gino) Reda, then 55, of King City.
It was estimated the case would take 41 months and seven days to wind through the courts 鈥 11 months beyond the constitutional ceiling for the reasonable time for a trial, as laid out in the landmark 2016 Supreme Court ruling R. v. Jordan.
The ruling sets a time limit for the completion of a trial, beyond which the delay is considered 鈥減resumptively unreasonable鈥 and the case will be tossed unless the Crown can prove there are exceptional circumstances, such as the complexity of the case.
The bikers were hit with a raft of charges, including the commission of offences for a criminal organization, bookmaking, firearms, money laundering and tax evasion.
Barletta was originally hit with multiple charges including illegal firearms possession, bookmaking and the commission of an offence for a criminal organization.
Reda faced three bookmaking charges and another for the commission of an offence for a criminal organization.
Project Hobart made headlines in December 2019, as police touted the disruption of a complex illegal offshore gambling enterprise that was controlled by Ontario Hells Angels bikers with ties to York Region mobsters.
Police said at the time said the Project Hobart investigation was spurred by an escalation of violent crimes across Ontario, including attempted murders, arson, extortion and threats.
Before his death, Niagara Hells Angel Michael (Diaz) Deabaitua-Schulde was originally also targeted in the project. Deabaitua-Schulde was murdered in broad daylight on March 11, 2019, after leaving Mississauga gym.
In total, police announced 228 related charges against 28 people from across the province and Oka, Que.
The operation allegedly pulled in more than $131 million in revenues and included the websites Ultimate SB, Titan SB, PlaytoWin WB, Privada SB and Players SB, police said.
The groups also operated a gaming house in Mississauga, police said
In making the arrests, the OPP announced they had seized more than $12 million in assets, including sports cars, two golf carts, seven residences, nine illegal handguns, jewelry valued at approximately $300,000, $330,000 in precious metals, $1.2 million in financial accounts and approximately $1.7 million in cash.
Seized property will now be returned to the people who were charged.
Gamblers were allowed credit limits as high as $20,000, but they were also expected to settle debts within a week, police said.
In January, three men were convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of Deabaitua-Schulde, who was described in another trial as a debt collector.
While on bail on the original Project Hobart charges, Barletta survived an attack by two gunmen on Ontario Street in Toronto, just south of Gerrard Street East, in Cabbagetown.
Barletta was also the apparent target of an arson attack in January 2018 that destroyed his family鈥檚 luxury vacation home in Thornbury, near Collingwood.
Barletta was originally a member of the 海角社区官网North Hells Angels in 2002, then helped found the London, Ont., charter of the biker club in 2003, serving as president.
He then moved on to become president of the Niagara Region arm of the biker organization.
The media was also told that Ministry of Transportation employee Richard Pereira, then 35, of Oshawa, was in Project Hobart charged with criminal breach of trust and unauthorized use of a computer in the police operation.
鈥淭his individual is no longer employed with the Ontario Public Service,鈥 Kyle Richardson of the Treasury Board Secretariat said in an email. 鈥淎s this is a confidential human resources matter, it would be inappropriate to comment further.鈥
Cases against two men arrested in Project Hobart were previously tossed in January 2021 over what a judge called an 鈥渆gregious鈥 12-day wait for a bail hearing.
Hundreds of Hells Angels bikers are expected to gather at two upcoming GTA events this week: an unsanctioned memorial procession set for Toronto on Thursday, and a national gathering in Durham Region this weekend.
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