The RCMP paid a small-time criminal big money to inform on a biker gang. Now he won't testify
A convicted criminal who went deep under cover to inform on a group of bikers in St. John's will not be appearing in court to testify against them.
The man, whose identity cannot be revealed, was hired in late 2014 to get close to the Vikings Motorcycle Club, a group of men who police believed were selling cocaine, heroin and their own pain medication while vying to link up with the Hells Angels.
The drug trafficking case has proceeded through court at a glacial pace, suffering setback after setback — from the death of a presiding judge, to a lawyer changing careers, and the chronic health problems plaguing one of the accused.
The latest twist is perhaps the most surprising — especially given the amount of money the RCMP has invested in the man for his work on the case.
Police needed help with murder investigation
The tangled saga began in July 2014, when Al Potter, an alleged member of the Vikings, stabbed a man in the small town of North River. The man, Dale Porter, died of his injuries from 17 stab wounds.
For the next two years, Potter was the primary suspect in the killing, but police did not have enough evidence to press charges. They inserted several undercover police officers to get close to the Vikings but needed someone on the inside to get close to Potter specifically.
They found that person late in 2014, when a small-time criminal was arrested for breaching court conditions. He had a record for assault, armed robbery, impaired driving and various drug charges.
In December 2014, they reached an agreement to make him an undercover agent. That job comes with steep expectations, such as wearing recording devices and testifying at trial. It also means living in the witness protection program if charges are eventually laid, because the accused will know your identity when you testify against them.
There has been confusion in court over just how much the agent was paid. Some RCMP members said they weren't sure, but speculated it was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
After this story was published, an RCMP spokesperson contacted CBC News to settle the figure. They said the agent was paid $250,000 for his work on the Potter trial, and agreed to an additional $50,000 to inform on the alleged drug trafficking operation by members of the Vikings Motorcycle Club.
He was also paid $800 a week for his work. The larger sums of money were to be paid in instalments for milestones in the case — such as testifying in court. His testimony helped the prosecution secure a first-degree murder conviction against Potter.
Agent in declining health, says RCMP
There was still one item left on the agent's checklist — and presumably one more lump sum left to pay.
The drug trafficking trial for accused Vikings members Vince Leonard, Wayne Johnson and James Curran is now underway at the Supreme Court in St. John's. Prosecutor Trevor Bridger told the court Tuesday that the agent would not be testifying, but he didn't give a reason.
"I really don't know why he is not testifying, just that at this stage we are proceeding as if he wasn't testifying at all," Bridger told CBC News.
The RCMP later confirmed it was because "the agent has been declining in health and has indicated he is unable to testify further due to medical reasons."
So far, testimony has been largely centred on undercover police officers and the agent doing drug deals with members of the Vikings. While the agent has not testified, his handlers told the court about giving him thousands of dollars to buy cocaine and heroin from the accused.
On one occasion, a handler said the agent was given $27,000 in cash and a six-pack of Blue Star beer and made a deal for 532 grams of cocaine with Vince Leonard at the Holiday Inn.
Defence lawyers for Leonard, Johnson and Curran questioned the handlers over the agent's behaviour, which revealed he had a drug problem throughout the course of his work for the RCMP, and that he'd sometimes disappear.
"There were times where he went off the rails and we couldn't locate him," a handler told the court in May. "Each time he went off the rails, he felt bad about it. He felt like he was disappointing us."
The trial is proceeding this week, with evidence from the RCMP about wiretaps. It remains to be seen what impact the agent's lack of testimony will have on the case.
