Hamilton Police have made two arrests but not laid any charges in probe into alleged voter fraud in PC party
The Globe and Mail
Jill Mahoney
07 November 2018
Hamilton police made two arrests – yet laid no charges – in their
investigation of alleged voter fraud at a Progressive Conservative
Party of Ontario nomination meeting, but the lead officer said details
of the probe should be kept under wraps to avoid creating “undue
negative bias” toward the government.
In an affidavit filed in court on Tuesday, Detective Constable Adam
Jefferess argued unsealing documents from the police investigation
could jeopardize the continuing inquiry, which began 18 months ago.
The case is believed to be the first criminal investigation into
alleged fraud at a Canadian political party’s candidate selection
meeting, he wrote. The Globe and Mail and CTV are seeking to unseal
court documents related to the case, a move the Crown is opposing.
Det. Constable Jefferess’s affidavit provides new details on the scope
of the probe into alleged voter fraud and ballot-box stuffing at the
May 7, 2017, nomination meeting in the riding of Hamilton
West-Ancaster-Dundas. Officers have interviewed almost 150 witnesses
and seized 61 different items, including 1,800 PC Party ballots, 345
voting credentials forms and more than 1,600 pages of e-mails.
However, the affidavit provides no details on the two arrests or why investigators have not laid charges.
Officers searched two residential properties tied to one suspect,
seizing documents, digital devices and other materials, according to
the affidavit. Some of the digital devices were sent to a third-party
forensic examiner in the United States because of a claim of
solicitor-client privilege. Police have not yet reviewed the contents
of the devices, which could provide new leads, Det. Constable Jefferess
wrote. He added that unsealing the court records could lead to the
destruction of evidence by other possible suspects.
In addition, he wrote “a number of witnesses have been uncooperative
with police and have refused to provide statements, or have attempted
to control the interview, which has hampered the investigation.”
Det. Constable Jefferess also argued unsealing the documents could
contaminate future witness statements and subvert investigators’
technique of holding back evidence to assess the credibility of
information.
He noted twice in his affidavit the allegations involve the party that forms the province’s government.
“As this investigation involves a political party and the current
sitting provincial government, the release of the contents of the
applications for judicial authorizations to the various media outlets
may cause the media outlets and/or the public who read the subsequent
news stories to come to their own conclusions or draw inferences based
on the information,” he wrote.
“This could lead to a prejudice of the potential jury pool (if charges
are laid) and/or undue negative bias towards the current sitting
provincial government.”
In all, police obtained four search warrants and 11 production orders,
which are judicial orders requiring custodians of records, such as
banks or companies, to provide documents to police.
The Globe is seeking to unseal records relating to the search warrants
and other authorizations, including information to obtain (ITO)
documents, which are compilations of evidence that police present to a
judge.
“This application is to further transparency because there is
overwhelming public interest in ensuring that nomination rules and
procedures are followed when political parties nominate persons to
stand for election,” said media lawyer Peter Jacobsen, who represents
The Globe.
The PC Party of Ontario said late last year it turned over information
to investigators, including two cardboard boxes containing ballots and
credentials referral forms, e-mail printouts and digital copies of the
e-mails.
The Globe and Mail reported previously there was a printer at the
nomination meeting cranking out fake Rogers utility bills and
Scotiabank statements that enabled people who were not eligible to vote
to illegitimately cast ballots, according to multiple sources. In
addition, there were irregularities at the credentials table, which is
typically where voters are sent after encountering problems at the
standard alphabetical registration stations.
The nomination race in Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas was one of several
disputed nomination meetings that took place under former PC leader
Patrick Brown, who was forced to resign last January after a media
report alleging sexual misconduct, which he denies. Mr. Brown was
recently elected mayor of Brampton, west of Toronto.
This past March, the PC Party announced the results in Hamilton
West-Ancaster-Dundas would be set aside because of “irregularities in
the nomination meeting.” A new race took place in April and was won by
Ben Levitt, who also won the vote last year. He lost to the NDP in the
June provincial election.
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