March/2022 ‘Level of Corruption in BC during the time of the Lindsay Buziak Murder’
If you think for one minute that there is no corruption in British Columbia I urge you to think again. Lest we not forget the biggest political scandal in B.C’s history, a scandal that dragged on for years and where millions of dollars were spent in order to cover-up what was really going on. In the end only Basi, Virk and a few others were charged, seemingly they took the fall for the higher officials living in their glass towers. Everyone involved had family members or close friends that played a part in this criminal conspiracy. Of course it’s always about the money.
It has been said that Basi and Virk had secrets that could have taken the entire empire down.
Now we have the 14-year unsolved murder of young Lindsay Buziak
The question being asked here today is, “Is this really an ongoing investigation as the police want us to believe – or is it now a cold case? Surely, the Saanich Police could call a press conference and give the public some idea of where they are in the investigation. The investigators involved on this file are the Saanich Police, the Victoria Police, the RCMP, the FBI and god knows who else. Yet here we are today with no arrests. Is there a cover-up or is this just a case where the investigation went sideways at the start because the department made serious errors, lacked the resources, and did not have the seasoned detectives needed to handle a major homicide investigation?
It is very possible that mistakes were made at the beginning, and now years later the department doesn’t know how solve the problem that was created so many years ago. So, now where does that leave this homicide investigation? I do not believe for a minute that there is any connection between Lindsay Buziak’s murder and Project EveryWhichWay. I simply wish to point out that cover-ups are often initiated in order to protect powerful people who have something to hide. Or just people who are not powerful but are involved in this conspiracy to commit murder and will do whatever it takes to make sure they are never caught.
THE BC LEGISLATURE RAIDS – RAILGATE & PROJECT WHICH WAY – the stinking pot of corruption.
Money laundering, bribes, breach of trust, and cocaine trafficking.
Nine people were arrested in Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria as part of the investigation into the cocaine conspiracy. During the Every Which Way investigation, wiretapped conversations led police to investigate potential influence peddling by non-elected political appointees in Government. Police are given court approval to monitor the emails and phones of two ministerial assistants in their Government offices.
At one point, police inadvertently listened to a phone conversation between the finance minister and Premier Gordon Campbell.
It subsequently turned out that the raid was the first public sign of the biggest political scandal to hit the province in decades — all connected to Premier Gordon Campbell’s controversial $1 billion privatization of B.C. Rail, a Crown corporation that was sold to Canadian National in November 2003.
The BC Legislature raids resulted from search warrants executed on the Legislature of British Columbia, Canada, in 2003 and has become a collective term for the associated criminal proceedings and ensuing controversies. Basi’s political activities were not what brought RCMP attention. Basi’s cousin Jas Bains was under investigation in Victoria for cocaine trafficking, and when extensive wiretaps on Bains’s phones were set, Basi was allegedly intercepted discussing matters that police felt were illegal, leading to the launch of Project EveryWhichWay.
Hearings began in BC Supreme Court in April 2007. Why did the ministerial aides to then finance minister Gary Collins and then transportation minister Judith Reid – David Basi and Bob Virk – defend themselves against charges of breach of trust and fraud for six years only to make a surprise guilty plea bargain when their trial had heard just two of a likely 40 witnesses?
Police seized 20 kilograms of cocaine during a 3-month period ending December 2003. As well, police intercepted courier shipments of cash including one shipment of $189,000, which police learned through wiretap, was from the sale of 5 kilos of cocaine sold in Toronto. Police found $30,000 in suspected drug money during a search of the house in Saanich of Mandeep Singh Sandhu. His cousin Rob Dosanjh, a Victoria police officer, will be convicted in 2006 based on wiretap evidence of encouraging Sandhu to lie to police about the source of the money.
The second package of money consisted of $57,310 was received from Scallon. Blythe Vernon sent this money to an address in Victoria., and the waybill listed her as the sender. The home was owned by the brother of Jas Bains. It was delivered by an undercover policeman to a man identifying himself as J. Singh and matching the description of the accused. This police officer identified the accused in court as the person to whom he gave him the package, but based upon the evidence Mr. Bagnall gives cogent reasons, as to why the officer may be mistaken.
The defense for Basi and Virk made many bombshell claims in B.C. Supreme Court, allegations that if ever proven would have rocked the province and likely brought down the BC Liberal government. But that never happened and Basi and Virk walked free.
the reason the case was dropped? It’s called top down corruption.
Premiers Gordon Campbell, Christie Clark, Christie’s ex-husband Mark Marissen, Christie’s brother Bruce Clark, and Erik Bornman
https://thetyee.ca/News/2008/12/29/Railgate/h
BASI & VIRK’S LEGAL FEES OF $6 MILLION WAS PAID FOR BY THE BC GOVERNMENT
Basi and Virk’s lawyers were negotiating hard in secret with Special Prosecutor Bill Berardino to make a guilty plea bargain deal for their clients. In October 2010, that deal was done. Basi and Virk would spend two years on probation and not have to pay back any of the roughly $6 million in legal fees collected over the years by their lawyers Michael Bolton and Kevin McCullough. Nor would they spend any time in jail, as prosecutors originally demanded.
The deal meant no more testimony as planned from BC Liberal government insiders — from ex-cabinet ministers like CHRISTY CLARK and GARY COLLINS — or from a series of party operatives like Patrick Kinsella, the lobbyist who collected $297,000 as an advisor to BC Rail over four years, doing work that was unknown to even to some of its senior executives.
Basi and Virk admitted to passing confidential government BC Rail bidding information on to Erik Bornmann and Brian Kieran –lobbyists representing OmniTRAX — and justice is done.
ERIK BORNMANN, A KEY FEDERAL LIBERAL PARTY SIGNED A CROWN IMMUNITY AGREEMENT AND WAS NEVER CHARED. He was a key player in the prosecution of three former government aides including Dave Basi and Bobby Virk.
Cirilo Lopez is the Uncle of the Del Alcazar’s and in 2002 was Jas Bains rival in the cocaine trade.
JASMOHAN (Jas) BAINS WAS HEAD OF A VICTORIA-BASED CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION
Jas Bains was suspected of being the new “Mr. Big” in West Coast organized crime, shipping kilograms of cocaine to the Toronto area. Matt MacDuff and Lindsay were in a relationship from 2001 to 2006 and Matt was close friends with Jas Bains. Jas Bains rival in the cocaine trade was Cirilo Bautista Lopez, uncle to the Delalcazar brothers. When Cirilo was arrested on drug trafficking charges in 2002 this created on opening for a new drug boss on Vancouver Island – and the word on the street was Jas Bains was going to be taking Cirilo’s place. Cirilo Lopez was sentenced to 10 years for his role in the 2010 drug ring dubbed “Project Sport Track” . The judge said, “Lopez was at the top of the heap.” Lopez was the main supplier who supplied kilos of cocaine to individuals who distributed it in Winnipeg. He was released after serving only 3 years.
Reliable sources said that at the time of Lindsay’s murder Vid Acevedo’s supplier was Jaspal Singh (Tony). Tony was one of the players in Project EveryWhichWay. He lived on Grandview Drive and had purchased the home privately from his friend Jarnail Samra.
Jarnail Samra was a corrections officer and co director of Dosam Developments Ltd. with former Victoria police Constable Ravinder Dosanjh. In 2003 their business was associated to an address at Densmore Avenue, a business later associated to Grandview Drive. Aneal Basi was laundering money for Jas Bains by purchasing real estate.
In calgary mid December 2007, Lindsay told her Father that she saw something she shouldn’t have seen.
She never disclosed to her dad what that was. Late one night at Lindsay’s 68 Songhees condo in mid-December Lindsay told her friend Nikki that she was going to leave Jason after some real estate deals closed. As the girls were talking Lindsay heard a noise, and when investigating found Jason standing behind their bedroom door eavesdropping. He had heard everything. For reasons unknown Lindsay and Nikki bolted from the condo – Jason tried to call Lindsay numerous times but she didn’t answer. He finally gave up and called his mother instead. Lindsay returned to the condo a few hours later against the wishes of her friend Nikki. Jason never once mentioned what he heard and acted like nothing had happened.
Matt and Malcolm MacDuff were close friends with Ovidio Acevedo and Jas Bains.
In fact, Malcolm was the best man at Jas Bains wedding. It was mentioned in a few BC rail articles that the MacDuff Brothers may have been possible witnesses. Malcolm MacDuff’s name was mentioned in the disclosure documents. According to Janet Winteringham, he ran a flooring and heating company called Mac Duffco, and Matt’s good friend Basi had tried to get a six figure BC government research grant for the brother’s company.
According to statements made by Winteringham in BC Courts – Basi was also trying to get a position with the BC government for his friend Jas Bains. Ms. Winteringham made these statements in court. She also mentioned that MacDuff was mentioned as one of the people arrested in an RCMP sting operation involving grow ops.
Just around the time of Lindsay’s murder being planned the special Prosecutor in the Basi Virk case provided the applicants with disclosure of a disc entitled “Long Form Censis 1 & 2 Bains Missing Audios” and a second disc entitled “Court Ordered Disclosure Vetted and Court Ordered Disclosures Vetted 31b. In excess of 5,000 pages. On the disc was a 130-page document from Malcolm McDuff, a video cassette statement of Jas Bains, and a large poster-size RCMP chart outlining contacts between Mr. Basi and others.”
PROJECT EveryWhichWay
In the summer of 2002, the Victoria Police and RCMP launched an investigation involving drugs and organized crime. The probe centers on allegations of cocaine being shipped from Victoria and sold in Toronto.
In the fall of 2003, nine people were arrested in Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria as part of the investigation into the cocaine conspiracy. During this investigation, wiretapped conversations led police to investigate potential influence peddling by non-elected political appointees in the BC Government. Police are given court approval to monitor the emails and phones of two ministerial assistants in their government offices. At one point, police inadvertently listened to a phone conversation between the finance minister and Premier Gordon Campbell.
On December 9/2003, the RCMP found $30,000 in suspected drug money during a search of the home of Mandeep Singh Sandhu in Saanich. Mandeep’s cousin Rob Dosanjh, a Victoria police officer, will be convicted in 2006 based on wiretap evidence of encouraging Sandhu to lie to police about the source of the money.
On December 11/2003, William Berardino is appointed special prosecutor to oversee an investigation involving Victoria police officer Rob Dosanjh and non-elected appointees at the legislature. In accordance with established practice, very few people in the senior levels of provincial government are informed of the appointment or knew about the investigation.
On December 28/2003, television cameras record “a shocking raid” by police officers into the legislative buildings of the provincial government of British Columbia. Images of RCMP and Victoria Police officers are seen hauling boxes of evidence – this was widely broadcast. The offices searched were that of Dave Basi, ministerial assistant to the then-finance minister Gary Collins and the office of Bob Virk, assistant to then-transportation minister Judith Reid.
On December 29/2003, immediately after a police raid on his legislature office – Dave Basi was fired from his job as ministerial assistant to B.C. Finance Minister Gary Collins, Virk was suspended with pay and was later terminated.
On Sept. 14/2004, Jas Bains was charged with conspiracy, possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. New information on the charge was brought forward in February 2006, which led to his conviction in 2008.
On Sept. 15/ 2004, drug charges were laid against Basi and seven others.
On Dec. 21/2004, Dave Basi and Virk were charged with accepting bribes, influence peddling, breach of trust and fraud. Aneal Basi, who is Dave Basi’s cousin, and a government employee in communications was also charged with money laundering.
In June 2005, Dave Basi’s drug charges were stayed. Basi had been charged with the production and possession of marijuana after police found a grow operation in rental home he owned up at Shawnigan Lake just north of Victoria. (blame the tenants defense) Basi had been a strong supporter of Prime Minister Paul Martin and worked as an organizer for Martin’s leadership campaign. In 2004 Paul Martin’s family vessel raided for drugs.
On March 31/2006, additional charges were filed against Dave Basi. The Crown alleges that Basi was paid $50,000 between January 2002 and September 2003 to help land developers get protected property removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve for the Sunriver Estates housing project in Sooke. The developers also face charges. Sharon Ridley was associated to Sunriver Estates and she is Jas Bains ex mother -in-law.
In December/2006, Victoria police officer Ravinder (Rob) Dosanjh was given a three-month conditional sentence for willfully attempting to obstruct justice. He was also ordered to perform 50 hours of community service and pay a fine of $100. Dosanjh had told his cousin Mandeep Sandhu to lie to police about the source of $30,000 found in Sandhu’s house in December 2003.
On January 8/2007, the Crown and appellant appeared in court to set the trial date on information C-3. The Crown asked for a trial date in the spring or fall of 2007. There was no available court time in the spring but there was court time available in the fall of 2007. The Crown was also available at that time, however appellant’s counsel was not, having previously committed to represent an in-custody accused for a lengthy trial commencing on September 11, 2007.
The appellant’s counsel advised the court that he could be available in March 2008. The court set the trial date to commence on April 7, 2008, for the voir dries, and for continuation in June 2008. In the event the appellant’s counsel became available, a backup date was also set for the fall 2007. But that never happened.
On Dec. 3/2007, journalist and trial observer Bill Tieleman returned from the courtroom to discover his office has been broken into and materials related to the trial had been moved around.
On Dec. 6/2007, BC Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Bennett ruled against a pre-trial Crown request to exclude defense lawyers from an in-camera hearing on information involving a police informant. This decision would be appealed all the way to the nation’s top court, the Supreme Court of Canada.
On February 2/2008 Lindsay Buziak was murdered
Between April and June 2008, Jas Bains goes to trial after multiple DELAYS
On March 3/2008, the appellant’s counsel advised the Crown that he would be making a s. 11(b) Charter application. That application was heard on April 7/8 2008.
On April 11/2008, the trial judge delivered his ruling dismissing the application, the balance of the trial was heard over five days, between June 16 and 26, 2008.
On September 4/2008, the trial judge delivered reasons for judgment in which he convicted the appellant. Seven days later he was sentenced.
On September 11/2008 Jas Bains was sentenced to 8 years.
This significant event went apparently unreported until it appeared on citizen journalist Mary Mackie’s blog on February 17/2009. Oddly enough the RCMP sat silent about key victory against cocaine ring.
No one in the federal prosecutor’s office or the RCMP had issued a statement since this is the organized crime connection that led to the raid on legislature offices Dec. 28, 2003
On July 10/2008, In regard to a disclosure of documents to the defense that involved a police informant, the nation’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Canada allowed a defendant’s lawyer to be present during a pre-trial hearing. The BC Court of Appeal had previously split 2-1 in upholding the trial judge’s decision.
The main players in Project Everywhichway and the BC Rail Scandal
Dave Basi (charges stayed)
Aneal Basi (charges stayed by the Crown)
Bobby Virk
Constable Ravinder Dosanjh – Victoria Police Department 3-month condition sentence
Tony Young
James Duncan
Arrested and charged with drug offences were:
Jasmohan Singh Bains 8 years
Jaspal Tony Singh 3-month conditional sentence – ordered to forfeit $26,385 & $71,380
Mandeep Sandhu (charges stayed) ordered to forfeit $34,000
John Scallon 5 years
Michael Doyle 16 months
Brahm Mikol 4.5 years
Blythe Vernon 2 years less a day
Email Address: murderondesousa@gmail.com