Montreal police accused of fabricating evidence to silence whistleblowers
Chief Philippe Pichet calls in Quebec provincial police to investigate allegations
Rukavina, S. (Feb 22, 2017). CBC News. Retrieved from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-police-pichet-internal-affairs-1.3993654
Montreal's police chief has asked Quebec provincial police to look
into allegations that internal affairs investigators fabricated evidence
to keep officers quiet about corruption within the force.
Philippe Pichet said he asked Sûreté du Quebec counterpart Martin Prudhomme to conduct an independent investigation following a report Tuesday night on the French-language network TVA.
The former officers told TVA they were whistleblowers who were targeted by internal affairs only after they had threatened to go public with their own allegations of corruption within the force.
Pichet said Wednesday morning he was troubled by the allegations and would take steps to "shine a light" on the situation.
The allegations are the latest in a series of troubling reports about the police force, including revelations last fall involving the surveillance of journalists.
Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux said the allegations required "an immediate response."
"This is exactly what had to be done and we will see the result of that investigation," he told reporters.
Mayor Denis Coderre echoed that view on Twitter, saying the report was "troubling" and praising Pichet for acting quickly.
Parti Québécois Leader Jean-François Lisée said the government should oversee the situation, rather than have one police chief call another to request an investigation.
In this case, Jimmy Cacchione and Giovanni Di Feo were police
officers for decades, often working undercover while targeting Hells
Angels and the Mafia.
The officers told TVA that in 2012, they launched their own investigation about possible corruption within the force, looking at officers possibly receiving money from the Mafia.
By 2013, they had prepared a letter to send to the public security and the media outlining what they had learned.
They were called in to police headquarters and expected they would be given a chance to explain.
Instead, they were suspended and told they themselves were being investigated.
Cacchione and Di Feo were never charged, and disciplinary complaints against them were dropped as part of a confidential agreement with the force that included their agreement to resign in 2014.
"We're two whistleblowers who tried to inform high-ranking officers about longstanding corruption within the force," Cacchione told TVA.
"It's unacceptable to qualify us as bad guys after all our service."
Cacchione and Di Feo said once they saw copies of the allegations by internal affairs, they found several errors.
For example, Di Feo said one internal affairs report said he was the godfather to the son of Luigi Coretti, a businessman accused of fraud.
Di Feo pointed out that Coretti has no children. He told TVA it was just one of many errors made by internal affairs investigators.
Cacchione said: "We have the fabrication of allegations. Once they've fabricated the allegations, they launch investigations with the goal of muzzling people who have things to say."
A third officer, Roger Larriviere, told TVA a similar story. He said he was targeted by internal affairs after raising his concerns about problems within the force to then Chief Marc Parent in 2014.
Philippe Pichet said he asked Sûreté du Quebec counterpart Martin Prudhomme to conduct an independent investigation following a report Tuesday night on the French-language network TVA.
The former officers told TVA they were whistleblowers who were targeted by internal affairs only after they had threatened to go public with their own allegations of corruption within the force.
Pichet said Wednesday morning he was troubled by the allegations and would take steps to "shine a light" on the situation.
The allegations are the latest in a series of troubling reports about the police force, including revelations last fall involving the surveillance of journalists.
Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux said the allegations required "an immediate response."
"This is exactly what had to be done and we will see the result of that investigation," he told reporters.
Mayor Denis Coderre echoed that view on Twitter, saying the report was "troubling" and praising Pichet for acting quickly.
Parti Québécois Leader Jean-François Lisée said the government should oversee the situation, rather than have one police chief call another to request an investigation.
Tables turned on veteran cops
The officers told TVA that in 2012, they launched their own investigation about possible corruption within the force, looking at officers possibly receiving money from the Mafia.
By 2013, they had prepared a letter to send to the public security and the media outlining what they had learned.
They were called in to police headquarters and expected they would be given a chance to explain.
Instead, they were suspended and told they themselves were being investigated.
Cacchione and Di Feo were never charged, and disciplinary complaints against them were dropped as part of a confidential agreement with the force that included their agreement to resign in 2014.
"We're two whistleblowers who tried to inform high-ranking officers about longstanding corruption within the force," Cacchione told TVA.
"It's unacceptable to qualify us as bad guys after all our service."
Officers allege errors, fabrications
For example, Di Feo said one internal affairs report said he was the godfather to the son of Luigi Coretti, a businessman accused of fraud.
Di Feo pointed out that Coretti has no children. He told TVA it was just one of many errors made by internal affairs investigators.
Cacchione said: "We have the fabrication of allegations. Once they've fabricated the allegations, they launch investigations with the goal of muzzling people who have things to say."
A third officer, Roger Larriviere, told TVA a similar story. He said he was targeted by internal affairs after raising his concerns about problems within the force to then Chief Marc Parent in 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment