Pubdate: Fri, 27 Oct 2006
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2006, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://torontosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Joe Warmington
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

THE STONING OF JESUS

The Church of Hope or the Church of Dope?

Either way -- thanks to a big drug bust -- the congregation of the 
Mission of God, Beach's Assembly of the Church of the Universe had to 
go yesterday without their daily "religious sacrament."

The question is how long will they have to go without their marijuana 
store which, police allege, was using ingenious sales methods?

Some 2,000 "church goers" and Toronto police are watching closely. 
"It wouldn't surprise me if he opens up again," said drug squad Det. 
Scott Matthews. "He is making too much money."

He's talking about "Rev." Peter Styrsky, 48, a Toronto mayoral 
candidate who was charged Wednesday with trafficking and conspiracy to traffic.

As of last night the father of four was still incarcerated in the 
raid, which also resulted in 200 charges and 23 people being booked.

Police did their jobs well but Styrsky's followers are rooting for 
him already. "Peter is a great guy and they should leave him alone," 
said one "congregation member" named Brother Bill.

A member since June, Steve Vickers said, "I think it's sad because 
this church is here to help people and give them hope. We have our 
religious beliefs and should be able to practice them how we see fit."

None of this fools Det. Matthews, who says as far as he is concerned 
the Queen St. E. location was nothing more than a place to buy 
marijuana. "I never saw any Bibles, hymn books or an altar," he 
joked. "It's just a facade. This is no more a church than is my garage."

The arrest was a form of vindication for Tom Nolan, who with his 
wife, Sonia, operated the Habanos on the Beach cigar shop for years 
on the same location, where I would actually routinely hang out for 
coffee and cigars.

"Peter was my landlord and everything was fine but then he opened up 
a head shop called G-13 in the back," said Tom. "He never mentioned 
anything about being a minister at that time and soon after there 
were teenagers on bikes coming and going all the time and we smelled 
marijuana."

Suspicious, he contacted Toronto Police. "Our cigar shop was our 
dream and we were operating a law-abiding business," he said. "Just 
like that I suddenly was losing my more conservative customers 
because they did not want to be around this kind of thing."

Habanos on the Beach closed in September 2005 and Styrsky 
subsequently moved his operation from downstairs to what used to be 
Nolan's space.

When Nolan later saw the sign indicating it was now a "church" he was 
appalled. "I knew what he was up to. To use that to sell this stuff, 
I find it offensive to all religions and people of faith." It seemed 
to work. Slick, smart and brazen was this operation. "It was a pretty 
neat little set up," said Matthews. "Traffic was non-stop."

It worked like this. You paid $25 for a lifetime membership and once 
accepted you simply asked for the daily sacrament. From there, an 
allotment of marijuana was allegedly sold. "He has more than 2,000 
members," said Matthews.

In fact dozens of people showed up there yesterday. Vickers, 19, was 
one of them -- ready with his special, laminated church membership card.

In the investigation undercover officers got themselves one of those 
club cards, too. Meet Brother Harry and Sister Nancy. The church 
membership had no idea they were in fact just acting as stoners.

In real life Brother Harry is Det. Const. Jeff Moyer and Sister Nancy 
is Det. Const. Traci Leahy. "There was a lot of talk about the pot," 
said Moyer of the conversation that was going on in the basement, 
backyard and backroom.

But in their investigation, they said, they found there was money 
being made. More than $200,000 in street value narcotics was seized 
and $6,397.56 in cash. As top crime reporter Rob Lamberti reported 
yesterday, 200 grams of hashish, 151 marijuana plants and 4.5 kilos 
of dried marijuana were also found.

Sgt. Debbie Abbott of Toronto Police's proceeds of crime division has 
already been contacted -- as has the Children's Aid Society since 
four children were living above the store. "There are pesticides and 
moulds in there and you can get really sick," said Matthews. "There 
was also an extraction lab on the main floor which is a fire hazard."

It's not every day you see a city councillor trying to close down a 
church but that's exactly what deputy mayor Sandra Bussin will try to 
do. She's upset about the allegations that minors were involved and 
have been charged. "I want this place shut down because it is not 
appropriate," she said. "I don't think it's fit for this neighbourhood."

Sandra Bussin is not a member of the Beach chapter of the Church of 
the Universe but it's probably safe to say she is on a crusade.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman