Pubdate: Mon, 19 May 2014
Source: Toronto Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 The Toronto Star
Contact:  http://www.thestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/456
Author: Tim Alamenciak
Page: GT1

GROW-OP BUST SPARKS MORE TROUBLE

A Decade Later, Barrie Brewery's Ex-Owner Fights for Land Sale Cash

A decade after one of Canada's biggest marijuana grow operation 
busts, legal problems still ensnare the former owner of the onetime 
Molson brewery in Barrie, whose brother clandestinely operated a 
massive pot farm in the old brewing vats.

Despite two judges declaring that Vince DeRosa has every right to 
profit from the sale of the acreage and had no awareness of his 
brother's operation, the provincial government still won't let him 
have more than $4 million from the transaction. The government is 
preparing to argue for the chance to appeal the decision of Judge 
Mary Vallee, forming yet another legal roadblock in a years long battle.

"I've been practising law for over 40 years. There are only a couple 
of examples in my career where I have seen what I believe more 
persistently abusive conduct by government," said Brian Greenspan, 
the lawyer representing DeRosa and Fercan throughout the saga. 
Brendan Crawley, spokesman for the Ministry of the Attorney General, 
refused to comment on the case, saying it would be "inappropriate" as 
it is still before the courts.

The troubles began back in 2004, when police busted the grow-op, one 
of the biggest in Canadian history. (Molson had closed the brewery 
there in 2000 and later sold the property.) Ultimately it would be 
revealed in court that Robert DeRosa, Vince's brother, played a key 
role in the operation of the pot farm.

Vince gave Robert the job of managing the Barrie property, located 
just south of town off of Hwy. 400, as a favour after he returned 
from an unsuccessful business venture in Cuba, said Greenspan. A 
number of companies set up on the 35-acre property and operated 
regularly, he said.

Vince was establishing a bottled water plant using the Formosa 
spring, located on-site. All was ticking along as expected and not an 
eyebrow was raised, according to Greenspan. But two companies were 
elaborate shams. Ontario Pallet and Barrie Fish were fronts for a 
round-the-clock grow op that police said was capable of producing $8 
million worth of pot per year, some of it grown in old brewing vats.

The operation was tightly controlled and clandestine - workers had 
quarters to sleep in and were told only to leave the building at 
night. Even the pallet and fish companies were more than just 
imaginary entities. "There was a guy who actually was trying to grow 
fish - only they died," said Greenspan, who added that fisheries 
experts were brought on-site on one occasion. "There was a pallet 
company - they threw together some pallets as their cover. It was a 
very sophisticated operation run by a guy (Drago Dolic) who, in the 
States, is serving 20 years on other drug charges, and who has no 
association with Vince DeRosa." Though the bust occurred in 2004, it 
took police six years to track down the ringleaders and pursue 
criminal charges. Robert pleaded guilty in 2011 and was sentenced to 
seven years in prison. During his hearing, Robert apologized to his 
brother and said Vince knew nothing about the operation, according to 
Greenspan. Greenspan said Vince was barely at the property while the 
grow-op was running - Fercan owns about 50 properties across the 
province and Vince has more than 500 tenants. But even those who were 
there regularly had no knowledge of the operation. The property was 
purchased by Prime Real Estate Group, which has yet to apply for any 
new development permits, according to the area's city councillor. The 
court case concerns the money from the sale and not the sale itself, 
leaving them free to develop but keeping Vince from his cash, said 
Greenspan. Two judges agreed Vince was entitled to the money from the 
sale of the land. After a 36-day hearing in which the federal 
government argued against Vince getting the cash, Ontario Court 
Justice Peter West ruled that Vince had no knowledge of the grow 
operation his brother was involved in. The federal government did not 
appeal, but the province stepped in and Superior Court Justice Mary 
Vallee was asked to hear the case. She accepted West's ruling in that 
regard and added that to keep the money out of Vince's hands would be "harsh."

"I conclude that Mr. DeRosa and Fercan have clearly shown that an 
order to preserve the property would be manifestly harsh and 
draconian in the circumstances," Vallee wrote in her April 24 ruling. 
"I find that an order to preserve the property would offend the 
community's sense of fairness. Based on the record before me, I 
conclude that the interests of justice would not be served by 
preserving the funds from the sale of the property."

The province was granted a stay on the decision so that it could 
prepare arguments for a leave to appeal. The process has the 
potential to be long - should the original decision be overturned, it 
would only freeze the money for a further forfeiture hearing. 
Greenspan would not attempt to predict the outcome of the appeal, but 
noted Vince DeRosa's track record so far.

"He's become an unnecessary victim of government action. We have 
never lost, essentially. They've been able to get interim stays," 
said Greenspan.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom