Pubdate: Monday, June 21, 1999 Source: Toronto Sun (Canada) Copyright: 1999, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoSun/ Forum: http://www.canoe.ca/Chat/newsgroups.html Author: Tom Godfrey COPS FUME AS PUSHER FREED 15-Year Term In Venezuela Became 30 Months The Toronto Police Association is outraged that a drug trafficker sentenced to 15 years in jail is being released to a halfway house after serving only 30 months. Mark Anthony Kane, 28, of Toronto, was sentenced in Venezuela to 15 years in January 1997 after being found guilty of drug trafficking. He was transferred back to Canada to serve his sentence in May 1998 as part of a federal prisoner exchange program, which allows convicts to complete their sentences in their home countries. Police and correctional officials said the program has become a springboard for cons to return home and obtain early release. Carol Sparling, of the National Parole Board, said Kane is being released to a Toronto halfway house this week. "He's a first-time federal offender," Sparling said. "The board made a decision to accelerate his day parole." The board said there are no grounds to believe Kane would commit an offence if released. They also said Kane has no prior criminal record other than in Venezuela and he doesn't have a history of violence. But Jack Ritchie, vice-president of the Toronto Police Association, said the prisoner transfer program has become an early-release program for Canadians committing crimes abroad. "This is justice at its worst," Ritchie said. "I am outraged that he's being released already into the community." He said Kane should serve five years, or one-third of his sentence. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea