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organization, Louis-Alain Dauphin." Dauphin, considered one of the big- gest drug dealers in the lower Laurentians as the ringleader of a trafficking network north of Montreal before his arrest, was friendly with some members of the Hells Angels and supplied them with kilo- grams of cocaine while operating inde- pendently of the biker gang. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to the same charges against Pasquin and is serving a nine-year prison sentence. In addition to participating in clandestine meetings, Carrière said Pasquin spoke in code on the telephone and lent his former house northeast of Montreal to Russell when he came to Quebec to deliver drugs. Panaccio coun- tered that the so-called gang du Nord had been active in drug trafficking long before Pasquin joined them and that at the time of the March 2006 arrests, the gang was in the process of re-organizing by buying its cocaine from his co-accused Carmelo Venneri. In the end, Pasquin was done in by the close ties with some of his ques- tionable clients that went beyond the professional relationship — the proof caught on wiretapped conversations. In his 40-page judgment, St-Cyr ruled that, "in the eyes of the court, it appears clear that according to all probability, Louis Pasquin was one of the co-conspirators in Dauphin's organization." The judge said the essential elements provided as proof during last year's trial came from 924 taped communications taken from among 137,750 intercepted by a pair of 2005 court-approved wire- taps. "From the first telephone call inter- ceptions, Pasquin uses a language full of implied meanings, willful vagueness, and notable familiarity," St-Cyr wrote. "Every time Dauphin and Russell made their subtle allusions to 'poutine,' they are beyond a shadow of a doubt refer- ring to the drugs. And when they refer to 'their friend,' it can't be interpreted as anything but their relationship with Louis Pasquin." At what was the scheduled start to Pasquin's trial on March 31 of last year, Panaccio filed a host of petitions, most notably one that his client be tried by himself and another to discard the wire- tap evidence. Panaccio suggested his cli- ent was in a paradoxical position since he was accused in a case implicating two past clients, Venneri and Jean-Daniel Blais. He said Pasquin feared betray- ing his solicitor-client confidentiality by testifying against them to clear himself. Comparing that professional secrecy to "almost a question of national interest," Panaccio painted his client as the "stan- dard-bearer for other lawyers accused of criminal offences over the years." In denying the petitions, St-Cyr sided with prosecutor Giauque, who pointed out: "The status of lawyer isn't in itself a motive for obtaining a separate trial. The important thing is seeking the truth." When the trial finally got underway tigators obtained a special warrant and weren't allowed to listen to the recordings until a judge vetted them. It was deter- mined that, of 71 calls involving Pasquin, 48 were admissible and heard in court. St-Cyr was informed that Pasquin initially had a professional relationship with Dauphin and his wife that eventu- ally developed into a friendship while he met Russell after the Toronto resident started dating the lawyer's sister, who was living in Vancouver at the time. The cou- ple visited Pasquin in July 2005. Russell presented himself as a shareholder in a high-tech company, a job involving lots of travel, and a pilot in training who flew regularly between Toronto, Montreal, and Kelowna, B.C. Pasquin later introduced Russell to Dauphin. When Pasquin took the stand last June, he recalled his sister and Russell "Mr. Pasquin has since lost his reputation, his house, and his spouse, everything he has worked for." — defence lawyer Pierre Panaccio on April 23, 2008, two police officers were the first to take the stand and detail the vicissitudes of the long shadow- ing that concluded in a pair of seizures in Montreal totalling 49 kilograms of cocaine. The haul also included more than 136,000 Viagra pills. The officers tes- tified that in the hours leading up to the Oct. 13, 2005 bust, Dauphin and Russell were seen separately going to Pasquin's private residence in Lachenaie. One thing they said was certain was that Russell had the cocaine in his car when he visited Pasquin that day, a scene described while hidden video was shown in court. Later testimony, based on wiretap evidence, showed Russell prepared his drug trans- actions from Pasquin's home. In order to assure solicitor-client priv- ilege wasn't violated during the wiretap- ping of Pasquin's phones, Sûreté inves- spending three weeks vacationing with him that summer in 2005, staying in his nine-room home with a pool and home- theatre set up. He presented Russell with a key to the house and introduced him to Dauphin as "my main client and friend since 2004." Even after the couple returned to B.C., Russell regularly returned to Quebec on "business trips" and stayed with Pasquin for days at a time. He was often alone because besides his regular office in Montreal, Pasquin had another in the suburb of Châteauguay, where he was a municipal court prosecutor. Tired of Russell's frequent visits, though, Pasquin once changed the locks after Russell had left the doors unlocked. Pasquin testified that during the noon-hour of Oct. 13, 2005, Russell had appeared unannounced then turned on his heels and left after being told he www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com JULY 2009 35