Net 1 promoter Dekanich killed by biker, court told
B.C. Securities Commission *BCSC
Monday July 28 2003 Street Wire
See Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc (U-NUEP) Street Wire
by Brent Mudry
The defence of alleged Vancouver underworld hitman Mickie Phillip (Phil) Smith opened with a bang on Monday as a heavily tattooed biker in jail for robbery emerged to claim he is the real killer of Rossano Valentino (Wally) Dekanich, as the Howe Street penny stock promoter allegedly insulted him and also ripped off the estate of former Hells Angels leader Ernie Ozolins, along with, said the biker, Martin Chambers.
Under cross-examination, Ralph Moore, the first defence witness, claims his only motivation to testify and take credit for the Dekanich hit was to honour the code of his prison associates. "Basically all my friends in the penitentiary are convicted murderers and they said it was the right thing to do," Mr. Moore told Crown prosecutor Hank Reiner.
Although Mr. Moore bragged in court of killing a number of other individuals, whom he declined to name, he admitted under cross-examination that this was the first time he decided to do the "right thing" and make sure one of his murders was not pinned on somebody else, in this case Mr. Smith.
Mr. Moore also told the court that he confronted Mr. Chambers regarding the Ozolins estate, then jumped on his motorcycle, chased the controversial former Vancouver lawyer through downtown Vancouver, then pulled a gun on him in broad daylight by the Hotel Vancouver. Mr. Moore sped off as he saw Mr. Chambers, who called the Vancouver Police Department, dialing his cell phone inside his sport utility vehicle.
Mr. Justice Allan Stewart must decide whether Mr. Moore is a credible witness, whether his claim of shooting Mr. Dekanich is plausible and whether it matches other evidence, including forensic and pathological evidence. Mr. Moore, 43, told the court he has spent 20 years of his life in the penitentiary, including time served for various assaults and bank robberies.
Neither Mr. Chambers, the late Mr. Dekanich or Rick Berger, who we will meet below, have any chance to refute the trial allegations of Mr. Moore.
In a completely unrelated case, Mr. Chambers faces trial Aug. 18 for money laundering in Miami as part of the Bermuda Short sting, a joint RCMP-FBI undercover investigation. Although Mr. Chambers finally won bail, and was released into 24-hour house arrest on July 10, the government strongly opposed his release several times.
As part of this bail opposition, a Vancouver police officer testified before a Miami judge that RCMP intelligence links Mr. Chambers with the contract killings of four underworld figures, including Mr. Ozolins, a former high-ranking Hells Angels member, and David Ward, a convicted penny stock promoter, and with Russian organized crime. The Florida judge also reviewed further evidence in sealed filings, while at least some of this material was also shared with Mr. Chambers's American defence lawyers.
Mr. Ozolins and his girlfriend Lisa Michelle Chamberlain were shot to death in June, 1997, in his pricey West Vancouver home on Wildwood Lane.
Mr. Chambers has never been charged in any of these cases, none of this RCMP intelligence has ever been tested or proven in court, and Mr. Chambers has had little opportunity to rebut these allegations. None of this Miami evidence has been mentioned at the Smith trial in Vancouver.
Mr. Smith is currently on trial for five Vancouver underworld executions, dating back to 1969, with Mr. Dekanich, shot in January, 2001, the latest victim. Prior to his death, Mr. Dekanich promoted several Vancouver companies listed on the OTC Bulletin Board market in the United States, including Net 1 UEPS Technologies and Jaguar Gaming. Any market link to his murder, if there is one, is not yet publicly known.
The victims include Lucien Joseph Mayer, 58, of Vancouver and Montreal. Mr. Mayer was found stabbed and bludgeoned to death in January, 1969, behind the Nino's Labotte restaurant, then located on Southwest Marine Drive in Vancouver, under what is now the Arthur Laing bridge, on the site where the Coyote Club now stands.
Victim No. 2 is Wallace Jack Tadich, 29, of Vancouver and Calgary. His body was found in May, 1969, in a hotel room of the Rainbow Motor Court on East Hastings Street in Burnaby. Mr. Tadich suffered multiple stab wounds. Both Mr. Mayer and Mr. Tadich were associates of William Faulder (Fats) Robertson. Mr. Smith told undercover officers that Mr. Robertson, a former Howe Street figure previously jailed in a cocaine conspiracy was his "godfather."
Victim No. 3 was Joseph Gaja, 48, of Vancouver, who was shot and discovered in a vehicle in Vancouver's West End, in the 1100 block of Harwood Street, in May, 1993. Victim No. 4 is believed to be Paul Percy Soluk, 33, of Surrey, who was shot in a garage in the 5900 block of King George Highway in November, 1999. The body identification is not believed to be 100 per cent. In his confession to the top undercover officer, Mr. Smith claimed the Soluk hit was ordered by a Chinese-Canadian gang associate who moved marijuana for the East End Chapter of the Hells Angels, the organization of entrepreneurial motorcycle enthusiasts.
The fifth and final victim was Mr. Dekanich, the Howe Street stock promoter, shot and killed at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2001, at his townhouse complex in North Vancouver at 978 Lilloet Rd., near Capilano College.
If Mr. Moore is to be believed, Mr. Smith's numerous detailed confessions to the Dekanich murder to undercover police officers are little more than bogus boasting in a false attempt to take credit for the murder.
In court, Mr. Moore took full credit for the shooting of Mr. Dekanich, after Judge Stewart ruled that such evidence cannot be used against him. This is not a full order of immunity, just one that prevents such evidence given under oath in court by a volunteer such as Mr. Moore being used against him.
Mr. Moore told the court he drove over to Mr. Dekanich's North Vancouver townhouse, knocked on the door and shot him dead with four shots. "I asked if Chambers was around, he said he wasn't," the self-confessed killer testified.
The biker recounted the fateful encounter after Mr. Dekanich opened the door. "He said, 'what the fuck do you want?' He was being aggressive. I said, 'I'm looking for Chambers, is Chambers around?' He said, 'fuck you.'" Mr. Moore told the court he then pulled out his gun, a .22 Ruger with a six-inch barrel and a six-inch silencer, out from under the arm of his grass green "dressy ski coat" and shot Mr. Dekanich first in the chest, then in the cheek, then in the back of the head as he was falling down, then a second time in the back of the head as he lay on the ground.
Mr. Moore told the court he tried getting Mr. Dekanich inside to kill him in the townhouse. "I didn't want to shoot the guy -- I would rather use a zip strap on his neck." (This is presumably the plastic electrical tie cords most people call zap straps.) "There are different ways of killing. Usually strangulation is good -- it's cleaner," Mr. Moore told the court.
Mr. Moore claims he first met Mr. Dekanich at a planned meeting at the Boston Pizza near Whistler. Mr. Moore arrived with his girlfriend Monica Van Renesse Van Duivenbode, an ex of Mr. Ozolins who served as executor for the killed Hells Angels' estate. The court was told Ms.Van Duivenbode had two sons by Mr. Ozolins, aged nine and 11.
"He (Dekanich) wanted to meet at Boston Pizza, it was more of a people place," testified Mr. Moore, who conceded Mr. Dekanich may have had concerns about his safety.
Also present with Mr. Moore was Mr. Berger, whom he described as a friend of Mr. Ozolins "who had some investments with Ozolins."
According to Mr. Moore, the meeting got heated, as Ms. Van Duivenbode accused Mr. Dekanich of stealing a Harley Davidson motorcycle from the estate of Mr. Ozolins. The Harley, said to be worth $10,000 to $15,000, was supposedly being held in trust by Mr. Dekanich for the estate until the late biker's sons were old enough to ride it.
"I just thought it was so cheap and foolish," Mr. Moore told the court. "I said why not just give the bike back to the kids."
"He said, 'who the fuck are you?'" Mr. Moore claims that Mr. Dekanich refused to step outside after saying this.
Mr. Moore told the court this insult got him really mad. "I went to the washroom to get some cold water on my face because I was hyperventilating." When Mr. Moore emerged moments later, Mr. Dekanich had bolted the scene, according to this story.
"The next time I seen Dekanich was in Vancouver in the year 2000, it was a nice day. I don't really go by dates but it was a nice day," Mr. Moore testified.
"I went and seen Chambers, and Dekanich was with Chambers at Trader Vic's by the Bayshore Hotel," Mr. Moore told the court. The biker testified he wanted to see Mr. Chambers and he was surprised to see Mr. Dekanich there as well.
"Chambers was more important -- he had stolen a great deal of money from the Ozolins estate."
According to Mr. Moore, Mr. Chambers, who lived upstairs in the Bayshore, was lured down to the lounge. Mr. Moore arrived with another individual. Mr. Berger was already present, as were Mr. Chambers and Mr. Dekanich.
"Martin Chambers drives a Pathfinder, a black Pathfinder," Mr. Moore testified. The witness told the court he called a tow truck to grab the Pathfinder, as Mr. Chambers had stolen it from the Ozolins estate, but Mr. Chambers persuaded the tow truck driver to let it down.
According to this story, Mr. Chambers soon after roared up Cardero St., turned left and drove up West Georgia St. toward the centre of downtown Vancouver, with Mr. Moore in close pursuit on his motorcycle.
Mr. Moore claims he managed to stop Mr. Chambers right by the Hotel Vancouver by putting his motorcycle in front of the Pathfinder. "I pulled a gun out on him. He phoned in and called the Vancouver police with my plate."
After this encounter, Mr. Moore told the court the next time he saw Mr. Dekanich was when he shot him dead in early 2001.
Mr. Moore claims his associate Mr. Berger provided two guns with silencers that morning in the parking lot of Red Robin in Maple Ridge. "He (Dekanich) was already dead as far as I was concerned. He (Mr. Berger) said it was okay to kill him."
Mr. Moore told the court the Dekanich hit was not a contract killing, as he was not paid by anyone for his services. His only motivation was to avenge the insult from Mr. Dekanich and as a favour to Mr. Berger, regarding concerns Mr. Dekanich was ripping off the Ozolins estate.
The testimony continues.
bmudry@stockwatch.com
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