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Coke Bust Spurs Union Audit
Ironworkers Local 97 'shocked' by officer's drug smuggling charges.
Agent Harris: 'Significant seizure'
News that a prominent B.C. labour leader was arrested in the state of Washington and is being held on serious drug charges has sparked an internal probe of Ironworkers Local 97 in Burnaby.
"We want to make sure the local is squeaky clean," the Local's president, Dave Beatty, told The Tyee.
Perley Holmes, the Business Manager of 97, was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol officers Jan. 18. In addition to his position with Local 97, Holmes is listed on the website of the B.C. and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council as a member of its executive board.
Border patrol agents say they arrested Holmes after seeing a suspicious truck heading south away from the border in a remote rural area late at night. They retraced the tire tracks, they say, back to the driveway of a rural residence, where the truck had apparently stopped and turned around.
Following tracks in the snow that indicated two walkers, the agents say they found two men hiding beneath snow-covered brush, with two backpacks next to them.
Following Holmes's arrest and the successful cross-border flight of the second suspect, agents say, a canine team "alerted to the presence of narcotics" in the packs. Field tests revealed, say the agents, that the 120 packages in the two packs contained 136 pounds of cocaine.
News media reports estimated the value of the seized cocaine at $4.3 million U.S.
Guns discovered
As part of the investigation, police found 43 guns, including an assault rifle, in a house near Osoyoos. Police would not say if the house belonged to Holmes.
A press release issued Jan. 24 by Local 97 president Dave Beatty said that the local's business manager had been arrested near Spokane for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance Friday, Jan. 18. It read in part:
"We learned of the arrest of our local's business manager, Perley Holmes, late last Friday. Needless to say this is a shock to us, and we immediately launched our own internal investigation. Although there is no connection to the local, we have brought in external auditors to conduct an audit as required under our union's constitution.
"We're waiting to hear more about the situation," said Beatty. "Yet, at the same time we are taking all necessary steps to ensure the integrity of the local. We expect that our own internal investigation will be complete by the end of next week."
Local auditing its books
"It's tough, a complete shock," said Beatty in a telephone interview with the Tyee. "No one would have suspected anything like this."
Beatty said that the union's auditors would complete an audit of the local's affairs by the end of this week.
Holmes has been dropped from the union's payroll.
Holmes is a well-known Liberal supporter and has contributed $100 to the campaign of the party's leader Stéphane Dion.
"The border patrol has a priority mission to keep terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the country. However, this significant seizure is proof that we also work vigorously to prevent cross-border crime," said Spokane Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert L. Harris in a press release.
Holmes appeared before a magistrate last Wednesday, where he was ordered held over without bond. A conviction for possession with intent to distribute carries with it a sentence of 10 years to life. ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
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16
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nightbloom
5 years ago
Corruption
Thanks for shining a spotlight on this. I am reminded of the publication a few years ago of photos the police employees union leader on a fishing trip with a bunch of notorious full-patch Hells Angels members.
It’s important not to be naïve about the covert interrelationship of organized crime, organized labour, and susceptible branches of government (municipal licensing & inspection bureaucracies, police, etc.).
You can be sure this isn’t an isolated case, or an example of someone acting independently.
Stump
5 years ago
Criminals everywhere
I'd love to know how many politicians and corporate heads have been convicted of crimes when compared to union leaders.
Not to defend this guy, or anybody like him, but often I find people like to use stories like this as an indictment of unions in general, which misses the point IMO that power corrupts.
Also, this fellow's alleged illegal activities may in fact have nothing whatsoever to do with the union he is a part of.
Just thought I'd get that comment in before Cycling Commuter, Working Man and Capitalism stop by to attempt to discredit unions and their function based upon this kind of thing.
Percy
5 years ago
Union doing the right thing...
This story shows a union doing the right thing, suspending the individual and conducting an audit. That's a story of right behaviour by an institution, rather than the innuendo suggested by the article.
Lefty
5 years ago
Excellent reaction by the Union
I imagine Canwest will have a field day with this. By the way, I've read the smuggler was connected to the Liberals, can anyone shed light on this? Is it connected to the raid on the BC Legislature in anyway?
G West
5 years ago
He was a supporter of Stephane Dion
His name has been removed from the Dion register of supporters....
southdeltawalker
5 years ago
single malt anyone?
Wow...first i've heard of this! It will be interesting following the media's reaction to this story. Looks like Perley Holmes with his Liberal connections is not your usual labour bureaucrat/NDP hack.
And oh, those american border patrolers are sooo efficient. According to the story, they only had two to catch and one got away!!...terrorists beware of these guys!
Illuminating story....I thought labour bureaucrats drug of choice was single malt scotch!!
kenl
5 years ago
Organized crime
Will the RCMP now be ivestigatinf the conncetion of organized crime within the ranks of the Liberal party???
Grumpy
5 years ago
Casino's the great money launder scheme
Why do think they are building Casino's? The are the best money laundering scheme around and the government, quite legally, takes a cut from the top!
Crack down on grow-ops and the Casino business will die!
Herb
5 years ago
Legalize and Regulate all drugs
The War on Drugs is a failed social policy.
It leads to corruption.
Did we not learn anything from alcohol prohibition?
Watch the LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) video:
http://www.leap.cc/Multimedia/LEAPpromo.php
Herb
www.efsdp.org
nightbloom
5 years ago
Grumpy - Bingo! That's a
Grumpy - Bingo! That's a connection I've tried to articulate on these threads in the past. I can't believe this central fact of the casino business was totally ommitted by the media during the public debate about city-licensed casinos for Vancouver.
And let's not imagine for a moment that the municipal authorities responsible for shepparding the casino policies into existence aren't neck-deep in that nasty operation. It's all about the $$$.
That kind of corruption exists in every major city, but Vancouver is just so blatant about it. I'll be even the some of the criminals think it's just a little too brazen and obcene.
G West
5 years ago
More than just bingo
And why do you suppose the major media would get in the face of big customers like the 'gaming', travel, accommodation and entertainment industry?
All these guys and gals, and the pols who move in and out of company sinecures and government, are the same people. There is no independent media in the larger public sphere anymore and, as readership dwindles, it's going to get worse because ad revenue is the only game in town.
I see Canwest has just announced that it bought a 25% interest in the NEW REPUBLIC.
nightbloom
5 years ago
You can the Big Labour
You can the Big Labour leadership in with all the other people on your list, Gwest.
EmmaJean
5 years ago
drugs and ironworkers
Dave Beatty is shocked? Anyone who has ever worked with them knows that union has a long-standing criminal element related to drugs.
Colin
5 years ago
Nightbloom The reason for
Nightbloom
The reason for organized crime being involved in Casino’s is that they are the perfect tool for laundering money and effectively circumventing the currency rules. The Hells Angels are supposed to be heavily involved in waste disposal also. Organized crime specialty is corrupting people and/or blackmailing anyone who is placed inside an organization that is useful to them. A year or so ago the RCMP tried to get rid of clerical staff connected the Angels, but were blocked by PSAC.
Stump
5 years ago
H.A.
While I have zero respect for the H.A. I would hope that everyone would understand the dangerous precedent that would be set if employers were able to dismiss staff based upon their membership in an organization that is allowed to exist based upon current laws. Further, it would behoove a union to contest such a dismissal on behalf of all its members, just as the ACLU often finds itself defending unsavoury ideas and individuals to protect all our freedoms.
"Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?" ringing any bells for anyone?
nightbloom
5 years ago
Colin - That's precisely
Colin - That's precisely what I've been trying to get across on these thread for well nigh a year and a half.
Can you enlage on your point about the PSAC & the Hells Angels?
It's unfortunate that a proper investigation of the VPD by the RCMP was pre-empted by the provincial Liberals, isn't it? It's not only the investigation itself, but the incidental stuff that comes out during the investigation that is the most interesting. The VPD and the Vancouver City bureaucracy are loooooooong overdue for a good scrutiny, and everyone in the country knows it.