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The owner of a multimillion-dollar mansion seized by police this summer for running an illegal gambling operation and for illegal possession of weapons was a guest at one of the cash-for-access fundraisers attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2016.
Police have charged Wei Wei, 52, with a number of crimes, including operation of an illegal casino at his property in Markham, north of Toronto; illegal possession of weapons, and possession of proceeds of crime. York Regional Police made the details of the arrest public last week. The raid on the alleged operation in July was part of a larger crackdown on illegal gaming operations in the Greater Toronto Area, dubbed Project Endgame.
Multiple sources have confirmed to The Epoch Times that Wei Wei was one of the guests at a fundraising event the prime minister attended with wealthy members of the Chinese community in Toronto on May 19, 2016. Wei Wei is seen in a group photo with Trudeau at the event, as part of a series of photos of the fundraiser published by Chinese-language media in 2016.
Dozens charged, millions in cash and assets seized after investigation into alleged illegal gambling. Subscriber content. Suite 1600, Toronto, ON Canada, M5A 0N1. Phillip Crawley, Publisher. Joe Frieri is a gambling addict. He fed his addiction in the illegal gambling dens while growing up in the suburbs north of Toronto. He takes The Fifth Estat.
The fundraiser drew strong criticism from the opposition due to the background of some of the guests in attendance. Then-interim Conservative Party leader Rona Ambrose said Trudeau's attendance at the event where 'Chinese billionaires' paid for access to the prime minister 'does not pass the smell test.'
One of the guests, Zhang Bin, is a billionaire who acts as an adviser to the Beijing regime. Zhang, a member of China's 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, along with a partner, donated $1 million to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and the University of Montreal Faculty of Law, which Pierre Trudeau graduated from, following the event, according to The Globe and Mail.
Another guest whose presence proved controversial for the Liberals was Shenglin Xian. At the time, Xian was awaiting final approval from federal bank regulators to open a bank in Canada. The Liberals have said his application wasn't discussed at the event.
Elections Canada records show that an individual named Wei Wei, a resident of Markham, donated $551 to a regional Liberal Party association on May 16, 2016. Records also show that a Markham resident named Wei Wei donated $1,200 to a Liberal candidate in November 2014, and $205.68 to a regional Liberal Party association in December 2015.
The Liberal government introduced legislation to end cash-for-access fundraising in 2017 following the controversy.
The Prime Minister's Office referred a request for comment to the Liberal Party. A spokesperson for the Liberal Party didn't answer questions as to whether there were any interactions between Wei Wei and Trudeau at the event, but instead said the party is in compliance with all regulations for fundraising.
'No donations can be accepted from corporations, trade unions, or associations; individual contributions are strictly limited; and all contributions over $200 are publicly and proactively disclosed on the Elections Canada website both quarterly and annually,' Braeden Caley said in an email.
According to police, Wei Wei's $9 million mansion in Markham was operated as a high-end illegal casino. In the July raid, police arrested 32 people and seized 11 firearms—including an AR-15 rifle—and ammunition, more than $1 million in cash, gaming machines and tables, and more than $1.5 million in alcohol.
The illegal operations included slot machines and a baccarat table with the maximum bet set at $20,000. The menu included an extensive choice of liquor as well as illegal shark fin.
Police raided two other properties in the greater Toronto area in July as part of investigations into illegal gambling operations. In total, around 30 people have been charged with more than 70 criminal offences as a result of the police operation.
'The money moving through these underground casinos leads to huge profits for criminals that fund other ventures such as prostitution and drug trafficking,' York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween said in a statement.
'This illegal high-stakes gambling also leads to gun violence, armed robberies, kidnappings, extortion, and other serious violent offences within our community.'
The seizure of three development companies in an investigation of illegal gambling operations shows the growing sophistication and status of outlaw bikers, says the head of Ontario's biker enforcement unit.
'I see them (outlaw motorcycle clubs) as almost equal to the mob. They are close in status and stature to the mob,' Det. Staff Sgt Scott Wade, operations manager of the OPP biker enforcement unit, said Friday. 'This is high-level organized crime.'
Officers from more than 20 different agencies seized $24 million in assets, including those of three land development properties, in an operation that led to new charges last week against the former head of the London Hells Angels, Robert Barletta.
Barletta, 50, was charged with money laundering and tax evasion. In December 2019, he had been charged with 12 weapons and bookmaking charges, as well as commission of an offence for a criminal organization and income tax evasion, following a two-year investigation of illegal gambling called Operation Hobart. That effort also saw 27 other people charged and police seized $12 million worth of assets.
In the latest Operation Hobart busts on Wednesday, four other people were charged with bookmaking, commission of an offence for a criminal organization, proceeds of crime, money laundering and tax evasion. Three others were charged with money laundering and proceeds of crime. They are all to appear in court in Brampton Sept. 17.
Among those charged was Douglas English, 38, of London. He's charged with bookmaking and the possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking. He is not a member of the Hells Angels, Wade said.
Police swooped down on locations in London, Oakville, Toronto, Pickering, Welland and Thornbury on Wednesday and seized three residences, one vacant vacation property and eight vehicles, including sports cars, a vintage automobile and a Harley Davidson motorcycle, OPP said.
Officers say they also seized $82,590 in Canadian cash and $23,398 in U.S. cash, about seven kilograms of Psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and half of kilogram of marijuana with a combined value of $66,986.
But the seizure of the financial assets of three land development companies, which included building lots in the Collingwood area and a $7 million, newly-built house on one lot, stand out. None of the residences seized, nor development companies, was in London, police say.
'The violence is because of the profits. If we only arrest people and if we don't seize the profits, we're only doing half the job,' Wade said.
Property and violence have been front and centre in Operation Hobart, and Barletta's name keeps popping up.
Two years ago, a suspected arson destroyed a Blue Mountain vacation property owned by a woman believed to be Barletta's mother.
That prompted the launch of Operation Hobart, and an investigation into an alleged multimillion-dollar gambling operation police contend was run by members of the Hells Angels and an alleged Toronto crime family. (The Blue Mountain property was not among those seized in this latest round of arrests, Wade said.)
In 2019, during the Operation Hobart investigation, Hell Angels member Michael Deabauta-Schulde, 32, was killed outside a Mississauga gym. Police contend Deabauta-Schulde was a member of the same illegal gambling operation investigated in Operation Hobart. Three Montreal men are charged with first-degree murder in Deabauta-Schulde's death.
In December 2020, about 12 hours after the OPP announced the arrests of Barletta and a female friend, among others, the woman's $1-million house on Commissioners Road near Ridout Street in London caught on fire, another blaze fire officials called suspicious.
Among those charged was Douglas English, 38, of London. He's charged with bookmaking and the possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking. He is not a member of the Hells Angels, Wade said.
Police swooped down on locations in London, Oakville, Toronto, Pickering, Welland and Thornbury on Wednesday and seized three residences, one vacant vacation property and eight vehicles, including sports cars, a vintage automobile and a Harley Davidson motorcycle, OPP said.
Officers say they also seized $82,590 in Canadian cash and $23,398 in U.S. cash, about seven kilograms of Psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and half of kilogram of marijuana with a combined value of $66,986.
But the seizure of the financial assets of three land development companies, which included building lots in the Collingwood area and a $7 million, newly-built house on one lot, stand out. None of the residences seized, nor development companies, was in London, police say.
'The violence is because of the profits. If we only arrest people and if we don't seize the profits, we're only doing half the job,' Wade said.
Property and violence have been front and centre in Operation Hobart, and Barletta's name keeps popping up.
Two years ago, a suspected arson destroyed a Blue Mountain vacation property owned by a woman believed to be Barletta's mother.
That prompted the launch of Operation Hobart, and an investigation into an alleged multimillion-dollar gambling operation police contend was run by members of the Hells Angels and an alleged Toronto crime family. (The Blue Mountain property was not among those seized in this latest round of arrests, Wade said.)
In 2019, during the Operation Hobart investigation, Hell Angels member Michael Deabauta-Schulde, 32, was killed outside a Mississauga gym. Police contend Deabauta-Schulde was a member of the same illegal gambling operation investigated in Operation Hobart. Three Montreal men are charged with first-degree murder in Deabauta-Schulde's death.
In December 2020, about 12 hours after the OPP announced the arrests of Barletta and a female friend, among others, the woman's $1-million house on Commissioners Road near Ridout Street in London caught on fire, another blaze fire officials called suspicious.
The roots of Operation Hobart go back to the police bust of the Platinum Sports Book gambling operation in 2013, which police say grossed more than $103 million in five years. Police say Operation Hobart and Platinum are connected, but have not elaborated.
Barletta was charged in 2013 with bookmaking and possessing proceeds of a crime. But the charges against Barletta were withdrawn in January 2017, the same day a co-accused admitted in court he was administrator of the Platinum Sports Book ring and pleaded guilty to a charge of bookmaking as participation in a criminal organization.
The court result seemed to justify Barletta's nickname as the 'Teflon biker,' someone who had kept a clean record while co-founding and for a time running the London chapter of the Hells Angels.
The only legal setback for Barletta during that time was losing his liquor licence for Famous Flesh Gordon's, a strip club on Dundas Street.
But sources tell The Free Press Barletta has enemies.
Wade would not comment on any specific threats to Barletta, who has been out on bail since the December arrests and is not in custody on the recent charges.
Toronto Canada Illegal Gambling
But 'there is a lot of violence in the outlaw motorcycle world and specifically in this organized crime group, within and without,' Wade said, noting the investigation began with an arson two years ago.
Besides several police departments and specialized units, ranging from city forces to the RCMP and Surete du Quebec, the latest investigation included members of the Canada Revenue Agency and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada.
The complexity of organized crime demands an equally comprehensive response from law enforcement, Wade said.
Toronto Illegal Gambling Rules
'They work together. They have no borders. If we don't share information and intelligence, we're not going to succeed,' he said.
Toronto Illegal Gambling Laws
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Source: The London Free Press by Randy Richmond
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