stevesboo23
02-24-2005, 10:24 AM
Walker set to come home
He's to serve out the rest of his life sentence in a Canadian prison.
KATHLEEN HARRIS, Free Press Parliamentary Bureau 2005-02-23 03:17:24
OTTAWA -- After seven years in a British prison, infamous con artist and murderer Albert Walker is coming home to Canada. Correctional Service of Canada yesterday confirmed an international agreement to transfer the notorious prisoner was finalized with the U.K. last month.
Sources said Walker likely will arrive in Toronto within the next few days, but Corrections officials won't divulge details to protect his security.
"We won't disclose the time he arrives or the way he arrives," said spokesperson Holly Knowles.
Walker, who embezzled millions through his Woodstock financial services company, fled to England in 1990 with his daughter, Sheena, then 15. While living under an alias he met Ronald Platt, a British loner whose identity Walker later stole.
For three years, Walker and his daughter lived as "husband and wife" in southeast England. Sheena had two children during this time, but their paternity was never revealed.
Walker killed Platt and dumped his body at sea after Platt returned to England and threatened to disrupt the quiet family life.
A trawler later pulled Platt's body from the sea and police identified him from a number on his Rolex watch.
Platt's last known address was a house he rented in London with the help of a reference from a man named David Davis. By chance, police soon discovered Davis had been using Platt's identity and was, in reality, a Canadian investor named Albert Walker.
Convicted in 1998 of embezzlement and murder, Walker was to serve at least 15 years before parole eligibility. He will continue serving a life sentence in Canada, but a security assessment and parole eligibility still must be worked out.
Given that he has already served nine years of pre-trial and post-conviction custody, Walker will likely get a crack at parole after he has served another six years.
Knowles couldn't speak about conditions attached to the agreement, but said transfers are usually for "humanitarian" reasons to help the offender.
"I'm not going to speak specifically about Mr. Walker, but if an offender is a Canadian citizen, his family is in Canada, his contacts are in Canada, basically if that will affect his reintegration in a positive way, those are some of the things we would consider," she said.
Alex Swann, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, said his boss signed off on the transfer last summer. Her office is kept apprised of transfers, but after approval it becomes an "operational matter."
Scott Fenton, the Toronto lawyer who prepared Walker's bid for a transfer under the Transfer of Offenders Act and Treaty in 2001, said Walker's bid was turned down initially.
During a visit to Woodstock in December 2002, Barb Walker, the ex-wife of Albert Walker, called him an evil man who revelled in manipulating others and someone she grew to despise.
Woodstock police have an outstanding warrant for Walker's arrest in connection with the embezzlement. He could face 37 charges of theft and fraud that arose after he left Southwestern Ontario with millions of dollars of clients' money missing.
By 2000, bankruptcy trustees had recovered about $1 million, but authorities aren't really sure how much the financial adviser stole and how much he lost in failed business ventures.
London lawyer Angelo D'Ascanio, who headed the team representing bankruptcy trustee KPMG, tried to recover millions that Walker's company took from investors.
D'Ascanio said last night he was "caught by surprise'' to hear Walker was coming back to Canada, adding he has not been involved in the case for six years.
D'Ascanio said if reports were true Walker was in failing health and was "going to meet his maker," he might give up missing assets.
The hardest hit of investors in the scam was George Richardson of Uxbridge, near Toronto, who lost a $5.1-million inheritance. D'Ascanio said none of the investors was from London and most were seniors from Woodstock, Paris and the area.
Walker has said he hoped to reduce his jail time in exchange for revealing the location of money he stole.
If Walker does re-enter Canada at Pearson, he will be met by federal prison guards. Because Walker is a Canadian citizen, he will not have to pass through regular immigration checkpoints.
Sources said Walker would then be taken directly to Toronto West Detention Centre, where he would be officially processed into the Canadian prison system.
Federal guards would then drive Walker to Millhaven maximum security receiving prison, just west of Kingston, where he will be assessed for placement.
Given Walker's notoriety, odds are he will be held in some form of protective custody in Kingston Penitentiary, which mainly houses Ontario's misfit inmates and those in need of protection.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2005/02/23/939270-sun.html (http://)
He's to serve out the rest of his life sentence in a Canadian prison.
KATHLEEN HARRIS, Free Press Parliamentary Bureau 2005-02-23 03:17:24
OTTAWA -- After seven years in a British prison, infamous con artist and murderer Albert Walker is coming home to Canada. Correctional Service of Canada yesterday confirmed an international agreement to transfer the notorious prisoner was finalized with the U.K. last month.
Sources said Walker likely will arrive in Toronto within the next few days, but Corrections officials won't divulge details to protect his security.
"We won't disclose the time he arrives or the way he arrives," said spokesperson Holly Knowles.
Walker, who embezzled millions through his Woodstock financial services company, fled to England in 1990 with his daughter, Sheena, then 15. While living under an alias he met Ronald Platt, a British loner whose identity Walker later stole.
For three years, Walker and his daughter lived as "husband and wife" in southeast England. Sheena had two children during this time, but their paternity was never revealed.
Walker killed Platt and dumped his body at sea after Platt returned to England and threatened to disrupt the quiet family life.
A trawler later pulled Platt's body from the sea and police identified him from a number on his Rolex watch.
Platt's last known address was a house he rented in London with the help of a reference from a man named David Davis. By chance, police soon discovered Davis had been using Platt's identity and was, in reality, a Canadian investor named Albert Walker.
Convicted in 1998 of embezzlement and murder, Walker was to serve at least 15 years before parole eligibility. He will continue serving a life sentence in Canada, but a security assessment and parole eligibility still must be worked out.
Given that he has already served nine years of pre-trial and post-conviction custody, Walker will likely get a crack at parole after he has served another six years.
Knowles couldn't speak about conditions attached to the agreement, but said transfers are usually for "humanitarian" reasons to help the offender.
"I'm not going to speak specifically about Mr. Walker, but if an offender is a Canadian citizen, his family is in Canada, his contacts are in Canada, basically if that will affect his reintegration in a positive way, those are some of the things we would consider," she said.
Alex Swann, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan, said his boss signed off on the transfer last summer. Her office is kept apprised of transfers, but after approval it becomes an "operational matter."
Scott Fenton, the Toronto lawyer who prepared Walker's bid for a transfer under the Transfer of Offenders Act and Treaty in 2001, said Walker's bid was turned down initially.
During a visit to Woodstock in December 2002, Barb Walker, the ex-wife of Albert Walker, called him an evil man who revelled in manipulating others and someone she grew to despise.
Woodstock police have an outstanding warrant for Walker's arrest in connection with the embezzlement. He could face 37 charges of theft and fraud that arose after he left Southwestern Ontario with millions of dollars of clients' money missing.
By 2000, bankruptcy trustees had recovered about $1 million, but authorities aren't really sure how much the financial adviser stole and how much he lost in failed business ventures.
London lawyer Angelo D'Ascanio, who headed the team representing bankruptcy trustee KPMG, tried to recover millions that Walker's company took from investors.
D'Ascanio said last night he was "caught by surprise'' to hear Walker was coming back to Canada, adding he has not been involved in the case for six years.
D'Ascanio said if reports were true Walker was in failing health and was "going to meet his maker," he might give up missing assets.
The hardest hit of investors in the scam was George Richardson of Uxbridge, near Toronto, who lost a $5.1-million inheritance. D'Ascanio said none of the investors was from London and most were seniors from Woodstock, Paris and the area.
Walker has said he hoped to reduce his jail time in exchange for revealing the location of money he stole.
If Walker does re-enter Canada at Pearson, he will be met by federal prison guards. Because Walker is a Canadian citizen, he will not have to pass through regular immigration checkpoints.
Sources said Walker would then be taken directly to Toronto West Detention Centre, where he would be officially processed into the Canadian prison system.
Federal guards would then drive Walker to Millhaven maximum security receiving prison, just west of Kingston, where he will be assessed for placement.
Given Walker's notoriety, odds are he will be held in some form of protective custody in Kingston Penitentiary, which mainly houses Ontario's misfit inmates and those in need of protection.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2005/02/23/939270-sun.html (http://)