Madeline Smith

Edmonton extortion scheme linked to notorious B.C. gang, court records show | CBC News An extortion scheme that targeted South Asian homebuilders in Edmonton is linked to the B.C.-based gang Brothers Keepers, court records obtained by CBC News show.

One of the men accused in the "Project Gaslight" arson and extortion targeting South Asian homebuilders in Edmonton has pleaded guilty, putting new details about the scheme on the public record for the first time: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

City council expense policies need reform, audit report says A new report examining council members' expenses shows councillors are mostly following city policy, but there are "systemic issues" to fix.

Truly a story with so many twists that I never could have anticipated, that just seemed to keep going well past the point I thought there was nothing else to do. And it prompted a fair amount of reform about how council expenses are handled/disclosed in Calgary. calgaryherald.com/news/local-n...

Magliocca banned from business travel; council refers expense audit to police The results of the forensic audit come nearly six months after questions started to emerge about some of the costs the Ward 2 councillor billed to taxpayers

And then there was the night where council was behind closed doors for like two hours and then they came out at something like 10:30 p.m. and dropped the motion referring the expense investigation to the police: calgaryherald.com/news/local-n...

Integrity commissioner recuses himself from Magliocca expense probe, citing free meal with councillor Magliocca expensed a lunch with integrity commissioner Sal LoVecchio in 2019, which he said was a "social lunch" that taxpayers shouldn't have been billed for

I will also never forget the evening I got the email from the city's former integrity commissioner telling me he had to recuse himself from the investigation. I yelled "OH MY GOD" and my husband was very confused but I was totally unable to explain anything to him: calgaryherald.com/news/local-n...

Coun. Magliocca calls nonexistent guests on travel expenses a ‘clerical error' Chestermere Coun. Yvette Kind says she was surprised to learn her name was attached to a $331 bar tab.

I will never forget listening to Meghan Potkins on the phone talking to the first of what would become many people who were very confused to learn their names were on Magliocca's receipts: calgaryherald.com/news/local-n...

Former Calgary councillor Joe Magliocca gets house arrest and curfew for expenses fraud | CBC News Former Calgary councillor Joe Magliocca, who was convicted of fraud for submitting 19 falsified expense claims to the city, has been handed a six-month conditional sentence order.

Somehow I missed that former Calgary city councillor Joe Magliocca was sentenced last month after being found guilty of fraud: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Former Edmonton track coach found guilty of historic sexual offences against teen athletes | CBC News A judge found Ken Porter sexually touched teenage boys for his own gratification under the guise of athletic massages while he was their coach in the 1970s.

Ken Porter, a former track coach in Edmonton and Ottawa, was found guilty yesterday of five historical sexual offences — the judge found he used track-side "athletic massages" as a pretense to sexually touch three teenage boys in the 1970s: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Man injured during 2019 arrest questioned at EPS officer's assault trial | CBC News Edmonton police Const. Alexander Doduk has pleaded not guilty to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm against Justin LaFrance.

A police officer is on trial for assault charges from a 2019 arrest caught on video from the Royal Alberta Museum — this happened right by the courthouse and down the street from EPS headquarters: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Yes it's not a long-term care thing, it's used in independent retirement living for the most part. It comes with both the upfront fee and monthly costs, but the monthly fees might be less than a typical rental cost. It's a very unique system that I had no idea about until I did this reporting!

Review of Sobotiak murder conviction revealed undisclosed police evidence, court filing says | CBC News Roy Sobotiak's lawyers filed written arguments in support of his bail application on Friday, which shed light on issues they raised with the investigation and trial that ended in 1991, convicting Sobo...

I got more details on the background of the case, and the legal issues Sobotiak's defence team is now raising about a potential re-prosecution, through their written submissions to the court: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Man convicted of murdering Edmonton woman in 1987 granted bail | CBC News A man imprisoned for more than three decades for murdering an Edmonton woman has been granted bail, months after his conviction was quashed by the federal justice minister.

I had such a busy day with this case I never shared any of the stories, but I got to watch the bail hearing for Roy Sobotiak, who's now released after more than 35 years behind bars for the 1987 murder of Susan Kaminsky. Story from the awesome Wallis Snowdon: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

It is a thing in Manitoba but the legislation about how they're handled is actually quite different and has been held up as a good model by people who want more regulation around this type of housing.

Alberta developer faces Consumer Protection Act charges over return of life lease fees | CBC News Court records show that Greg Christenson, president of Christenson Group of Companies, has been charged with two counts of failing to return a life lease entrance fee within 180 days — alleged violati...

Greg Christenson, the president of the Edmonton development company that owes 200+ seniors and their families large sums of money they put into life lease contracts, has been charged under the province's Consumer Protection Act: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Alberta more than doubles court search fees, raising fears on access to justice The Alberta government has hiked a raft of court fees — including more than doubling the cost to search public documents.

I've been very fired up about how much pricier court searches I need to do on a regular basis just became, but thankfully @jonnywakefield.bsky.social is here with the big-picture story on the potential access-to-justice issues for everyone: edmontonjournal.com/news/crime/a...

**Alberta's measles case count has now topped 500**

19 new cases reported today
18 are in south zone, one is in Calgary zone.

Total to date = 505
(since the outbreaks began in March)

www.alberta.ca/measles

Former B.C. solicitor general says judicial review needed in Alberta police brutality case | CBC News There should be a judicial review of Alberta Justice’s refusal to prosecute an Edmonton police officer whose violent attack on a handcuffed prisoner was captured on video, a former British Columbia so...

The officer was charged with assault in 2021, but the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service stayed the case shortly after. The investigation of this case from
@charlesrusnell.bsky.social
and Jennie Russell was extensive: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Edmonton police officer reprimanded for using force on handcuffed man in 2019 arrest | CBC News Edmonton police Const. Dylan Awid has been reprimanded nearly six years after he kicked a man who was being arrested, then shoved his head into a wall after he was in handcuffs.

An EPS officer has been given a formal reprimand almost six years after he was caught on video shoving a handcuffed man's head into a wall, then slamming him against a police car: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Okotoks rebrands itself, but will it convince you to go there? | CBC News What comes to mind when you think of Okotoks? Is it the Dawgs, Drake Landing or The Big Rock?

No match for this historic municipal slogan moment: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Former Edmonton police officer found not guilty of assault in arrest caught on video | CBC News Oli Olason, a former EPS constable who worked in the tactical unit, was acquitted of an assault charge he faced after he was accused of excessive force in an arrest on March 23, 2021.

UPDATE: After a couple hours of deliberation, the jury returned a not guilty verdict, and former Edmonton police officer Oli Olason has been acquitted of assault: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

This is a significant finding from Alberta’s privacy and information commissioner and confirms what many FOIP users have long suspected.

Former Edmonton police officer gives evidence in his own defence at excessive force trial | CBC News Oli Olason is on trial for assault over his alleged conduct in the arrest of Lee Van Beaver just after midnight on March 23, 2021.

And Olason himself also got on the stand on Thursday to give evidence about the arrest. The Crown and defence gave closing arguments this morning and the jury is now in deliberations on a verdict. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Edmonton police officers testify at trial for constable accused of excessive force | CBC News A jury watched security footage of the arrest, which took place in an alley in the Ritchie neighbourhood, several times as witnesses, including police officers who were also at the scene, gave evidenc...

Several other officers that were at the scene during and after the arrest testified this week: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Edmonton man kicked, stomped during arrest despite complying with police, jury hears | CBC News Edmonton police officer Oli Olason is on trial for assault, accused of excessive force in a 2021 arrest caught on video.

I've been completely falling down on sharing my work lately, so here: I've been watching the trial of Oli Olason all week, a former EPS officer accused of excessive force in a 2021 arrest that was caught on video: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Inadequate care at Edmonton jail has inmates 'falling through the cracks,' inquiry finds | CBC News Canada’s largest jail is again facing calls to improve mental health care for inmates following an investigation into the death of a 23-year-old man who died by suicide inside his cell.

The fatality inquiry is finally done in the incredibly troubling case of TJ McConnell's 2021 death inside the Edmonton Remand Centre after he pleaded for mental health and addictions treatment. My colleague Wallis Snowdon has been on this story for years: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Oregon man gets 50 years in prison for sexually abusing, abducting Edmonton girl across U.S. border | CBC News Noah Madrano pleaded guilty in January to two felony charges, admitting to sexually abusing an Edmonton teenager that he contacted over the internet, then travelled to see her in person.

Update: Madrano sentenced to 50 years in prison.

It's somewhat shocking, covering Canadian courts, to see this length of U.S. sentence — would be impossible here. But the victim's family in this horrifying case were hoping for as long a sentence as possible. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Oregon man to be sentenced for abducting Edmonton girl over U.S. border | CBC News Noah Madrano pleaded guilty in January to two felony charges, admitting to sexually abusing an Edmonton teenager that he contacted over the internet, then travelled to see her in person.

I'm about to call in to a U.S. District Court hearing in Portland for Noah Madrano's sentencing — he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl from Edmonton and taking her over the U.S.-Canada border in 2022 in the trunk of his car. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Edmonton man handed 4-year manslaughter sentence in 2013 killing | CBC News Judge's decision finds Edward Robinson's actions were "rooted in poverty, addictions and personal insecurity of both food and housing."

The question of who killed Ivan Stamp was a mystery for almost a decade, until Edward Robinson was arrested following an EPS "Mr. Big" sting in 2022. He was sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to manslaughter: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Judge says 2011 Edmonton prison killing remains 'suspect,' recommends public inquiry | CBC News Mason Montgrand was 21 when he was fatally stabbed at the Edmonton Institution on Aug. 18, 2011. No one has ever been held criminally responsible in his death, and more than a decade after he was kill...

I've been trying to get this story done for a while. It's probably the heftiest, most complex fatality inquiry I've ever read, and the judge still concludes there are unanswered questions, almost 14 years later: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

I'm exaggerating, but people are definitely surprised.

I've blown several of my colleagues' minds with the info that there's a provincial/federal distinction between jail and prison. I still can't get over the court styling of "gaol"