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Iranian dangerous gangster in Canada
A B.C. Supreme Court judge found that former prison guard Edwin Ticne had been "defeated, hopeless, bitter and lonely" when he helped a gangster escape jail.
Justice Peter Leask handed Ticne a three year and three month prison sentence Friday for obstructing justice and agreeing to accept a bribe.
Leask told New Westminster Supreme Court this was the only case in the province's history of a guard helping an inmate escape.
Meanwhile, the fugitive gangster, Omid Tahvili, has opened up negotiations with police on a possible surrender, court heard.
In November, Ticne escorted a disguised Tahvili, who was awaiting sentencing on kidnapping and sexual assault convictions, through security doors at the North Fraser Pretrial Facility.
Tahvili, alleged by police to be the ringleader of a gang dealing cocaine in volumes of 50 to 100 kilograms, had hidden in a maintenance closet and changed into janitor's clothes. He walked out North Fraser's front doors to freedom.
Ticne maintains that Tahvili promised him $50,000 but never paid.
On Friday, Leask said in New Westminster Supreme Court that he believed Ticne's assertion he'd never received money from Tahvili.
And Leask said he also accepted a psychologist's finding that a stressed-out Ticne made an impulsive decision to help the gangster escape.
The psychologist determined that Ticne, who had been spending long hours in casinos and bars and was isolated from his family, was in the midst of a "major depressive episode" when he committed his crime.
Sustained heavy drinking and two years of "pathological gambling" added to Ticne's stress, the psychologist had said.
Also, Ticne hated his job and had a "passive-aggressive hostility towards the system" -- plus his lifetime dream of becoming a Mountie had been shattered when his application failed and he was told not to bother trying again, the psychologist said.
Tahvili, who court heard bragged to an undercover cop that he was the "John Gotti of Vancouver," had been in North Fraser for 27 months before his escape.
He has since been sentenced in absentia to six years, for kidnapping the brother-in-law of a Purolator worker and assaulting him with an object, over a missing package of money.
Crown prosecutor Wendy Dawson said Friday that Tahvili had called Coquitlam RCMP, purportedly from Toronto, to discuss his possible surrender.
Just before Ticne was sentenced, he told court he had brought "shame and disgrace" to himself and his family.
"I allowed my personal demons and conflicts to impair my judgment," said Ticne, wearing a black, pinstriped suit. Leask said because of Ticne's former job as a prison guard, his time in prison will be very difficult, and he recommended that prison officials let him out as soon as possible.
"I wish you good luck," Leask said to Ticne.
A man who escaped from a Metro Vancouver prison with the help of a guard is offering to turn himself in.
Omid Tahvili walked out of the North Fraser Pre-Trial Centre in Coquitlam last November. He'd been awaiting sentencing on convictions for kidnapping and sexual assault stemming from the 2005 abduction and torture of a man for information about drug money.
The guard who helped Thavili escape, Edward Tichne, was charged with obstruction of justice and accepting a bribe and pleaded guilty in April.
At a sentencing hearing for him in New Westminster, Crown Counsel Wendy Dawson told the court Thavili has called the police and offered to negotiate his surrender.
It's not clear where Tahvili is, but he may be in Toronto.
Alleged gangster Omid Tahvili, who escaped from the North Fraser pre-trial centre last year with the help of a guard may be prepared to surrender.
That revelation came out ahead of defence submissions at the sentencing hearing for Edwin Ticne, who pleaded guilty to charges of obstruction of justice and accepting a bribe.
Crown Counsel Wendy Dawson stood up in the court and informed the judge that Omid Tahvili had been in contact with Coquitlam RCMP. She told the court the purpose of the call was to negotiate his surrender. No word on how that negotiation is going, but Dawson indicated that Tahvili might be in Toronto.
At the time of his escape, Tahvili was awaiting a sentencing hearing after being convicted of kidnapping, sexual assault, unlawful confinement, uttering threats and causing bodily harm for which he was eventually sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Justice Peter Leask handed Ticne a three year and three month prison sentence Friday for obstructing justice and agreeing to accept a bribe.
Leask told New Westminster Supreme Court this was the only case in the province's history of a guard helping an inmate escape.
Meanwhile, the fugitive gangster, Omid Tahvili, has opened up negotiations with police on a possible surrender, court heard.
In November, Ticne escorted a disguised Tahvili, who was awaiting sentencing on kidnapping and sexual assault convictions, through security doors at the North Fraser Pretrial Facility.
Tahvili, alleged by police to be the ringleader of a gang dealing cocaine in volumes of 50 to 100 kilograms, had hidden in a maintenance closet and changed into janitor's clothes. He walked out North Fraser's front doors to freedom.
Ticne maintains that Tahvili promised him $50,000 but never paid.
On Friday, Leask said in New Westminster Supreme Court that he believed Ticne's assertion he'd never received money from Tahvili.
And Leask said he also accepted a psychologist's finding that a stressed-out Ticne made an impulsive decision to help the gangster escape.
The psychologist determined that Ticne, who had been spending long hours in casinos and bars and was isolated from his family, was in the midst of a "major depressive episode" when he committed his crime.
Sustained heavy drinking and two years of "pathological gambling" added to Ticne's stress, the psychologist had said.
Also, Ticne hated his job and had a "passive-aggressive hostility towards the system" -- plus his lifetime dream of becoming a Mountie had been shattered when his application failed and he was told not to bother trying again, the psychologist said.
Tahvili, who court heard bragged to an undercover cop that he was the "John Gotti of Vancouver," had been in North Fraser for 27 months before his escape.
He has since been sentenced in absentia to six years, for kidnapping the brother-in-law of a Purolator worker and assaulting him with an object, over a missing package of money.
Crown prosecutor Wendy Dawson said Friday that Tahvili had called Coquitlam RCMP, purportedly from Toronto, to discuss his possible surrender.
Just before Ticne was sentenced, he told court he had brought "shame and disgrace" to himself and his family.
"I allowed my personal demons and conflicts to impair my judgment," said Ticne, wearing a black, pinstriped suit. Leask said because of Ticne's former job as a prison guard, his time in prison will be very difficult, and he recommended that prison officials let him out as soon as possible.
"I wish you good luck," Leask said to Ticne.
A man who escaped from a Metro Vancouver prison with the help of a guard is offering to turn himself in.
Omid Tahvili walked out of the North Fraser Pre-Trial Centre in Coquitlam last November. He'd been awaiting sentencing on convictions for kidnapping and sexual assault stemming from the 2005 abduction and torture of a man for information about drug money.
The guard who helped Thavili escape, Edward Tichne, was charged with obstruction of justice and accepting a bribe and pleaded guilty in April.
At a sentencing hearing for him in New Westminster, Crown Counsel Wendy Dawson told the court Thavili has called the police and offered to negotiate his surrender.
It's not clear where Tahvili is, but he may be in Toronto.
Alleged gangster Omid Tahvili, who escaped from the North Fraser pre-trial centre last year with the help of a guard may be prepared to surrender.
That revelation came out ahead of defence submissions at the sentencing hearing for Edwin Ticne, who pleaded guilty to charges of obstruction of justice and accepting a bribe.
Crown Counsel Wendy Dawson stood up in the court and informed the judge that Omid Tahvili had been in contact with Coquitlam RCMP. She told the court the purpose of the call was to negotiate his surrender. No word on how that negotiation is going, but Dawson indicated that Tahvili might be in Toronto.
At the time of his escape, Tahvili was awaiting a sentencing hearing after being convicted of kidnapping, sexual assault, unlawful confinement, uttering threats and causing bodily harm for which he was eventually sentenced to 11 years in prison.
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