The Toronto family doctor whose patient died after undergoing liposuction in September hired a private investigator to pose as a patient and spy on a competitor she alleges in a lawsuit is responsible for her drop in business.

Dr. Behnaz Yazdanfar, a family physician without a surgical specialty or hospital privileges, performed the liposuction.

She has filed a $300,000 slander suit against plastic surgeon Dr. Sean Rice based on a secretly recorded conversation he had with a private investigator who visited him last month pretending to be interested in breast enlargement surgery and liposuction.

Rice was one of the physicians who tried unsuccessfully to revive Krista Stryland when she was brought into North York General Hospital on Sept. 20 after liposuction surgery at Yazdanfar’s Toronto Cosmetic Clinic on Yonge St.

Stryland, a 32-year-old real estate agent and mother, died in hospital.

In a statement of claim filed in court by the Toronto Cosmetic Clinic and Yazdanfar, she says she suffered “a marked decline in profitability and unusual increase in the number of patient cancellations for scheduled cosmetic surgeries” this fall.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The drop in business prompted her to hire an investigative firm “to make inquiries within the cosmetic surgery industry and among competitors to determine if the business decline was related to or caused by competitors defaming (her),” the statement reads.

Yazdanfar did not respond to a request for an interview.

Her clinic’s manager directed questions to lawyer Michael Kestenberg who would not offer comment on the allegations.

Rice also declined to comment and referred calls to his lawyer Brian Butler.

“Unquestionably there will be a statement of defence,” Butler said. “Dr. Rice will defend himself.”

Rice isn’t the only physician to be targeted by Yazdanfar. At least one other doctor has received a letter from Yazdanfar’s lawyers ordering him to “cease and desist” from making critical remarks on the threat of legal action, the Star has learned.

On Oct. 17, just a month after Stryland’s death, investigator Francine Doyle attended a scheduled consultation for breast augmentation and liposuction with Rice at his Sheppard Ave. E. clinic, the statement of claim says.

Doyle, equipped with a hidden audio recording device, told Rice she had already had a consultation with Yazdanfar at the Cosmetic Clinic, the suit alleges.

Rice allegedly provided Doyle with different methods and types of breast implants and explained the differences between products offered by two companies. The suit alleges Rice told Doyle that one manufacturer won’t sell to Yazdanfar and the other would only sell her saline implants.

Yazdanfar said in her statement of claim that’s not true although one of the companies, Allergan Canada, confirmed to the Star last night it only sells breast implants to certified plastic surgeons.

The claim further alleges that when Doyle expressed hesitation to Rice regarding the safety of liposuction he made the following statements, “If anything were to happen to you here, we have everything here, a Royal College plastic surgeon, Royal College anesthesiologist, all RN certified nurses and everybody knows CPR …

It continues: “You’re not going to get anybody, who (is) more trained, than what you would get here in the office. Compared to (an) outside clinic, which doesn’t have an RN, a Royal College certified anesthesiologist. Something happens to you there, they are like, and ok what do I (do) right …”

The claim says the Toronto Cosmetic Clinic employs licensed anesthesiologists and “nurses registered with the college.

“Further, Dr. Yazdanfar at all times conducts the liposuction procedure in the presence of and with the assistance of a college certified anesthesiologist.”

Yazdanfar, a graduate of the University of Ottawa who doesn’t hold hospital privileges, said the words Rice spoke to Doyle were “slanderous” and “were calculated by him to disparage and injure the Cosmetic Clinic’s business and Dr. Yazdanfar’s professional reputation.”

Rice is a plastic surgeon, certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, and he has hospital privileges at North York General, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Women’s College Hospital.

Following Stryland’s late September death, Yazdanfar and her clinic were the subject of front-page headlines and broadcast news reports focusing on the lack of regulation around cosmetic surgery in Ontario.

In response to mounting pressure from the media and the public after her death, the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons proposed tighter regulations for the cosmetic surgery industry.

The measures include restrictions against use of the phrase “cosmetic surgeon” for those who hold no surgical speciality and proposed inspections of private clinics where cosmetic procedures are done.

Two weeks ago, college officials said they are investigating 16 doctors performing high-risk cosmetic procedures in private clinics that could be a danger to the public because of concerns about their qualifications and training. They would not identify the physicians by name. posted by PInow.com Staff

Like his big-screen hero John McClane, John McTiernan doesn’t like being stuck in a building for very long. And for now, he won’t be.

A federal judge in Los Angeles has allowed the Die Hard director to remain free on bail while he appeals his guilty plea.

In April 2006, McTiernan, 56, copped to lying to the feds about his knowledge of Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano’s illicit wiretapping operation.

McTiernan then tried to rescind the guilty plea for a bevy reasons: (1) he had been jetlagged at the time he was questioned by agents; (2) he was also suffering the side effects of some apparently potent sinus medication during the same Q&A session; and (3) he received some bad advice from his ex-lawyer.

U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer wasn’t buying it. Not only did the judge deny the motion, but, in McTiernan’s most scathing reviews since Last Action Hero,  Fischer ripped McTiernan for his lack of remorse for attempting to deceive investigators.

Fischer sentenced McTiernan to four months in prison in September and ordered him to pay a $100,000 fine.

“When he was sentenced, he made a motion to remain free on bond while the appeal is litigated. The judge granted that motion today,” Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, told E! Online.

As a result, McTiernan will not have to report to jail to begin his sentence on Jan. 15, as previously required. Instead, he was granted a $50,000 bond until the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules on his petition to withdraw his plea.

McTiernan helmed some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters in the 1980s and ’90s. Aside from Die Hard and Die Hard with a Vengence, his credits include Predator, The Hunt for Red October and the 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair.

Should the appeal flame out, McTiernan would be the highest profile figure to face legal comeuppance from the Pellicano affair.

The so-called Private Eye to the Stars, Pellicano is awaiting trial on a 110-count indictment accusing him of racketeering and wire-fraud charges for allegedly gaining unauthorized access to law enforcement databases to dig up criminal histories and driving records of various individuals.

Authorities also claim the gumshoe led a conspiracy to record the phone conversations of such stars as Sylvester Stallone, Garry Shandling and Keith Carradine, among other Hollywood players, to give his clients a “tactical advatange” in their various court battles. posted by PInow.com Staff

A private investigator told police that a client who was trying to free her son from prison showed up at a meeting with a bag full of fake cash.

Jim Mabry’s tip to Clayton police led them to charge Marcia Grimsley, 59, with possession of counterfeit money. According to police, Grimsley was using her home computer to print imitation $100 bills.

Detectives tailed Grimsley after the meeting Nov. 9 and found thousands of smeared, yellowed mugs of Benjamin Franklin on fake $100 bills stashed in her car.

“She swore she’d just gotten it out of the bank,” said Clayton police Capt. Jon Gerrell.

No one answered the door at Grimsley’s home Wednesday afternoon. Her attorney, Barry Winston, said Grimsley maintains her innocence.

Grimsley captured headlines in 2004 after Virginia prosecutors charged her with conspiring with her son to hire a hit man to kill his wife. Grimsley, then a first-grade teacher at McGee’s Crossroads Elementary School outside Benson, is the widow of Joe Grimsley, a political heavyweight who twice served as a Cabinet member in Gov. Jim Hunt’s administration.

After Grimsley spent 10 months in jail, prosecutors let her off the hook because of her health problems. Grimsley promised to stay away from her daughter-in-law and grandchildren. Her son, David Ashford, is serving life in prison for his part in the murder-for-hire plot.

Grimsley has worked to free her son since her recent return to Johnston County.

For months, Grimsley has been stopping in the Johnston County Courthouse disguised in a wig and sunglasses, asking for help in her son’s case, according to several clerks.

She hired Mabry, of Kinston, in October to dig up evidence in the criminal case against her son. Mabry said the relationship began to sour when Grimsley asked him to pay people to recant the testimony that helped convict her son. He hoped she was just joking.

But on Nov. 9, Mabry said, she met him at a Cracker Barrel with a satchel full of fake cash.

“She had a fit trying to tell me it was real money,” Mabry said. “She’d been sitting up night after night, getting no sleep to print it.”

Mabry challenged her to prove a bill was real by using it at the Cracker Barrel. Grimsley then jumped in her car and left, Mabry said.

Mabry phoned Gerrell at the Clayton Police Department, worried that Grimsley would go on a shopping spree on her way home.

An officer’s question

Clayton police Detective John Coley spotted her car about 20 minutes later near her home on Fayetteville Street. He followed her and asked whether she had fake money in her car.

According to a search warrant, Grimsley showed him the fake cash, then brought him inside to see her equipment. There, Coley spotted three genuine $100 bills taped to a sheet of paper face down on a copying machine.

The Secret Service confiscated $218,000 in imitation cash, along with Grimsley’s computer equipment.

Federal charges are pending against her, said Robert Trumbo, resident agent in charge of the Secret Service in Raleigh. Grimsley could spend up to 20 years in prison if convicted of manufacturing counterfeit money.

Clayton police charged her last week with possessing the tools to make fake money. Grimsley posted a $5,000 bail and went home, according to court records. She paid in cash. posted by PInow.com Staff

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Detroit man was arraigned at the 41-B
District Court on multiple charges, including manslaughter with a
vehicle after police said he hit a pedestrian with his car and dragged
his body nearly four miles.

Arthur Bishop Haynes Jr., 24, faces multiple charges including causing
an accident with a revoked or suspended license, manslaughter with a
vehicle and failure to stop at the scene of the accident that caused death.

Police said Haynes struck Joseph Candela, 53, of Harper Woods with his
car at Gratiot Avenue, near Metropolitan Parkway, in Clinton Township
Saturday morning and dragged him to a Fraser neighborhood near 13 Mile
and Kelly Roads.
Click Here

Police said Haynes was driving a Chevrolet Lumina, and fled the scene
of the accident.

Candela was dead when police arrived.

A tipster, who is also a private investigator, led police to arrest Haynes.
The unidentified tipster told Local 4 News that he followed a
suspicious-looking vehicle with a hole in the windshield to a Detroit
location and called the Michigan State Police.

The arraignment was an emotional scene on Monday as both the victim’s
and defendant’s families there.

“The family didn’t do anything. The young man made a mistake, but he
compounded it by leaving the scene of an accident. Somebody died­this
is serious,” said the victim’s brother Frank Candela.

Haynes entered a mute plea. When you stand mute, it means you concede
nothing, and it’s as if you entered a not guilty plea.

Haynes bond was set for $10,000 cash.

“He murdered somebody and carelessly drove away, and for
$10,000­that’s ridiculous,” said the victim’s brother Tony Candela.

Haynes could face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.

The judge will set a preliminary examination date within the next two weeks.

Hanceville hires private investigator

By Noah Chandler
The Cullman Times

The Hanceville City council is currently paying a private investigator to look into activities that happened under former Fire and Rescue Chief Mike Watson.

“We were aware that there was probably some equipment missing,” councilman Hubert Jones said, explaning why the council hired the investigator.

Mayor Katie Whitley said private investigator Daniel Howell started work Sept. 26 and as of Friday, Nov. 3 has earned 8,455.84, including a 500 retainer fee. She said Howell is paid 40 per hour and gets reimbursed for fuel costs.

According to pay records turned in by Howell, he worked a total of 80.5 hours from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2 earning 2,720. From Oct. 3-19 Howell worked 111.5 hours earning 4,460. Howell was reimbursed 775.84 for mileage from Sept. 26 to Oct. 19.

Whitley said the council voted Sept. 24 to hire Howell, who started work two days later. She said Jones introduced the motion at the city council meeting.

Jones said he did not want to involve the police department in the investigation out of fear they would “be conflicted.” He said a friend had referred Howell and after speaking with him, Jones presented the idea to the council.

Whitley said the motion to hire Howell passed unanimously without discussion.

Jones said the investigation would not be a long one and might be completed within the next week.

“I think he (Howell) has some loose ends to tie up, but it won’t be a long-term deal. I would think he has another 3-5 days left.”

According to pay check stubs signed by Whitley, Howell has worked a total of 192 hours and driven 1,939.60 miles during the six-week period. Whitley said the city will continue with Howell’s service until all evidence is collected regarding Watson and his dismissal.

“As soon as the investigation is finished we will send out a press release disclosing his findings

Parental alienation is a growing form of child abuse occurring in the world that is rarely addressed.

It affects a child’s mental and emotional well-being and creates a world of hatred toward a parent, typically in a high-conflict divorce situation. It deprives children of being loved by both parents, according to Sarvy Emo, spokesperson for Parental Alienation Awareness Organization.

Courts around the world aren’t recognizing the issue. Children are influencing court decisions after being manipulated by one parent, then leaving the other parent feeling abandoned.

Michael Peterson, Plano father of Katie and Emma, said he has been a victim of this growing dilemma.

After a custody battle in March 2005 didn’t go the way his ex-wife, Tedra Erickson, intended, the story began.

Collin County Judge Curt Henderson ruled Peterson and Erickson were required to meet at the Plano police station to exchange the children. In April, Peterson went to meet his girls, and they never showed.

After a year of no word where his children were, Peterson hired Private Investigator Phillip Cline.

In September 2006, Cline located his girls in Tralee, Ireland, a remote town of 2,500. They were living with Erickson and her mother Kay.

It finally became Peterson’s time to see his girls.

Peterson said a trial took place in Ireland under the rules of the Hague Child Abduction Convention. Those rules help prevent international child abduction and provide a secure legal framework for cross-border contact among children and their parents when families separate.

He said a psychologist interviewed Katie and Emma together for 45 minutes.

“Through testimony, both girls said there was nothing in the United States they ever liked,” Peterson said.

He had one afternoon alone with his children in the foreign town of Tralee.

“They were both acting defiant,” Peterson said. “My oldest, Katie, was very angry at me, saying that I was terrible and had done everything bad in the world.”

Peterson said he attempted to buy Emma an iPod, and she wouldn’t accept anything from him.

“It was terribly hard to hear,” Peterson said. “They told me they hate me and never wanted to see me again. Tedra told them lies and bad-mouthed me.”

Peterson was left with a difficult decision. He said he didn’t want to force the girls to be miserable so he sent them home.

Erickson was unavailable for comment.

His one afternoon alone with his girls was ruined.

“It breaks my heart,” Peterson said. “All I wanted to do was take them away with me.”

Peterson came back to Plano, where he awaited the judge’s decision to send his children back under the Hague Convention.

Peterson said the judge’s ruling was shocking. The judge said his children seemed settled in Ireland, so he wasn’t going to force them to leave.

“They don’t believe in parental alienation,” Peterson said. “They wouldn’t even let us bring it up in court. What Tedra has done is illegal.”

A Collin County grand jury indicted Erickson and her mother on Interference with Child Custody, a state-jail felony.

Now, Peterson’s only hope to see his girls is through extradition.

Cline said out of 16 years as a child rescue investigator, this is one of the most aggressive cases of parental alienation he has seen.

“I bring kids back from all over the world,” Cline said. “In this case, these children are going to need extreme psycho-therapy. I believe the children will come back to their father, but it won’t be kisses and roses. It will be a long, hard road for the entire family.”

Dr. Richard Warshack, author of “Divorce Poison Protecting the Parent-Child Relationship,” a best-selling book on parental alienation, said in most abduction cases children are easily convinced the other parent is a bad person to be around.

“It can happen very quickly, and it’s very distressing,” said Warshack, who is also a clinical professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. “Families need a psychologist to heal the damaged relationship.”

He said parents go to many lengths to undermine a child’s love and respect toward another parent. He said the “favorite” parent lies and exaggerates and speaks badly about the “rejected” parent.

“I’ve seen children grow up and be depressed as a result of parental alienation,” Warshack said. “They feel used by the parent they favored, but also angry with the parent they rejected because they think they didn’t try hard enough.”

In most cases the parent that was favored tells the children the other parent doesn’t want to see them anymore.

“I want my girls back,” Peterson said. “I’ve looked into intense therapy. It’s going to be hard on the kids and tough on me.”

Peterson said he is frustrated with the amount of time it is taking to have Erickson and her mother extradited and his children’s safe return home. He said he is unsure if Ireland will fight extradition.

“I know if I would have done the same thing, being a male, I would have been brought back a long time ago,” Peterson said.

Curtis Howard, Collin County assistant district attorney, said his side of the paperwork to complete the extradition process is complete and he is waiting on the Department of Justice and the State Department to do final approval. He said he is unsure what the status is in Ireland.

“It’s hard to tell when they will be extradited,” Howard said. “I’m hoping it will happen in the next couple of weeks.”

Cline said there have been some communication errors between Collin County and the federal government.

“This has been unusually long,” Cline said. “They are working very hard, but there has been a lot of confusion on statute.”

Jeff Rich, Plano Police detective who helped locate the children, said this case isn’t over.

“My goal is to make sure the children are safe,” Rich said. “We want the offenders brought to justice. We are working toward extradition, but at this point it is out of our hands.”

Peterson said he is surprised more charges have not been filed on Erickson. He said she forged documents in order to take the girls out of the country.

“Kidnapping is exactly what it is,” Peterson said. “The D.A. should indict her on everything under the sun.”

Rich said indictments are a matter of the elements of the offense.

“We fit the offense for the crime committed,” Rich said. “Interference with Child Custody is the crime that occurred.”

Howard said Erickson will be extradited on the single criminal charge. He said any federal crimes she committed are out of the state’s hands.

Cline said he has seen courts up charges when parents run away despite a court order.

“I would not be surprised if Howard ups the charges,” Cline said. “This is really egregious what this mother has done. She has poisoned the brains of her kids.”

Cline described parental alienation as an epidemic.

“It’s time to start sending a message,” Cline said. “You do it — you’ll go to jail.”

By Stephanie Flemmons, Staff Writer

In a follow-up to this week’s story “A Dick Move”, private investigators won a battle—but not the war—to ensure all their travel expenses are paid by the state when they do public defense work.

Washington County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Kohl ruled in a hearing May 10 that the state Office of Public Defense Services should pay all travel expenses for Tillamook P-I Dave Panter while he investigates an aggravated murder case for a public defender in Hillsboro.

The OPDS, which pays public defenders and the investigators they hire, had refused to pay Panter $34 an hour plus gas to travel to Hillsboro. They told the public defender, Ray Cassel, to save money by hiring a local investigator instead. Cassel challenged the decision in court and won, saying Panter was the best investigator for the job.

Private eyes from around the state were watching the case. They say in capital murder cases like this one, it’s important for public defenders to hire the best investigators available, regardless of where they live. The difference could be life or death for impoverished suspects who rely on public defense.

Investigators hoped the challenge would set a legal precedent, but Judge Kohl said his decision applies to the current case only. Cassel is defending Ricardo Serrano, a 31-year-old Aloha man accused of killing Melody Dang and her two sons in suburban Washington County last year. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Panter told WW he’s pleased he can help defend the case, but he had hoped to accomplish more by challenging OPDS. Instead they could try to deny travel expenses for investigators again in the future.

“I was kind of hoping it would be a cause célèbre for the entire investigative community,” Panter said. “But it didn’t go there. It kind of left the door open.”

By ALEX HEBERT, SUN MEDIA

Counterfeiters beware: The NHL’s version of big brother is watching you.

The NHL has a private investigator at games and around town, sniffing out counterfeiters trying to sell you that “authentic” jersey for $20.

“Any time the level of excitement goes up, people are out there looking to capitalize on that and we focus on trying to limit the amount of counterfeit products being sold in our Stanley Cup markets,” said Michael Gold, an attorney for NHL Enterprises.

He says an NHL private investigator is working alongside the RCMP in an attempt to curb the spike in counterfeit merchandise that accompanies the Stanley Cup final.

The investigator follows the teams along their Stanley Cup run, keeping an eye on stadium parking lots during games and flea markets and other commercial outlets on off days.

“(Counterfeit merchandise) can be anywhere,” Gold said. “But, generally, they’re being sold out of knapsacks or the back of vans.”

SUBSTANDARD QUALITY

Apart from hurting legitimate businesses, buying knock-off merchandise bites the consumer because the quality is usually substandard.

Gold says the most popular counterfeit items are T-shirts and ball caps and to always buy them from legitimate retailers.

Consumers should look for an NHL hologram sticker on their merchandise and be wary of ripped tags and too-good-to-be-true prices.

Gold remembers one Buffalo fan who bought a T-shirt that had Sabres spelled incorrectly on it. “That would be telltale sign,” he said.

SHAH ALAM: A private investigator hired by Altantuya Shaariibuu told the High Court here Wednesday that the part-time model married political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda in Hong Kong almost two years before her murder.

Ang Chong Beng, 56, the prosecution’s fifth witness, said the marriage was told to him by Altantuya.

However, when questioned further by Abdul Razak’s counsel Wong Kian Kheong, Ang said he did not ask to see any document from Altantuya to prove that she was married to Abdul Razak and neither did she show it to him.

Ang said: “I did not and could not be bothered to ask about her marriage.”

When asked whether Ang, as a private investigator with 22 years of experience fully accepted what Altantuya told him, he said yes.

Ang said he did not know whether they married in September 2006 and did not investigate to confirm it.

He said the first time he knew that Abdul Razak was married was on Oct 13, 2006 but did not know who his wife was and he also had no knowledge of Altantuya’s religion. But he knew Abdul Razak was a Muslim.

He said he was also aware that under Malaysia’s Islamic law, Muslims could only marry Muslims.

While Ang was answering the question, Abdul Razak was seen mimicking him as though he was amused and then smiled at the journalists in court.

Wong: On Oct 13, 2006 after you knew that Abdul Razak was a Muslim and that his wife was not Altantuya, were you suspicious that Altantuya had lied that Abdul Razak was her husband?

Ang: No.

Wong: As a private investigator for Altantuya, did you advise her that she could not marry a Muslim under Malaysia’ Islamic law?

Ang: No.

Ang said he also did not ask his client to seek legal opinion from a lawyer on the marriage.

During re-examination by Deputy Public Prosecutor Manoj Kurup whether it was required of a private investigator, in looking for someone’s address, to also look for certain facts like the person’s marital status, Ang replied: “We don’t have the power to ask (such questions).”

Manoj: Do you care or not?

Ang: I only believe it.

Manoj: So, it’s none of your business?.

Ang: None of my business. Normally, I don’t care. If someone tells me that he or she is married, that’s enough. If there’s divorce, we need to see the certificate.”

Ang said in September 2006, Altantuya paid him US$600 for the task of finding out and reporting to her whether Abdul Razak was home in Malaysia or abroad.

He confirmed receiving the payment on Oct 2, 2006.

Ang admitted that Altantuya had promised to pay him for his services after getting money from Abdul Razak.

He said Altantuya and two other Mongolian women had gone to Abdul Razak’s office in Bangunan Lembaga Getah Asli Malaysia more than three times.

Ang said during each visit, Abdul Razak refused to meet Altantuya.

Wong: When the accused refused to meet Altantuya, did you suspect that she was not his wife?

Ang: No.

Wong: Were you also not suspicious that the three Mongolian women were disturbing the accused?

Ang: Yes.

Wong: Do you know that disturbance can be categorised as intimidation, which is an offence under Malaysian law?

Ang: I know.

Ang was then queried by Wong on his and Altantuya’s appearance at his client’s house on Oct 17, 2006 which counsel regarded as uninvited.

Ang agreed with Wong’s suggestion that Abdul Razak’s house was private property and that an unsolicited visit could tantamount to trespassing.

Wong: From your experience as a private investigator, when one enters a private property at 11 at night without permission, what offence could have been committed?

Ang: I don’t know.

Wong: You have testified that Altantuya was taken by police to the station and wanted to make a police report. Did you advise that there was no basis for making a report?

Ang: There was.

More questions were posed to Ang about Altantuya wanting to get the US$600 from Abdul Razak to pay him for his services, including what would happen if the accused refused to give the money.

“Altantuya said she would tell about everything to Abdul Razak’s wife, his daughter, TV3 and reporters,” said Ang.

Wong: Wasn’t that extortion?

Ang: No.

Wong: Did you know that by Oct 17, 2006, the accused’s wife and their daughter knew about his affair with Altantuya?

Ang: I did not.

Ang also disagreed with counsel that if a sum of US$500,000 was paid by Abdul Razak, part of it would be used to pay him (Ang) for his services.

He also denied issuing a threat to Abdul Razak through SMS and leaving a voice mail in order to extort money from him.

In Tuesday’s hearing, Ang told the court that Altantuya had asked for money from Abdul Razak in the presence of private investigator P. Balasubramaniam and his assistant K. Suras Kumar outside the police station late at night on Oct 17, 2006.

Ang said for as long as he knew Altantuya, he was never told about the threat from Balasubramaniam and Suras Kumar that she would be killed.

At the end of cross-examination by Wong, Ang stressed that he did not abet Altantuya and the other two Mongolian women in threatening Abdul Razak and also denied making a false police report on their marriage.

Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 30, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 35, both from the federal police Special Action Squad, are charged with the murder of Altantuya, 28, at a location between Lot 12843 and Lot 16735, Mukim Bukit Raja, here, between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20, 2006.

Abdul Razak is charged with abetting the murder and the offence is alleged to have been committed in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur between 9.54am on Oct 18 and 9.45pm on Oct 19, 2006. – Bernama

The World Today – Tuesday, 1 May , 2007 12:50:00
Reporter: Jane Cowan 

ELEANOR HALL: An alleged conman accused of defrauding Victorian investors of millions of dollars will be extradited back to Australia after being arrested in Canada.

Gabrial Pennicott was nabbed in British Columbia after disgruntled investors hired a private investigator to track him halfway around the world.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is continuing to investigate but one consumer advocate has criticised the authority for being too slow to act.

And it’s unclear whether the latest development makes it any more likely that investors will get their money back.

In Melbourne, Jane Cowan reports.

JANE COWAN: Retired Melbourne school teacher Frances McMenomy lost her mother’s inheritance when she parted with $300,000 after attending a seminar run by a very convincing businessman called Gabrial Pennicott.

FRANCES MCMENOMY: I thought I was investing in a project to develop a block of units on Phillip Island, but that project was a blind, it was never meant to be. I’ve had to sell my home and pay back the various loan companies and things.

I’ve settled everything. I owe nothing now, but I don’t own my own home anymore.

JANE COWAN: In desperation, Frances McMenomy and a small group of other out-of-pocket investors eventually hired a private investigator to track down the man who sold them the scheme.

Gabrial Pennicot has now been arrested in British Columbia, wanted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on 47 corporate related charges.

The Attorney-General Philip Ruddock promises the Australian Government will extradite him.

But the West Australian Consumer Advocate Denise Brailey says it shouldn’t have taken so long to act against a man who’s thought to have taken a total of almost $20 million from innocent investors.

DENISE BRAILEY: I have no idea why it’s taken this amount of time. It’s disappointing that these cases aren’t dealt with when the first complaints start to arrive.

JANE COWAN: Over the last 15 years Denise Brailey helped expose financial scandals in three states before she discovered the work of Gabrial Pennicott.

She says the first complaints were made about the one-time associate of discredited property promoter Henry Kaye in 2001 and his seminars were held inside the ASIC building in Melbourne.

DENISE BRAILEY: Delays of this sort can mean that the person of interest is actually wandering over to other parts of the world.

There’s people overseas at risk then. What other activities these people may be up to, we don’t know.

JANE COWAN: What’s your advice to people who’ve lost money about hiring their own investigators as opposed to leaving it to ASIC?

DENISE BRAILEY: Well I think gathering groups of this nature around Australia and putting them together for the past 10 years, and I’ve actually been encouraging them to do that because ASIC had lack of will, a distinct lack of will to look into anymore than 17 cases of criminal interest.

There was only 17 prosecutions. They say there was 95 per cent success rate. That mean they only prosecuted 18. So there was a deplorable lack of investigations.

JANE COWAN: ASIC turned down an invitation to respond to Denise Brailey’s criticisms.

Graeme Samuel chairs the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

GRAEME SAMUEL: Look they proliferate all around the world and particularly with the ubiquitous nature of the Internet; they’re becoming a bit more common and popping up through the Internet.

JANE COWAN: How can people avoid these sort of things? Because investors in this case say that they believe they did their due diligence, that they were given guarantees in writing, 100 per cent guarantees.

GRAEME SAMUEL: Look, I think the first thing is to be very careful about parting with your money. There is no such thing as a get rich quick scheme that is really genuine.

So if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is.

ELEANOR HALL: That’s ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel ending that report by Jane Cowan.