Prison parole officer: the [Gambling] addiction was just overpowering

Prison parole officer pleads guilty to breach of trust while on the job
By SUE YANAGISAWA, THE WHIG-STANDARD

A prison parole officer, suspended without pay from his job at Frontenac Institution since early January, when he was charged with criminal breach of trust and with counselling to commit an indictable offence, has pleaded guilty to one of the charges.

Michael Lawrence, 44, had his sentencing suspended. He was placed on probation for 20 months Friday, after he pleaded guilty in Kingston's Ontario Court of Justice to a single count of breach of trust, committed when he took $17,500 from an inmate -- a transaction that Lawrence characterized as a loan.

Belleville Crown attorney Lee Burgess, who was brought in to prosecute the case, withdrew the companion charge, however, which derived from the same inmate's claim that Lawrence tried to involve him in a conspiracy to kill his ex-wife and plant drugs on her and her boyfriend.

Lawrence told Justice Rommel Masse he was emphatically denying having proposed either crime.

The judge ordered Lawrence, while on probation, to participate in any assessment, counselling or treatment directed by his probation officer, especially counselling or treatment for his admitted gambling addiction. Masse added anger-management counselling on Burgess's suggestion and "in view of the acrimony that's been going on between you and your ex since 2008."

Burgess told Masse that Ontario Provincial Police were contacted by prison administrators late last year about the inmate's accusations. The man had come into contact with Lawrence as the result of his conviction in January 2009 on 15 counts of investment fraud in the Burlington- Oakville area. He'd swindled an estimated $3 million and was serving a 39-month sentence.

Burgess said the inmate told police he was being pressured by Lawrence for money and that Lawrence had told him he needed the cash because of expenses he'd incurred trying to gain custody of his young son.

Masse was told that the inmate arranged an initial transfer of $2,500 through Western Union, but Burgess said it went through in the name of one of Lawrence's co-workers, a man who, according to defence lawyer Peter Kemp, had discussed starting a business with the inmate after he was released from prison.

It had been agreed, the defence lawyer said, that his client was going to repay the inmate's money to that business.

Lawrence received a subsequent sum of $15,000 from the inmate while he was on a pass to Windsor, according to police investigators, but a later demand for $27,000 wasn't honoured.

During his interview with police, Burgess said, the inmate claimed that Lawrence had expressed great animosity toward his ex-wife, talked about having her killed and asked him to plant drugs to give her and her boy - friend the appearance of involvement in the drug subculture.


To assist him in setting them up, he said, Lawrence gave him personal information about both of them, including his ex-wife's address.

Masse was told that following his arrest, Lawrence admitted taking money from the inmate, but said it was to pay a gambling debt. Likewise, Burgess said, he confirmed that he'd given his inmate accuser information about his ex-wife and her boyfriend, but he said it was to have them "checked out" by one of the inmate's contacts.

No explanation was offered in court about what he'd meant by "checked out," but the prosecutor observed that it showed "at the very least, he used this inmate to try to get information" on his former partner.

In the end, however, Burgess conceded that the Crown was not in a position to prove the inmate's accusations with regard to anything but the money.

Kemp told the judge his client spent three nights in "the hole at Quinte" Detention Centre, where his background placed him in a precarious position in relation to the other prisoners.

Immediately after making bail, Masse was told, he sought out a program in Windsor to help with his gambling addiction and continues in counselling locally.

Kemp disclosed that Lawrence also found other full-time employment and now works as a carpenter for a local building company.

Given an opportunity to speak, the former parole officer told the judge, "I apologize for the actions of borrowing money," repeated that he's not guilty of plotting against his ex-wife and added, "I sincerely apologize for letting my addiction get the better of me."

Masse asked the nature of his gambling, whether he was betting at casinos or the track and Lawrence told him casinos.

"What were you thinking?" the judge asked pointedly.

Lawrence replied: "All I can say is, at the time, the addiction was just overpowering, I guess."

Both Kemp and Burgess joined in recommending that Lawrence's sentencing be suspended, but they diverged on probation. Kemp urged the judge to impose no more than a year of supervision on his client, observing that Law rence's bail conditions over the past 5 1/2months have been very strict. Burgess recommended 24 months of probation, arguing that supervision will help ensure that he continues to deal with his gambling problem.

He told Masse that he would have asked for jail except that "this is not a situation where the public purse has been defrauded."

Masse, in handing down sentence, said he appreciated that the Crown would have faced problems in prosecuting Lawrence without his guilty plea, chief among them the credibility of its key witness.

He told Lawrence by pleading guilty, "you've saved the public a considerable expenditure."

Masse also observed that while Correctional Service Canada has not officially fired him yet, "it's almost a certainty you'll be terminated."

Given the nature of the crime and Lawrence's self-professed gambling addiction, the judge said, "I'm of the view that 12 months is too short," but added 24 months might be more than is needed, settling on 20 months of probation.

During that time, Masse ordered that Lawrence not enter the property of any casino or race track. He additionally forbid him visiting online gambling sites. He's forbidden, as well, from communicating with his ex-wife, and must stay 200 metres away from her, her home, her work and place of education or training.