Ex-legion head gets house arrest for fraud

Ex-legion head gets house arrest for fraud
Former president took $21,385 from branch’s account
By STEVE BRUCE Court Reporter

A former president of the Royal Canadian Legion’s Dieppe branch in Waverley was given an 18-month conditional sentence Thursday for fraud and breach of trust.

Ronald Banks took $21,385 from a branch bank account to feed his gambling addiction.

"Gambling took a hold of me," the 66-year-old Windsor Junction man said at his sentencing hearing in Dartmouth provincial court.

"It’s had a terrible effect on my life and on the life of the legion. I’m very, very sorry for the harm I’ve done."

Crown attorney Perry Borden told the court that Banks used a debit card to withdraw funds from the account 73 times between September 2005 and June 2008.

Most of the unauthorized transactions were at pubs, the prosecutor said. The money came from an account that was intended for "rainy day" use.

Banks was president of the branch from January 2005 to December 2006. He resigned as past-president in March 2008.

Court was told that Banks repaid the legion $11,800 of the missing money in July 2008.

A cheque for the remaining $9,585 was deposited with the court Thursday under a joint sentencing recommendation accepted by Judge Ted Tax.

Banks has one previous conviction for fraud, from 1991, for which he received eight months in jail and a year’s probation.

Defence lawyer Lindsay McFadden said her client has been taking part in counselling for his gambling addiction for the past year and a half. She said the retiree volunteers in his church and, along with his wife, offers assistance to an elderly couple in Lower Sackville.

"He hit rock-bottom with this offence and has to take a lot of steps to begin correcting this wrong," McFadden said. "He wants to keep giving back to his community."

Seven members of the Dieppe branch’s executive sat in the front rows of the gallery for the hearing.

"Unfortunately, several of our veterans have gone to their graves without knowing the disposition of this case," the branch’s current president, Arlene Frizzell, said in a victim impact statement.

"We have also had members transfer to other branches and others who did not want to be associated with this branch because of the actions of a trusted member.

"In passing sentence, we hope you will take into consideration the damage that has been wrought against the veterans and members and integrity of our branch."

The judge said the fraud was perpetrated over an extended period of time against an organization "built on trust, confidence and collegiality."

No sentence will repair the betrayal felt by legion members, Tax said, but a conditional sentence strikes a balance between denunciation, deterrence and rehabilitation of the offender.

Banks will be on house arrest for the first six months of his conditional sentence. He can only leave his home on Whites Lane for medical emergencies and appointments, legal appointments, counselling sessions, religious services, volunteer work with his church or the elderly couple and three hours a week for personal needs.

He is forbidden from consuming alcohol or drugs for the entire 18 months and can’t go within 50 metres of the Waverley legion.