‘Guilt by association': Attempts to send Hells Angels gambling probe player back to Italy, halted
A man sentenced as part of a Hells Angels' gambling den investigation, which uncovered alleged ties to the Figliomeni crime family, has been granted a judicial review as the government attempts to send him back to Italy.
The decision comes more than a year after the Minister of Public Safety decided Giorgio Campagna, 62, a permanent resident in Canada, should be referred for an admissibility hearing with the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
'(It was) found that the severity of the applicant's actions and their impact on public safety outweighed the concerns the applicant had raised about the adverse consequences of his removal from Canada,' read court documents, referring to the 2023 decision.
Now though, federal court Justice John Norris ruled a judge needs to look into the matter after discovering some potential flaws.
'This application for judicial review will be allowed, (the former) decision will be set aside and the matter will be remitted for redetermination by a different decision-maker,' he wrote in his findings.
Campagna pleaded guilty to keeping a common gaming house in March 2021 after he was arrested in December 2019.
The arrest came as part of an OPP probe, dubbed Project Hobart, into the Hells Angels alleged online sports gambling ring and gambling den at 680 Silver Creek Blvd., in Mississauga.
The investigation has been in the news lately after Craig 'Truck' McIIquham, a Hells Angel charged in the operation, was gunned down in a targeted shooting outside a Burlington Mandarin at the end of April.
As part of Campagna's plea, three counts of bookmaking and the commission of a crime of an offence for a criminal organization charge were withdrawn.
For his crimes he received a conditional discharge, which essentially equates to probation.
Project Hobart resulted in 28 arrests and alleged the group made $131 million over five years in the illegal gambling space.
The probe used intercepted private communications and surveillance to allege the Mississauga unit was owned and operated by Raffaele Simonelli, Serafino Barone, Ralph Elammar and Dimitris Kellsis.
All charges against the four, including firearm, betting house and bookmaking allegations, were stayed.
When police searched the café in December 2019, seven video gaming machines were seized.
For months Campagna went to collect cash from the machines and discussed their maintenance, the investigation showed.
One conversation indicated that one week the proceeds amounted to $7,440, of which he retained about 20 per cent, court documents allege.
When search warrants were executed at Campagna's home and car, investigators found $79,020 of which Campagna agreed, of this amount all but $3,235 was obtained by crime.
Court documents pointed to a 2023 report prepared by the CBSA suggesting there were reasonable grounds to believe that Campagna is inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which refers to 'organized criminality' and 'engaging in an illegal gaming enterprise.'
The inland enforcement officer alleged Campagna was a member of an illegal gaming enterprise with ties to both the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and the Figliomeni crime group.
'The officer found that the applicant was a 'midtier' and trusted member of the criminal organization …(and) had direct contact with senior members of the illegal gaming operation,' court documents read. 'The officer also found that (Campagna) had … jeopardized the safety and security of Canadian society.'
However Norris ruled the CBSA went 'well beyond' anything mentioned in Campagna's guilty plea or agreed statement of facts.
'I agree with the applicant that the delegate's decision is unreasonable in two key respects: the assessment of the applicant's criminality and the assessment of the applicant's personal circumstances,' it reads. 'The reasoning process appears to be nothing but guilt by association.'
The court heard how a delegate of the Minister of Public Safety used the weapons seized from a separate mafia probe into the Figliomeni crime group, called Project Sindicato, to conclude Campagna's actions warranted a referral for an admissibility hearing, despite him never being charged as a part of Sindicato, Norris also found Campagna's ability to communicate in Italy and receive treatment were not properly considered.
For his part, Campagna said he's been in Canada since age five, but has never sought full citizenship.
The court also heard his claims that he's remorseful and called his involvement in the crimes a 'relatively minor offence.'
His family, including his mother, who is suffering from dementia, his common-law partner, siblings, children and grandchildren all live in Canada.
The court also heard from Campagna that he has a litany of illnesses, no friends in Italy and does not speak the language.
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