Loanshark Theodore has sentence bumped
Sept 13, 2005 14:29:59 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Sept 13, 2005 14:29:59 GMT -5
Loanshark Theodore has sentence bumped
Appeal court says probation insufficient, prescribes six months house arrest
ALLISON HANES
The Gazette
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Ted Nicholas Theodore isn't going to get off quite as easily as he thought.
After reviewing the convicted loanshark's sentence at the behest of the Crown, the Quebec Court of Appeal decided yesterday the $30,000 fine and two years probation he was handed last winter for more than 20 years of issuing loans at illegal interest rates "is not proportional to the seriousness of his crime."
The court of second instance has revoked his probation and ordered six months detention for the father of Montreal Canadiens goalie Jose Theodore.
But the 71-year-old will be allowed to serve his sentence in the community with an 11 p.m.-to-7 a.m. curfew, so he will not spend any time in jail.
Theodore, along with all his sons except the famed netminder, were charged with hundreds of counts of loansharking in June 2003, after a police bust.
He later pleaded guilty to only two charges: usury and possessing an unlicensed firearm.
It was revealed in court that Theodore ran his loansharking operation out of his Jarry St. wig shop for nearly two decades, initiating four of his sons into the business in the hope they would one day take over.
Videotape and wiretaps showed he commanded interest rates of between five per cent a week and 2,000 per cent per year, squeezing $80,000 from one borrower over 15 years on an $8,000 loan.
"The accused was at the head of an enterprise he controlled and which conducted its activities in a climate of violence," the three-judge appeals court panel wrote.
It also recalled that the crimes "were constant, organized and lucrative."
Theodore's four sons have all pleaded guilty to roles. Nicky and Roch Theodore were both fined. Frank and Ted Theodore Jr. are to be sentenced Monday.
Appeal court says probation insufficient, prescribes six months house arrest
ALLISON HANES
The Gazette
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Ted Nicholas Theodore isn't going to get off quite as easily as he thought.
After reviewing the convicted loanshark's sentence at the behest of the Crown, the Quebec Court of Appeal decided yesterday the $30,000 fine and two years probation he was handed last winter for more than 20 years of issuing loans at illegal interest rates "is not proportional to the seriousness of his crime."
The court of second instance has revoked his probation and ordered six months detention for the father of Montreal Canadiens goalie Jose Theodore.
But the 71-year-old will be allowed to serve his sentence in the community with an 11 p.m.-to-7 a.m. curfew, so he will not spend any time in jail.
Theodore, along with all his sons except the famed netminder, were charged with hundreds of counts of loansharking in June 2003, after a police bust.
He later pleaded guilty to only two charges: usury and possessing an unlicensed firearm.
It was revealed in court that Theodore ran his loansharking operation out of his Jarry St. wig shop for nearly two decades, initiating four of his sons into the business in the hope they would one day take over.
Videotape and wiretaps showed he commanded interest rates of between five per cent a week and 2,000 per cent per year, squeezing $80,000 from one borrower over 15 years on an $8,000 loan.
"The accused was at the head of an enterprise he controlled and which conducted its activities in a climate of violence," the three-judge appeals court panel wrote.
It also recalled that the crimes "were constant, organized and lucrative."
Theodore's four sons have all pleaded guilty to roles. Nicky and Roch Theodore were both fined. Frank and Ted Theodore Jr. are to be sentenced Monday.
