Globe and Mail : Disgraced lawyer jailed for money laundering

Disgraced lawyer jailed for money laundering

Tory power broker apologizes to court for his conduct

TIMOTHY APPLEBY | September 7, 2006

Toronto lawyer and convicted money launderer Peter Shoniker, a former Crown counsel and Conservative Party power broker who once bragged that his connections made him "untouchable," was sentenced yesterday to 15 months imprisonment.

Clad in a blue suit, Mr. Shoniker appeared stoic throughout much of the day-long presentence submissions, attended by many of his friends, including retired major-general Lewis MacKenzie.

And before Associate Chief Justice Douglas Cunningham of the Superior Court passed sentence, Mr. Shoniker apologized for his conduct, saying he felt "shame and embarrassment" at his disgrace, which will almost certainly result in his disbarment.

But as court officers prepared to handcuff him and lead him away, Mr. Shoniker's knees buckled and he slumped to the table behind defence lawyer Edward Greenspan, for whom he once articled.

Free on bail for the past two years, Mr. Shoniker, 52, was snared in an undercover RCMP sting and convicted of illegally shipping to a New York bank account $750,000 he believed was fleeced from a union pension fund.

As well, he swindled the undercover officer out of $50,000, which was repaid yesterday through a restitution cheque.

He pleaded guilty to both charges last month and was sentenced yesterday to concurrent jail terms of 15 months on each. He can apply for parole after serving one-third of his sentence, which will be served in a provincial rather than a federal institution.

Mr. Shoniker's co-accused, Babak (Bobby) Adeli Tabrizi, a 48-year-old Toronto jeweller who expedited the transactions, was sentenced to house arrest, accompanied by a range of restrictions, after entering a guilty plea earlier in the day.

Mr. Greenspan had sought a sentence of house arrest for his client, urging clemency for a man he described as an exemplary citizen before alcohol, prescription pills and a sleep disorder plunged him into what Mr. Greenspan termed "a fantasy world" and "downward spiral" that culminated in his arrest in June of 2004.

But Judge Cunningham decided otherwise, noting that a total of four fraudulent money shipments took place over a period of several months, and that Mr. Shoniker -- who joined Alcoholics Anonymous five months ago -- was probably sober when he orchestrated them.

As well, the judge concurred with special Crown counsel Jeffrey Manishen that deterrence should be the primary factor in imposing sentence.

Judge Cunningham was nonetheless clearly impressed by Mr. Shoniker's background before his fall from grace, and by the widespread support he enjoys from his many influential friends, whose collective testimony about his good character and charitable works was entered as evidence.

As well, the judge said he perceived genuine remorse.

"This is not the end of the road for you, Mr. Shoniker," he said. "You still have a life ahead of you."

Outside court, Mr. Manishen said he took no pleasure in seeing a fellow lawyer take such a tumble.

The message, he said, was clear.

"Don't break the law. It's fairly fundamental. Behave with honesty and integrity, respect your profession."

Mr. Greenspan appeared subdued, but not pessimistic.

"I expect Peter will rise from this," he said, adding that he thought an appeal was unlikely.

The case had its origins in wiretaps involving a much larger, and ultimately unrelated probe into a cocaine-importing conspiracy.

Mr. Shoniker was introduced to the undercover officer by former assistant Crown attorney Calvin Barry, who was not charged. And before his downfall, his legal, political and police connections were legion.

In the 1980s, he was the special prosecutor for a Toronto task force investigating organized crime, flaunting a vanity licence plate on his car that read: Jail4U.

After moving to private practice, Mr. Shoniker later represented the Niagara Police Commission at a long-running probe into police corruption.

His roster of clients also included disgraced former York Region police chief Brian Cousineau, who in 1998 pleaded guilty to breach of trust.