A year-and-a-half years in prison for a bandit to tie

Archival Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin
Ronald Weinberg was free during his long trial, as we see here in the palais de justice de Montréal in 2014. He was jailed after having been found guilty.

Michael Nguyen

Thursday, 8 march, 2018 01:00

UPDATE
Thursday, 8 march, 2018 01:00

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The founder of the production house Cinar has finally spent less time behind bars than sitting to stand trial for a large fraud of $ 120 million that he had earned nine years of penitentiary.

Ronald Weinberg has lived a little over a year and a half in prison, compared to his trial before a jury for a period of two years, a canadian record.

It was stretched for so long that a juror had fallen pregnant and had given birth, while the two prosecutors, Matthew Ferguson and Céline Bilodeau received an award of excellence for having managed to carry out the procedures up to the end.

But after he was sentenced in June 2016, Weinberg, age 66, was recently awarded a semi-freedom during which he will work as a business consultant for friends, in addition to volunteering.

Weinberg had been convicted of embezzling millions of dollars of Cinar, a flagship of quebec known for the cartoon Caillou and The Paddington Bear, among others.

A large part of the money was diverted into an offshore account in the Bahamas, from 1997 to 2005.

A prisoner model

“This fraud has led to the fall of Cinar and thousands of investors have lost the savings of their pensions, note the parole Board of Canada [PBC] in its most recent report. Your record shows that you you are shown to be indifferent in the face of these investors. “

Weinberg was sentenced to almost nine years in the penitentiary by judge Pierre Labrie, who had pointed to the “greed” of the fraudster.

Behind bars, Weinberg has not participated in rehabilitation programs, but it has worked for a few months in the kitchens of the penitentiary. In January 2017, however, he stopped everything to focus on her appellate record, indicates the PBC. Because even condemned, Weinberg continues to challenge both the guilty verdict, that his sentence.

“You have a great network in the community, you have no debt and a pension fund “, one can read in the report.

No risk

Despite this good behavior, Weinberg is still a lack of empathy for his victims, laments the PBC.

“The amounts involved in the fraud were significant, and your actions as illegal and immoral have caused serious damage to many investors who lost their savings,” the report says.

But the role of the PBC is limited to assessing the risk of violent recidivism. As there was no evidence that a release would endanger the safety of the public, the Commission has not had the choice to give Weinberg a semi-freedom.

This plan allows a convicted person to “participate continuously in activities in the community,” says the PBC on its website. It will also allow Weinberg to prepare for full parole.

During this period, Weinberg must, however, comply with several conditions.

In addition to being forced to do two days of volunteer work per week, it will be prohibited to manage the finances or the investments of other people, and he will not be able to be in contact with people who are involved in criminal activities.

What the parole Board said

“According to you, you may need to do business with large players in the industry and you have been largely influenced by the mentality which prevailed. “

“According to you, your business success has fed your feeling of power and invincibility. “

“The Commission has taken into consideration your involvement in your correctional plan, greater accountability for your actions and your participation in the restorative justice program, that you seem to have enjoyed it. “

“The Commission has taken into consideration that the transition home is going to supervise you during a significant period of time. “

“You have demonstrated your ability to comply with the rules and conditions [of freedom] in the past. “

“You still have work to do on your awareness and your empathy for your victims. “

“During your semi-freedom, we expect that you avoid being inactive, and that you make efforts to become a productive member of society. “