CANADA, THE INFORMANT PART FIVE: REFLECTIONS

OFF THE WIRE
BY: GALEN EAGLE
Source: thepeterboroughexaminer.com
"I'm not trying to come off as a do-gooder. I'm willing to look as bad as everyone else in the article. The difference is, at the end of the day, I stood up and did something about it."
This is the fifth in a series of exclusive articles by Examiner reporter Galen Eagle who interviews a local drug dealer who became an agent for the local police and brought down a circle of people in the Peterborough drug trade.
More than three years after he signed the police contract to become an undercover agent, 48-year-old Merv Monteith still carries the document in his pocket as a reminder of his former life.
For obvious reasons he won't say where he lives with his wife of nine years and six-year-old daughter but describes his new life with one word -quiet.
He's not in a state sponsored witness protection program. He used the money he made as an agent, nearly $100,000, to move his family to what he believes is a secure location.
In speaking with The Examiner, Monteith came with two requests. He wanted a double-double Tim Hortons coffee and wanted to begin his story from birth.
"I'm not hoping to gain anything. I'm just basically putting it out there, how something like this could happen, how somebody could become me," he said. "If you want to nip crime in the bud, do something more for your children. Set up programs for your kids because those are going to be your future criminals some day."
Monteith answered questions frankly without trying to sugarcoat his actions.
"I'm not trying to come off as a do-gooder. I'm willing to look as bad as everyone else in the article," he said. "The difference is, at the end of the day, I stood up and did something about it."
Despite putting away eight drug dealers for a combined 30 years in prison and taking an estimated $300,000 worth of drugs off the streets, Monteith remains conflicted.
He wonders out loud if he made a difference at all.
"Absolutely, he did," said city police officer Bob Campbell, the officer Monteith originally approached about becoming an agent. "If he feels conflicted, he shouldn't. It certainly was a big impact. We put away some pretty big dealers and people that were involved in the criminal gangs here...he basically dismantled the Bandidos motorcycle club from coming to Peterborough." (Note: police have confirmed another bike gang, The Outlaws, set up a clubhouse in Peterborough earlier this month).
Monteith's true character shone through as he committed to the investigation and followed through, Campbell said.
"Especially the people that he ended up targeting, there is a code there amongst them. You just don't do that," Campbell said. "He made a lot of sacrifices. Very few people ever do what Merv did and do it as effectively and as honestly as he did."
Det. Const. Ian Maxwell, a member of the city's drug unit, was also involved in Project Underground and calls Mo nteith's actions commendable.
"It's pretty remarkable. He stood up to a group that normally doesn't get stood up to by one of their own," he said. "He did what a lot of people wouldn't do."
The sheer volume of drugs taken off the street during the investigation was a major victory in itself, Maxwell said.
"When you are taking kilos of cocaine away, that's a significant amount of drugs that were destined to hit the street," he said.
Monteith fears people will focus too much on the money he received. That's not why he did it, he said.
With the exception of his wife and child, Monteith said the rest of his family wants nothing to do with him.
"I lost everyone. I doubt I have a friend in the world. I have nowhere to call home. Even my family turned their back on me," he said.
Had he done it for the money, he would have asked for a lot more, Monteith said.
"For me it wasn't greed. I wanted to know I had enough money to at least go away and be able to start over."
From day one, it was clear Monteith was motivated by personal reasons, Campbell said.
"It certainly wasn't about money. He had his reasons for doing it. He did them for the right reasons," Campbell said. "For what he did, he deserved to get paid for. He did things that would have costs us millions of dollars to do."
As for his future, Monteith said he wants to focus on raising his daughter and he plans on seeking a pardon for his past crimes.
He refuses to worry about those he has put away and said he won't live his life looking over his shoulders.
"If something is going to happen, it's going to happen. I can't spend the rest of my life running around in fear," he said. "I knew the consequences. It's not like everybody said it was going to be a bed of roses once it was all over."
geagle@peterboroughexaminer.com
2006-07 -The multi-agency Project Underground is formed to target Robert Pammett, then 58, and any association with the Bandidos outlaw motorcycle gang.
Sept. 20, 2007 -Merv Monteith, then 44, signs a contract to become undercover police agent 3951.
October 2007 -The Bandidos break up in Ontario, so Project Underground shifts its focus to the Peterborough drug trade.
March 26, 2008 -Police raid Robert Pammett's McNamara Rd. home and charge five Peterborough people and two men from Toronto and seize large amounts of cocaine.
March 28, 2008 -Following the raid on Pammett's house, more people are charged, amounting to just under a dozen individuals.
April 16, 2008 -Robin Hillis, 54, of Peterborough, pleads guilty to trafficking 5 ¾ ounces of cocaine and gets a two-year prison sentence. The federal Crown tells the court about confidential police informant 3951 for the first time.
April 25, 2008 -Robert Pammett's children, Cherie and Robert Pammett Jr., plead guilty to drug charges.
May 1, 2008 -Cherie Pammett, 34, gets 4 1/2years in prison for possessing nearly a kilo of packaged cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. Robert Pammett Jr., 21, gets two years for possessing 17 OxyContin pills for the purpose of trafficking, possessing a loaded restricted handgun and breaching his bail recognizance.
Oct. 9, 2008 -Peterborough's Brian Burrett, 41, pleads guilty to selling two kilos and 18 ounces of cocaine and gets a seven-year prison sentence minus five months of pre-sentence custody. The Crown names Monteith as the confidential agent in open court.
Oct. 30, 2008 -Benoit Lemieux, 37, of Toronto, pleads guilty to trafficking one kilogram of cocaine and possessing a loaded restricted handgun.
Jan. 7, 2009 -Ronald Crofts, 43, pleads guilty to trafficking cocaine.
Feb. 27, 2009 -Lemieux gets 44 months in prison, a sentence reflecting the two months he spent in pre-sentence custody.
Jan 30, 2009 -Monteith testifies in Pammett's preliminary hearing flanked by heavy security. It would be the only time Monteith's testimony would be heard in court.
March 10, 2009 -Crofts gets three years and three months in prison for selling one kilogram of cocaine.
March 11, 2009 -Pammett's case is committed to trial in Superior Court of Justice.
April 15, 2009 -The Crown withdraws all charges against Trevor Forster, 29, of Toronto, including conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, possession for the purpose of trafficking and two counts of possession of property obtained by crime.
Aug. 12, 2009 -Kenneth Hudson, 49, of Toronto, gets a four-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to trafficking one kilogram of cocaine.
March 12, 2010 -Pammett, now 60, pleads guilty to three counts of trafficking cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.
March 26, 2010 -Pammett gets sentenced to two years time-served, the equivalent of a four-year prison term, and is released from jail that day. The Crown withdraws nine other charges against Pammett, including a charge of conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance and several firearms offences. The Crown also withdraws all charges against Pammett's wife, Wanda Witkowski.