"A Toronto-area lawyer who allegedly counselled fugitive Ryan Wedding to murder an FBI witness is not safe out there and risks being assassinated if he's released on bail, an Ontario court has been told. Deepak Paradkar appeared from the prisoner box in a downtown Toronto court Friday for the third straight day of a bail hearing. Paradkar, 62, was arrested last month and faces extradition to the U.S. amid allegations he played a key role in Wedding's purported murderous drug-trafficking empire."
"According to U.S. prosecutors, Wedding and his second-in-command, Andrew Clark, gave Paradkar expensive watches and cash drops to play a multi-faceted role in their network. Authorities allege Paradkar exploited his title as lawyer to gather intelligence on behalf of Wedding and also helped identify trucking networks to smuggle cocaine from Los Angeles to Canada. What's more, U.S. authorities accuse Paradkar of advising Wedding to have a former ally-turned-FBI informant killed, to ensure the criminal case against Wedding would fall apart."
"Heather Graham, a lawyer for the Department of Justice Canada told the court that as long as Paradkar faces legal proceedings, he remains a huge liability to Wedding's organization, which has been linked to dozens of murders. Wedding's network is highly motivated to prevent Paradkar from standing trial in California, Graham told Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Bawden. There's no telling what would happen to him, his family, anyone connected to him."
Deepak Paradkar, 62, was arrested last month and faces extradition to the U.S. on allegations of playing a key role in Ryan Wedding's violent drug-trafficking network. U.S. prosecutors allege Wedding and his second-in-command, Andrew Clark, gave Paradkar expensive watches and cash drops to perform multiple roles, including gathering intelligence, identifying trucking networks to smuggle cocaine from Los Angeles to Canada, and exploiting his lawyer title. Authorities accuse Paradkar of advising Wedding to have a former ally-turned-FBI informant killed. Canadian prosecutors warned that Wedding's organization, linked to dozens of murders, could target Paradkar, his family or associates if he is released.
Read at www.cbc.ca
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]