The cost of harpooning the mostly Asian loan sharks at British Columbia's casinos outweighs the benefits.
That's the opinion of Ed Rampone, the former senior bureaucrat who was responsible for looking into wrongdoing at those facilities.
In an exclusive interview, Rampone confirmed organized crime figures do frequent casinos.
But do such places have a "ton of criminal activity" connected to those gangsters, as the ex-commander of the RCMP's now-defunct anti-illegal gaming team has charged?
Well, that's where Rampone and Fred Pinnock differ.
In October, Pinnock went on the record to accuse the RCMP of "playing ostrich" about the problems inside legal gaming facilities.
He acknowledged the British Columbia Lotteries Corp. and civil service inspectors who are, in practice, responsible for those facilities are "very competent."
But he questioned whether they had the "mandate and resources effectively target the criminal activity going on within these environments," stressing the need for "well-resourced law enforcement units" to handle that task.
However, Rampone, who was in charge of those civil service inspectors, said the government's rigorous screening process for gaming industry workers makes sure anyone with connections to organized crime isn't hired.
He added the province has been "fairly effective at closing the door" on money laundering.
And the government has done a good job of deterring loan sharking inside casinos by, for example, barring the passing of cash or chips on gaming floors.
But Rampone said, when he was in government, not a lot of resources were spent on catching those loans sharks because such investigations would have sucked up time and money better used to stamp out more serious crimes.
Ramone said catching loan sharks is resource-intensive because most of them are Asian, erecting cultural and language barriers that can block white law enforcement officials.
An undercover agent would also need be a "fairly heavy better" to catch the attention and trust of a loan shark, repeatedly spending thousands of dollars.
And, even if that attention is caught, the agent will be dealing with a runner - the easily replaced, low-level criminals who act as go-betweens for loan sharks.
"Then you've got to go and tie that young man and the money you're getting to the individual who's parked a block away," said Rampone.
All of which means a lot of effort to catch an individual who is actually a "welcome" presence among those taking out such loans.
"For most of them, as long as they pay, they have no problem with these people," said Rampone.
Meanwhile, those resources aren't being used to nab "the guy who's the drug dealer in your neighborhood. And that's the truth of it."
Rampone was dismissed in April for allegedly receiving inappropriate and offensive emails.
He's filed a petition in British Columbia Supreme Court challenging that dismissal.
Turning a new page
A former provincial New Democrat constituency association president has circulated an email urging Carole James to resign so there can be a leadership race.
"Many of my friends have already voted with their feet and their wallets," stated Laurie Page, who was once the party's top official in Nelson-Creston.
"They have discontinued their memberships and their donations because they are uninspired by our leader."
As a result, Page is encouraging party members to write to Ms. James and ask her to step aside - something the former constituency association president has already done.
"Some folks are afraid of starting a revolution without knowing who the next leader will be," Page acknowledged.
But she's urged the grassroots to set aside those fears and "imagine progressives being united and inspired by the dialogue; by the process; and by an articulate and visionary leader."
"I believe that having a leadership race will create the optimism and energy we need to carry forward our vision," she continued. "I hope that Carole comes to realize this too."
Sean Holman is editor of the online provincial political news journal Public Eye (publiceyeonline.com). He can be reached at [email protected].
