By Elisabeth Johns
The Standard-Freeholder
January 18, 2008
http://www.standard-freeholder.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=860899&auth=Elisabeth+Johns
A former MPP helped to fuel the rumour and innuendo about an alleged pedophile ring operating in the city when he made inaccurate public statements, a lawyer for the Ontario Provincial Police suggested at the Cornwall Public Inquiry on Wednesday.
OPP counsel Suzanne Costom questioned Garry Guzzo for at least two hours during the final and lengthy day of his testimony.
A number of other parties called into question inaccuracies in Guzzo's public statements during the cross-examination, during much of which Guzzo admitted he indeed made numerous mistakes.
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| Garry Guzzo finished his final day of harsh cross-examination, as he admitted he made some mistakes in his efforts to get a provincial inquiry to look into allegations of a pedophile ring and a police cover-up in Cornwall. Photo by Johns |
Guzzo, who represented the provincial riding of Ottawa-West-Nepean, stood up in the Queen's Park legislature numerous times calling for a provincial inquiry into the police investigations of the sexual abuse of minors in the Cornwall area.
The Tory MPP even authored two separate bills on the subject.
He admitted many of the statements he made were often "rhetorical" and exaggerated in an effort to get his own government to take action and call an inquiry.
"A lot of the remarks you made, you're not basing on first-hand knowledge, but on what other people tell you?" Costom asked.
"You were part of the problem," she said. "You continued to contribute to the rumour and innuendo - repeating what's being told to you and repeating the rumour and innuendo."
Guzzo, who at times raised his voice while being asked questions by various parties at the inquiry, acknowledged her comments as being "one point of view."
"I don't think we'd be here today if I hadn't done what I did," he said.
"It was very worthwhile exercise for this city, particularly for the young people."
In one statement, Guzzo wrote about a time he travelled to Fort Lauderdale in Florida in the late 1990s to meet with a retired police officer there. Guzzo later would state in letters addressed to his fellow members of provincial parliament he had seen both the Saltaire Motel and the Marlin Beach Hotel, both known to be a hangouts for pedophiles. He would also suggest the officer told him that was where pedophiles would take Cornwall boys and abuse them.
"You said he pointed the two establishments out to you?" Costom asked.
"Because the Marlin Beach Hotel was actually demolished in '93."
She then said OPP Project Truth investigators obtained a demolition permit.
"If you say there's a demolition permit for it, I'll accept that," Guzzo acquiesced.
She then suggested he never gave Project Truth investigators the name of the retired police officer he met with, but Guzzo replied he thought he did, or that he gave it to MPP Bob Runciman, then solicitor-general.
tapes seized
When she first began to question Guzzo she pointed to the information he knew about a number of pornographic tapes seized from the home of Ron Leroux, a man who testified months ago at the inquiry and admitted he lied about witnessing bizarre sexual acts.
Police destroyed these tapes, which was somewhat of a contentious issue as there were allegations that included in this cache of videos were homemade films showing prominent men abusing local young boys.
Another accusation levelled was that police destroyed evidence and, by doing so, contributed to the coverup of a pedophile ring.
Guzzo had been told the tapes, about 20 in total, were found at Leroux's home by police in an unrelated search of his residence, but allegedly belonged to now-deceased probation officer Ken Seguin.
He testified he never watched these videos.
Seguin was accused of sexually abusing probationers in his charge, but was never charged criminally in relation to this. He died in November 1993.
The tapes, Costom said, were seized from Leroux's home about six months before Seguin died. Police went into the home initially to search for firearms, which they also seized.
The OPP officers viewed the tapes and determined they were commercially produced tapes, mostly involving sex between adult men, Costom said.
"I was told that by (OPP Det. Insp.) Pat Hall," Guzzo said, admitting, however, he did not know when the tapes were seized from the home.
He said he was under the assumption the tapes were seized after Seguin's death.
He testified he questioned the senior police officer about the tapes and was told charges couldn't be laid against a dead man - whom he took to mean Seguin.
He wrote letters to then-Premier Mike Harris and the rest of his Conservative party, including information about the destroyed tapes and questioned just what exactly had happened.
He said he concluded that his information wasn't wrong because no one - not the former solicitor-general nor the attorney general -corrected him about it.
Leroux, Costom said, went to the OPP station and when asked about the tapes, he said he found them in a dumpster at the Raisin River campground.
"Did you know that?" Costom asked.
"I heard that while I was here (at the inquiry)," Guzzo replied.
"Ken Seguin's name was not mentioned with those tapes in any matter (at the time)," she said.
Police asked Leroux if he wanted the tapes, Costom said, and it was Leroux who signed a report allowing police to destroy the videos.
"You (were) wrong about the videos to your colleagues," she continued.
"You are wrong in the letter to the attorney general; you are wrong in the statements attributed to you in the house; you were wrong in the letter to the solicitor-general."
Guzzo replied that it had been his understanding during his conversation with Hall the tapes belonged to Seguin, which is why he believed he had the right to make public statements about it.
"I agree with you there was some confusion (over the tapes)," Costom said.
"And now is the time to end this confusion."
"I think the time to is when (Hall) appears and testifies," Guzzo replied.
The public inquiry will continue today.
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