Guess who's back, back again? Shady 'lawyer' is back, tell your friends
Emmerson Brando has been working again as a paralegal after essentially being kicked out of Calgary courts
A convicted fraudster and disgraced RCMP officer who was essentially banned from representing people in Calgary courtrooms has resurfaced.
Emmerson Brando, a.k.a. Emmerson Stuart, a.k.a. Landon Stewart, a.k.a. Arturo Nuosci, was hired for his legal expertise recently to do work for a man who is fighting with the Appeals Commission for the Workers Compensation Board (WCB), a quasi-judicial tribunal.
Until 2015, Brando often acted as an agent or paralegal at the Calgary courthouse, representing people charged with crimes or in traffic court.
Trevor Turcotte says he was "desperate" when he paid Brando $3,500, believing he would be able to help him with a paperwork-heavy WCB appeal. Turcotte says he never got the help he needed.
"You should hear this guy talk, he's slick," Turcotte said. "I became an open book, told him struggles I've been through … this broke me."
For his part, Brando says he was simply "trying to help," is prepared to return at least some of the $3,500 and is not breaking any laws.
"I have a lawful right to make a living," said Brando in a phone interview with CBC News. "If someone comes to me and they ask for my help … I'll do whatever I can to help people."
Calgary police confirm they did investigate Brando but say his dealings with Turcotte are more fitted for civil proceedings.
Fabricated evidence
Turcotte says that after e-transferring the money, he learned of Brando's criminal past, much of it from a CBC News story published in 2015.
At that time, Lloyd Robertson, then-chief prosecutor for the Crown, had sent a memo to other prosecutors asking them to oppose appearing in court on cases with Brando.
Brando had been working as a paralegal, acting in the place of a defence lawyer, on traffic and some criminal matters.
Robertson had learned that Brando had spent time in jail for fabricating evidence in the case of a murdered police officer in Ontario.
Not only that, but Brando had been convicted more than a dozen times over a 16-year period.
"If I would have known this stuff at the beginning, I never would have hired this guy," said Turcotte, who now isn't sure about the future of his appeal.
Judge kicks Brando out of court
Between 1990 and 2006, Brando was found guilty of 15 crimes of dishonesty in both Canada and the United States. His convictions included fraud, forgery, identity theft and fabricating evidence.
A month after Robertson's memo, provincial court Judge George Gaschler issued a scathing written decision, saying it was "audacious" that Brando had pursued a career as an agent and paralegal.
Gaschler noted that Brando's most recent lie was that he was a 25-year RCMP veteran when, in truth, he had worked for only a few months as a special constable. Brando, who was Arturo Nuosci at the time, was dismissed from the RCMP for disgraceful conduct.
"Mr. Brando's dishonesty and falsehoods are not only in the past," wrote Gaschler in his 2015 decision to deny Brando leave to appear as an agent.
'Tired of people hurting me'
After Gaschler's decision, Brando stopped showing up at court.
"I accept his decision," said Brando. "I stopped helping people because I'm tired of people hurting me."
But Turcotte said Brando wore RCMP logo cufflinks, which he claimed he'd been given when he hit 15 years of service as a Mountie. Turcotte says Brando used that lie to bolster his reputation as a legal expert.
Turcotte — who suffers from PTSD — has been fighting with the WCB for more than five years. In 2014, he injured his shoulder while working as a framer.
Currently, he is appealing a WCB decision.
Turcotte says he met Brando in January at a pub in a community centre. The two began chatting. Eventually, Brando offered to help Turcotte navigate his WCB appeal.
Turcotte says Brando initially told him he was a lawyer, a claim which Brando vehemently denies.
A piece of mail from WCB is addressed to "Mr. Emmerson Stewart (lawyer)" but Brando says that is an error on the part of the agency.
AIDS accusation
Brando calls himself "advocate/agent" on his business card, and other mail from the WCB is addressed to Emmerson Stewart Paralegal Services.
Brando admits he did not do $3,500 worth of work for Turcotte but says it's because of the breakdown in the relationship.
Turcotte says that when he tried to cut off communication, Brando accused him of spreading a rumour that he had AIDS.
CBC News viewed a text message exchange between the two that confirms Turoctte's account. When confronted by the accusation, Brando admitted to the bizarre messages.
"I'll apologize to him for that because I didn't hear him directly tell me that."
Brando says he's not proud of his past.
"I asked for forgiveness, I moved forward and that's what we do in life," he said. "I want to become a better person."
He says he will not continue to work as a paralegal/agent because it's caused him too much grief.
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