Keith Hobbs initially thought extortion allegations were a 'joke,' court hears Wednesday

Former Thunder Bay mayor Keith Hobbs testified in court Wednesday that when he first heard about allegations of extortion being made against him, he thought they were a "joke."

Keith Hobbs made the statement during a trial for him, his wife Marisa, and city resident Mary Voss; all three are facing one charge of extortion over their alleged attempts to force another person to buy a house for Voss.

Keith Hobbs testified Wednesday that he first heard about the extortion allegations from now-retired Thunder Bay police chief J.P. Levesque.

"Let me guess, it's [the victim] making trouble," he said at the time.

Keith Hobbs was then asked to give an official statement to the OPP; that happened on March 14, 2017.

The interview was with OPP Det. Inspt. Martin Graham, and Keith Hobbs said he was under pressure, and upset at both the allegations and how the interview went.

The interview was "horrible," Keith Hobbs testified, and Graham was "aggressive." Graham also interviewed Marisa Hobbs and Voss; videos of the interviews have been shown in court, and in them, Graham suggests that financial situation of Keith and Marisa Hobbs was at the centre of the extortion scheme.

Graham said he believed Keith and Marisa Hobbs extorted the victim to buy Voss a house, and pressured Voss to accept it, so Voss could borrow money against it and lend it to the Hobbs'.

In court on Wednesday, Keith Hobbs said he felt he didn't get all the facts out in his interview with Graham. However, when Graham interviewed Marisa Hobbs a second time, Keith Hobbs said he felt charges were likely coming.

He then turned to former Thunder Bay Crown attorney Dan Mitchell for help.

"You need to help us make this stop," Keith Hobbs wrote in an email to Mitchell, who he considered a friend. There was no word whether Mitchell replied, or if he did, what the reply said.

Crown attorney Peter Keen then went over the visits Keith Hobbs made to the victim — the two met at the victim's house several times in October and November 2016.

Keen then brought up rumours and allegations about the victim, as well as the victim's erratic behaviour that was witnessed by Keith Hobbs.

"Didn't you think this was a bad idea?" Keen asked, referring to Keith Hobb's continued dealings with the victim.

However, Hobbs referred to his statements that he was only seeking advice from the victim about a matter pertaining to CIBC, which Keith Hobbs believed could result in his receiving $2 million.

"The $2 million overrides anything else at that point," Keith Hobbs told Keen.

Keith Hobbs then told Keen it felt like he and Marisa were Voss's "agents" in the ongoing negotiations with the victim to buy Voss a home.

She had been promised a house by the victim, Keith Hobbs said, and he and Marisa wanted to make sure she was safe, as well as bring Voss's allegations against the victim to the police.

The victim, Keith Hobbs testifies, is a "loud mouth," and Craig Loverin — the victim's friend and bodyguard who testified earlier in the trial — is a "thug."

Keith Hobbs testified he only met Loverin once, the night he gave him copies of videos showing the victim behaving erratically. Earlier in the trial, court heard that Keith Hobbs gave him the videos so he could show the victim the trouble he's in; on Wednesday, Keith Hobbs testified he gave Loverin the videos so he'd know the kind of person he was working for.

Earlier testimony, however, indicated Hobbs also met Loverin at a veteran's affairs event.

Voss and Loverin, on the other hand, spoke a number of times. And despite claims to the contrary made by the victim, Keith Hobbs testified he didn't actually believe Loverin was an "assassin." That, he said, was just something the victim said to "keep [Voss] in line."

However, Keen responds by pointing out that Keith Hobbs had referred to Loverin as an "assassin" in police statements. If Keith Hobbs was truly concerned for the safety of Voss, Keen said, he would have brought up specific concerns about Loverin.

Keith Hobbs replied that the victim threatened to have Loverin break Voss's legs if she did anything out of line.

The trial will resume Thursday morning.