Victim of alleged extortion attempt by former Thunder Bay, Ont. mayor takes to the witness stand

The victim of an alleged extortion attempt by Keith Hobbs and two others took to the witness stand on the third day of the former Thunder Bay, Ont. mayor's criminal trial on Wednesday.

Hobbs, his wife, Marisa, and a third co-accused, Mary Voss, are charged with using the threat of informing police of criminal allegations to extort the victim to buy a house for Voss. A publication ban is in effect protecting the identity of the victim, as well as the nature of those criminal allegations.

The charges date back to incidents alleged to have happened in the fall of 2016, while Hobbs was in the middle of his second of two terms as mayor.

The victim, whose testimony began in the afternoon and will continue on Thursday, said he met Voss online in 2013 and the two had a relationship. A few years later, the victim offered her a position as a housekeeper and cook for $2,000 per month, which she accepted.

The victim testified they had a net worth of as much as $15 million, and in 2016 owned five properties valued at about $3.75 million.

The victim told the court that he knew Craig Loverin, the first Crown witness, because Loverin grew up at his home, being close with the victim's family. He always felt close to Loverin, the victim said, but particularly after a traumatic family event. Following this event, the victim's drinking "went off the charts," they said.

Earlier in the day, videos featuring the victim that were included on a USB device, given to Loverin by Hobbs, were played in court. They feature vulgar and abusive language. A publication ban prevents details of the content on the video from being published.

Loverin had already testified that he was given the USB drive by Hobbs, who is a retired Thunder Bay police officer. Loverin said Hobbs told him the recordings were obtained from a friend on the city police force who owed him a favour, and the mayor wanted them passed along to the victim, so that person would understand the potential trouble they could be in.

Thunder Bay Police Service Staff Sgt. Ron Maki, a 27-year veteran of the force, took the stand earlier on Wednesday. He said Hobbs contacted police, requesting criminal investigations branch officers come to his house so he could share allegations of a criminal nature, as well as concerns about the victim's alcohol consumption.

Maki said he went to their home, where Keith Hobbs gave him two USB drives. There were six videos, which formed the "cornerstone" of the criminal investigation against the alleged extortion victim, Maki testified. The officer said he was told the Hobbs couple had dealings with the victim regarding a potential lawsuit involving a major bank.

Police also received a real estate contract from Hobbs, Maki said, describing it as appearing to be an agreement between the victim and Voss "in exchange for silence."

Proceedings in the morning began with Loverin testifying for the third straight day, before concluding after cross examination was finished.

The victim is expected to be on the stand again on Thursday morning.

With files from Jeff Walters.