Gold bars, Katy Perry and James Bond: The Hollywood-esque connections to a Calgary corruption trial
3 current and former police service members accused of targeting mother in custody battle
A Katy Perry concert in the Bahamas, a James Bond movie location and suitcases full of gold bars — the work done by a so-called private investigation firm run by former Calgary Police Service employees is sounding more and more like a Hollywood movie.
Those details involving the company and its top clients are contained in an affidavit sworn by Anthony Braile, one of three current and former officers on trial for corruption-type offences.
Braile, Bryan Morton and Brad McNish were all Calgary police officers when they worked for Steve and Heather Walton's company, which has been described as a private investigation firm.
The Waltons' company was hired by multi-millionaire Ken Carter in 2012 after he broke up with Akele Taylor, who is the mother of his daughter. Carter is accused of using the company and its employees to stalk and harass Taylor over a two-year period in an effort to gain full custody.
But by 2014, Braile said he began to feel guilty about what he'd done and met with Taylor and her lawyer. Details were eventually sworn in an affidavit — intended to be used by Taylor in a lawsuit against Carter before it was settled out of court. The affidavit was released to the media on Tuesday by Justice Bryan Mahoney.
Carter paid the Waltons and their employees more than $1 million to stalk and harass Taylor, according to the affidavit and testimony from other witnesses. Surveillance shifts were each worth $1,000 per day, Braile said.
"I learned that money was not an object for the client, that he wanted to know everything there was to know about the target," said Braile in the document.
James Bond connection
But Carter, who is said to be worth about $80 million, was not the Waltons' wealthiest client. In April 2013, Braile said he flew to the Bahamas for four days to provide overt security for Bill Gallacher's wedding.
The Calgary-based billionaire hired Katy Perry to perform at the event, held at the Oceans Only Resort, which was a filming location for the James Bond movie Casino Royale.
Carter, his date and the Waltons ended up getting kicked out of the concert, according to Braile.
Later that night, "25 SWAT-trained paramilitary [mercenaries] from the Bahamas" hired to do security for the wedding were unable to communicate with Steve Walton because he was drunk in his hotel room with his wife, according to the affidavit.
$1K per surveillance shift
When he began surveillance, Braile said he was told by Steve Walton that Taylor was a drug-addicted prostitute with ties to biker gangs, which he said he found no evidence of.
Not only did Braile say he'd come clean to Taylor and her lawyer out of guilt, he also said he feared for her safety.
According to the affidavit, four GPS devices were purchased for the surveillance mission and were rotated every two weeks by McNish and Braile to ensure the batteries didn't die.
Whenever Taylor left her apartment, an alarm would alert the surveillance team, who would then begin tracking her on computers and following her around town.
Suitcases of gold bars
Braile's description of his duties also included helping Steve Walton deliver four large carry-on suitcases filled with gold bars to various banks across Calgary for Carter.
At one point, he was also asked to bring Carter a pen bugged with a listening device. A plan to bug Taylor's vehicle was abandoned after she sold it.
In his affidavit, Braile claims Morton ran names on one of CPS's internal systems for the Waltons.
The trio face charges of bribery and unauthorized use of a computer system. Braile and Morton also face charges of criminal harassment, while Morton and McNish each face a charge of breach of trust.
All alleged offences stem from activity between 2012 and 2015, during which time all three were Calgary Police Service officers, though Braile had been suspended for unrelated matters.
Leah Boyd and Julie Snowdon are prosecuting the case while Pat Fagan, Paul Brunnen and Jim Lutz represent Braile, McNish and Morton.
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