Fred Pinnock, former commander of B.C.’s anti-illegal gaming unit, described to the Cullen Commission on Thursday his recollection of allegations that he said then-solicitor general Kash Heed made against former BC Liberal Minister Rich Coleman during a private meeting in 2009.

VANCOUVER – Former BC Liberal Minister Rich Coleman was accused of letting gangs launder money in BC casinos during testimony at the Cullen Commission.

A former British Columbia RCMP officer testified he was informed in 2009 that Coleman, then-minister responsible for gaming, was “largely responsible” for rampant money laundering related to organized crime in the province’s casinos, and that senior B.C. Mounties were complicit, an inquiry has heard.

Fred Pinnock, former commander of B.C.’s anti-illegal gaming unit, described to the Cullen Commission on Thursday his recollection of allegations that he said then-solicitor general Kash Heed made against Coleman during a private meeting in 2009, reported Global News.

Pinnock explained that he had tried to expand his unit’s mandate and resources to attack gangs that he believed were “out of control” in BC Lottery Corporation casinos.

But his superiors in the RCMP and his partners at the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch didn’t support his objective, he said.

“I felt it was a charade and I don’t feel my superiors cared,” Pinnock testified. “Public safety was not a priority of my superiors with respect to gaming.”

He said his frustration and friction with the gaming regulator led to his taking a medical leave in December 2007.

About a year later, he said, his former unit was disbanded by the B.C. Liberal government. And he was so disturbed by it that he tried to meet with Coleman to convey his concerns about gang activity in casinos, sending the message through his then-girlfriend, B.C. Liberal MLA Naomi Yamamoto.

But according to Yamamoto, he said, Coleman reacted by rebuking her in front of the party caucus.

“It was in a group setting and she described his reaction as brutal and dismissive and embarrassing,” Pinnock told the inquiry. “And my conclusion is he did not want to be told (about casino concerns.)”

Pinnock said he followed up by providing an interview to a B.C. media outlet in 2009, in which he accused the RCMP and B.C.’s government of “willful blindness” to increasing gang activity in Lottery Corp. casinos.

He said Heed shot down his comments in a subsequent TV interview. However, since the two men knew each other as former police officers, they later agreed to meet in private.

Pinnock recalled the meeting took place over lunch in Victoria.

“I told him I am convinced that Rich Coleman knows what’s going on inside those casinos,” Pinnock recalled. “And Kash Heed confirmed my perception that I was accurate in my belief, and he did feel that Rich Coleman had created this.

“He said to me, in effect, ‘That is what is going on, Fred. But I can’t say that publicly. You know, it’s all about the money.'”

And, according to Pinnock, Heed claimed that Coleman “received the tacit support” of senior B.C. Mounties. 

“The context was (that) this was a game being played by senior police officers,” Pinnock said. “I think the term (Heed) used was (RCMP leaders are) ‘puppets for Coleman.'”

According to Pinnock, Heed said the RCMP leaders included Gary Bass, then-deputy commissioner for western Canada, and Dick Bent, Pinnock’s direct supervisor. 

But commission lawyer Patrick McGowan, as well as lawyers for the Lottery Corp. and the RCMP, confirmed with Pinnock that he did not have any notes or recordings of that meeting. Pinnock also acknowledged that he did not seek to question the RCMP officers he named, after Heed’s alleged comments.

“I’m going to suggest that all you have is a recollection of a conversation where those allegations may have been made,” an RCMP lawyer said. Pinnock agreed.

Pinnock also said that he has not questioned Coleman about these allegations, and has only met with him one time since, at a B.C. Liberal fundraiser, in 2010.

“We didn’t say anything,” Pinnock recalled. “I extended my hand to shake (his), and he’s a big fellow. He tried to crush my hand. I took that as a message to me.”

Coleman, who has not testified in the inquiry, has previously denied allegations that he turned a blind eye to crime in B.C. casinos. And Heed told Global News as a potential witness in the inquiry he can’t comment.

Courtesy Global News