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Dave Thornton
Judge rules in favour
of pyramid scheme victim
HANK DANISZEWSKI , London
Free Press Reporter, 2003-10-02 03
Jan Fulkerson, one of many
London-area women who lost in the so-called Muffin Club pyramid
scheme, should get her money back, a London judge has ruled.
But the lawyer for Delores Roberts, the woman Fulkerson sued
for the return of her $5,000, said yesterday the judgment will
be appealed.
In a complex 24-page decision,
Deputy Justice Clifford Reeves said although the pyramid scheme
was illegal, Fulkerson was entitled to a refund because her cheque
was deposited to Roberts's account and never delivered to operators
of the scheme.
"She was not attempting
to enforce an illegal contract. She was seeking restitution of
money wrongfully converted to use by Delores."
He ruled Fulkerson also made
a quick effort at "repentance" by asking for her money
back.
Fulkerson, a London realtor,
said the four-year legal battle in small claims court was worth
the effort. She said she has received at least a dozen calls
from other women who lost money in the scheme.
"It's certainly good news
for the thousand other woman who got burned," Fulkerson
said. "We've highlighted that it is a winnable case."
But Roberts's lawyer, Michael
Lerner, warned potential claimants the case was far from over.
He said Reeves appeared to ignore some significant facts in his
decision.
"Anybody inclined to come
forward would probably want to wait for the outcome of the appeal."
The Muffin Club was the name
for a pyramid scheme that started in the Barrie area and spread
through the province.
Women were invited to attend
parties where an "investment" scheme was pitched. They
were asked to bring cash, often using muffin tins.
In November 1999, Fulkerson
attended a gathering hosted by Roberts and her daughter, Julie
Scapinello.
Fulkerson gave Roberts a cheque
for $5,000.
She testified she tried to
get the money back from Roberts and Scapinello soon after but
they refused to return it.
Roberts, Scapinello and Fulkerson
all testified they did not know the scheme was illegal until
January 2000, after reading articles in The Free Press.
Roberts said she got involved
in the scheme after attending a meeting held by a woman named
Linda, whose last name nobody seemed to know.
Lerner argued Fulkerson was
driven by greed and wanted to profit from the scheme, offering
the names of her daughters as potential investors.
He noted under provincial law,
anyone who loses money in an illegal scheme is not entitled to
sue to get it back.
Fulkerson's lawyer, Cynthia
Mackenzie, noted the provincial Competition Act does allow victims
of a pyramid scheme to recover damages under certain conditions.
Reeves was left to sort through
a stack of case law on the issue. He ruled the Gaming Act did
not apply because no one in London was prosecuted for the scheme.
He also said he believed Fulkerson's
claims she wanted her money back.
Copyright © The London
Free Press 2001,2002,2003
No one shall be subjected
to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, Article 5
They charged through the door
of the "range" consisting of three empty cells where
I had been placed earlier. I was sitting alone writing and preparing
my case. Without witnesses the four guards grabbed me. I yelled
I have osteoporosis. With that a guard from behind kicked, punched,
or kneed me in the back breaking my ribs. I was lifted off the
ground and choked by the reinforcing around the neck of the heavy
orange tee shirt. It was Mother's Day 2003.
I was dragged down a flight
of stairs my feet off the ground. The guard called they call
"Tex" continued choking me with my shirt as we stood
in front of the solitary confinement cell. He then gave a sudden
yank breaking the reinforcing against my neck. I was thrown on
the floor of the cell. Unable to get to get to my feet. I was
given my calcium pill for osteoporosis in a small paper cup placed
on the floor. I asked to be helped to my feet to get water. The
guards laughed, and to my shock and dismay so also did the nurse.
I remained on the floor and it took what seemed to be hours to
finally inch myself to the solid concrete slab which was my bed.
X-rays would later reveal several broken ribs. Until then I had
never been subjected to this level of vicious physical treatment
by authorities. I could not believe a nurse, a caregiver, would
join in an act this inhumane. Not in my country.
I was angry, hurt, humiliated.
I told them I worked with my hands. I create things. I show children
how to make beautiful things of clay and wood and I look back
at what I have done and I am proud of what I see. As you look
at what you have done, are you proud? They laughed and slammed
the door of the filthy cell, faeces and traces of blood on the
walls, spider webs and dust in the approximate four inch small
round ventilation hole.
I had been harassed continually
by a young guard who kept pounding on my door and making childish
faces, stretching his mouth out of shape. I was called names.
A "Stupid f-ing senile old coot. He made signs indicating
a "crazy" person. He made signs of a gun at his head
when I begged him compassionately and in tears if he would leave
me in peace because I was contemplating the useless suicide death
of my son.
He asked if I wanted him to
"crack the cell", that's "jail jargon" for
come in and administer a beating. He began opening the cell.
I had enough. I told just told him to get it over with and bash
my head against the wall. As he withdrew and in a most callous
tone and look, he peered though the small window and said "I
like it better this way." He continued the harassment. In
the morning I complained to the Superintendent. He stood outside
my cell as this guard stood beside him again making faces. The
Superintendent did nothing. The harassment only increased.
It was earlier when I had been
on a hunger strike for three days. Guards turned off the water
for over twelve hours. The doctor who comes in only once a week
just happened to be in that morning and ordered my water turned
back on. I don't know how long they would have continued depriving
me of water. I was on a hunger strike. They could have simply
said I "refused water" as well, and died.
I was shipped to London Ontario
and again placed in solitary confinement and subjected to threatening,
demeaning and abusive tactics. For ten days I was not allowed
to call a lawyer, my family, a minister, no one. I was subjected
to threats and mistreatment by a huge guard named Mike, feared
by the other prisoners. Another young guard harassed me. I was
demeaned and terrorized, told I was in for "sucking little
boy's c-ks." When I told him he did not know what I was
in for, he replied "that what we've told the other prisoners.
What do you think they're going to do to you when you're put
in the "range.""
I was 62 years old. I have
no criminal record. I was awaiting trial, an accused only, convicted
of nothing. But I do know what prisoners do to people like that.
I could not take solitary confinement having been locked in a
locker at the Y.M.C.A. when I was a boy. I had several panic
attacks, passed out twice. One guard never looked in the cells
as he did his rounds. To have a heart attack would be a certain
death sentence in that jail. I was also terrified to be put into
the "range" believing they had spread this false rumour
throughout the jail and I would be beaten up or stabbed. But,
as it turned out, they had not told the other prisoners. The
guard had said it to harass and terrorize me.
I was put on an overdose of
Psychotic medication against my will, rendered unconscious within
minutes and taken to a psychiatric hospital. This is confirmed
in hospital records.
I was harassed in so many inhumane
ways in my four months waiting for trial. The reason I was committed
to jail and held without bail was false evidence given by an
assistant Crown Attorney that I had broken an "Exclusive
Possession Order." I have now proven there was no such Order.
To inflame the court he told the Superior Court Judge that after
this order was in place I continually broke into my estranged
wife's home and took my cloths off and said "you know here
I am." Even my estranged wife did not accuse me of this.
While admitting, in his own words "100% he has no criminal
record" this prosecutor said I had been held in jail on
contempt several years previous on a family matter. In have never
been committed to jail on a family matter, nor have I ever been
in court on a family matter. All the while I was being held in
solitary confinement harassed by guards, unable to hear or defend
myself against these false and inflammatory accusations. These
false accusations were self serving in that they kept me in jail
longer without bail.
News of abuse of human rights
filters into Canada from seemingly closed totalitarian regimes.
To have abuses made public in this country is almost impossible
except in rare cases when the frozen body of a Native is found
in the snow, or a native is shot in a demonstration not far from
where I lived, or years later finally something is done to help
people like Steven Truscott, and David Milgaard.
Appeal from David Thornton
Surely what I endured in the
Jail at Walkerton Ontario Canada is torture or cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment" forbidden by the Universal
Delclaration of Human Rights, Article 5 "
.... Does Article 5 not apply
in Canadian Jails?
David John Thornton
Can anyone help me. I am victim
of police harassment, lies, perjury, administrative abuse, I
have been beaten by guards, my ribs broken, held in solitary
confinement when I was told I must appear "in body"
at my bail review. I am 63 years old, I have no criminal record,
and am still on trial since March 19th 2003 when I was arrested..
I have been charged with criminal
harassment over a period of 170 days. I have no lawyer. I have
been trying to study the law to defend myself. The Charter of
Rights and Freedom guarantees me a fair trail. The Charter says
I must be informed of the Specific Act or Acts complained of
"thus giving him the possibility of a full defence and fair
trial." They will not commit themselves on my summons to
a specific incident or incidents. My summons does not "disclose
my offence or offences".
Each time I discredit a witness
or the evidence given in court, a new unsubstantiated allegation
replaces it, or the Crown says they have abandoned that evidence
and witness. The judge says I will know what my charges are by
the evidence coming from the witness stand. In a bizarre incident
I asked the Judge "I have been accused of spreading false
rumours. Is this an act of criminal harassment I must defend
against?"
The Judge looked at the Prosecutor
who said nothing. The Judge said "I take it from the Crown's
silence that it is included." I am to assume what
my charges are then attempt to mount a defence based upon the
silence of the Prosecutor. This is absurd, and a violation of
the basic principal to know in advance, in writing and on record
what your alleged criminal acts are.
I have discovered the law also
requires the Prosecutor provide "particulars of the charge."
This has been totally ignored. It what fascists regimes engage
in, like Nazi Germany. A citizen is charged with "Crimes
Against the state". He askes "What have I done?"
The answer? You'll find out at the end of your trial.
The Prosecution, Police and
Justice of the Peace are engaged in a number of dirty tricks.
One of the most outrageous was during my Bail review of May 28th
2003. I was told I had to be in court bodily. However, I was
held in solitary confinement harassed by guards and unable to
defend myself against false accusations by the Prosecutor.
The prosecutor told a Superior
Court Judge, in my absence, that there was an "Exclusive
Possession Order" and I kept breaking into my home. There
was no such order. Under Section 19 of the Family Law Act I was
legally in my home in the process of voluntarily moving out.
He then made these disgusting
and inflammatory remarks that I continually broke into my home
(after this nonexistent "Order"was in place) and took
my clothes off in front of my wife on a continuing basis. Even
my wife did not accuse me of doing that. He did acknowledge in
his own words that "....100% correct he does not have a
criminal record." but stated I had been "jailed for
contempt in a 'family deal' some years before."
I have never been in court
in a family matter in my life, nor held in jail on contempt in
a family matter ever. But I was unable to respond to these false
statements as I was being "held and harassed" in solitary
confinement by jail guards.
The two prosecutors have been
removed from the case but these statements remain on record and
nothing has been done to correct the damage and implications
of this false and highly inflammatory evidence.
My complaints to the Regional
Crown concerning the conduct of the two assistant prosecutors
were simply ignored. I complained to the Attorney General and
am told the matter is before the court. I have pointed out that
my court hearing is irrelevant to the conduct of the prosecutor
and is separate and apart from my charges and not before any
court.
This is only a fraction of
the violations of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Rules of
Evidence and Procedure and the Due Process of Law. Please, where
do I get help when my basic Civil and Human Rights have been
violated and my complaints ignored?
The office of the Ontario Ombudsman
has unbelievably told me to go to the B.B.C. (The British Broadcasting
Corporation in England!!!) with my story.
The motive behind this political
harassment is absolutely horrendous and began several years ago
when I reported the abuse of seniors at a government run home
where a senior was killed, and later when I went up against a
former RCMP officer acting as a private bailiff who was illegally
seizing business with the cooperation of the police. That was
a political and legal mess but I was right in law and stood "bodily"
against the police and bailiff. The Crown Attorney, when he realised
I was serious and would fight them physically backed the police
off and allowed the restaurant owner into his premises to regain
his property. The bailiff had thrown his business records, hundreds
of dollars in chargex draughts, staff uniforms, and personal
items in the dumpster which were recovered only minutes before
the truck was to take his property to the dump. His complaints
to police about the theft and attempt to destroy his property
was met with further harassment and intimidation.
I attempted to expose this
corrupt system which involved corruption in the Crown's Office,
the Registrar of Bailiffs, Police and government and exists to
this day. Because of this and other civil and human rights I
have attempted to preserve I have become a target and a victim
of official abuse.
On March 19th 2003, police
illegally searched my vehicle on the pretence of looking for
"tiny screws" belonging to two interior locks
of my home, again on the pretext of having a Court Order baring
me from my home. A Court Order which is now proven nonexistent.
During that search they found
political material, political cartoon's and campaign material
including my intentions to expose a local private bailiff for
illegally seizing businesses in this area, and the involvement
of the local sheriff. Also corruption within the police force,
local MPP
and School Board Official.
I was going to run as an MPP until I was jailed and my reputation
destroyed with these disgusting, inflammatory, sexually explicit
lies.
All they did was find a disgruntled
wife, and others highly motivated. Then trumped up lies, exaggerated
evidence, added a disgusting sexual element and "railroaded"
me into jail where I was held for four months on the speculation
I might harm my wife. Another Charter breach Collins v. Regina.
My estranged wife has now confirmed what she told investigating
officers that "I never hit her in our entire 23 year relationship
nor had I been violent to date. She testified she has hit me
on more than one occasion.
Contrary to her denial to police
that she was recording my phone calls, she admitted in court
having done so. The contents of my private communications were
passed onto police including my knowledge of criminal conduct
of prominent people being protected by police and prosecutors.
She also admitted to being
involved in a fraud well over 5,000. There is indisputable evidence
that her lawyer's wife was also involved.
In spite of all these revelations
I am still on trial. This is only because my basic rights to
a fair trial, "Equality before the Law and Protection of
the Law", the right to be fully informed of my charges,
and the right of due process are being ignored.
Having been totally ejected
from my community, and my business, at 63 with no formal education
past grade ten I am only weeks from bankruptcy.
I have been told by the Judge
I cannot personally subpoena the witnesses that can prove me
innocent and I have no money left for a process server. They
will win by their own default, lies and perjury. A total violation
of a citizen's rights.
For over a year I have attempted
to get help. Please, Can your organization help me.
David John Thornton
519-623-1116
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Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell