Mayor says organized crime behind smuggling violence

Page 2

Natives from a local reserve are not the only players in eastern Ontario's cigarette smuggling trade, the mayor of Cornwall said.

The Mohawks from nearAkwesasne Reserve are unfairly blamed for a lot of the violence that organized crime is perpetrating, said Cornwall Mayor Ron Martelle.

"I have made it a distinct point for clarification to say that it is organized crime we are after," he said. "Some of the Mohawk people are involved in the smuggling. There are some Cornwall people that are in it for the profits. There are probably some individuals that maybe are looking to fuel the fires for their own benefit. But I've specifically said the Mohawks are getting blamed unfairly."

Martelle said he is the target of scorn some of the Natives from Akwesasne who think he blames them for all the smuggling.

"Some of the Mohawks are extremely upset with me again," he said. "But they don't listen, I guess, to the newscasts that are coming out."

Although he could not be reached for comment, Akwesasne Chief Mike Mitchell has said he agreed with Martelle that something had to be done about the renegades on the river but did not like Martelle's referring to them as "savages."

Mitchell has also said he does not approve of the violence on the river, but is willing to turn a blind eye to the smuggling because of the financial benefits it brings his community.

But Martelle, a former RCMP officer, said he could not tolerate the smuggling under any circumstances. He went into hiding under police protection last month after unknown boaters on the St. Lawrence River opened fire on Cornwall's civic sports complex.

"Whenever violence is being allowed to happen and organized crime has not only shown a total disrespect for law and order but also for human life, and city of Cornwall buildings and federal buildings are being fired at, the time has come to clamp down on everything."

Martelle met Doug Lewis, federal public security minister, and Ontario Solicitor General David Christopherson Sept. 23 to discuss their commitment to a regional police task force to stop the smugglers.

Martelle said he shares the concerns of local law enforcement officials to keep violence from escalating but a crackdown can only be effective if federal officials address long-term solutions like lowering cigarette taxes to cut the profitability of smuggling.

Cigarette buyers in the United States do not have to pay taxes on Canadian cigarettes, and they in turn sell them to the smugglers. Police estimate 50,000 cartons of cigarettes are smuggled through the border city every day. The cigarettes are resold for about $15 per carton below retail.

The location of Cornwall, on the boundaries of Ontario, Quebec and New York State, make the city a haven for smugglers.