OPP officer pleads not guilty to tipping drug dealers to police raids

Morrissette offers to serve up former cop if set free

An OPP officer charged with breaching his oath of office and obstruction of justice didn’t believe he was doing anything wrong by associating with criminals, a Superior Court trial heard Monday.

“I thought what I was doing was completely legal,” Maurice Morrissette told police in a videotaped interview after being arrested on the charges.

Morrissette admitted he frequently talked with and visited the home of Mehrdad Kazikermani and his wife Tanya but didn’t know they were dealing drugs.

He said he once saw a Tupperware container delivered to the house that looked like it might be a brick of cocaine but was assured by Tanya it was food.

Asked why he continued his association with the family when he knew Kazikermani was under house arrest for drug trafficking, Morrissette said he had no reason to disbelieve their denials.

A copy of the videotaped interview was played at the beginning of Morrissette’s trial before Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger.

Morrissette, 38, pleaded not guilty to charges of interfering with the administration of justice by providing information to criminals in exchange for drugs, breach of trust, obstructing justice and trafficking in marijuana.

Most of the alleged offences took place between May and September of 2006 and were laid following a joint police investigation into the illegal cigarette and drug trade in the Prescott area.

Morrissette also pleaded not guilty to failing to disclose he was bankrupt to potential creditors. He filed for bankruptcy in 2004 after his entertainment ventures failed.

During the interview, Morrissette denied he tipped off the Kazikermani’s about an impending drug raid at their residence and offered to take a polygraph to prove he wasn’t involved in criminal activity.

The OPP didn’t take him up on the offer.

He also said he didn’t believe he was wrong to drive Mehrdad Kazikermani to a funeral in Ottawa when he was under house arrest, prohibited from leaving his residence.

“I just wanted to help them,” he told police. “I didn’t think I was doing anything illegal.”

Morrissette said he met the Kazikermanis through Tanya’s mother, Nina Irace.

He said he befriended the elder Irace several years ago and helped her out because her daughters were “venom” who had abandoned her.

He said he contemplated moving into the basement of the Irace home when his marriage broke up but changed his mind when the Kazikermanis moved in.

He said he tried to assist in developing some building lots on property Irace’s deceased husband owned west of Maitland.

Morrissette admitted he was having financial difficulties at the time and that both he and Irace stood to gain had the development proceeded.

But he denied any bribe was involved or that he’d breached his oath of office.

Later, the court heard several intercepted phone conversations where Morrissette was pushing to get deeds to the lots along with discussions he held with contractors to build the homes.

The Crown also introduced wiretaps where a relative of the Kazikermanis asked for Morrissette’s help in fixing a traffic ticket.

The relative was clocked on Highway 416 doing more than 200 km/h.

“I want to see you come through,” she told Morrissette who promised to make some calls on her behalf.

Initially, Morrissette was reluctant to say much to officers during the lengthy recorded interview, wondering what he might receive in return for his co-operation.

Despite being told nothing was on the table, he later suggested he was open to a deal.

“You know, maybe you should use my talents rather than cut me loose. What you guys do in six months of wiretaps, I can do in a week,” he told investigators.

“I’ve been hanging out with the big players.”

Morrissette then identified retired Prescott Police office Bruce Perrin as one of “the big players.”

“Anything you want to know about Bruce, ask me,” he offered.

“I don’t think there’s anything that we don’t already know about Bruce,” responded Detective Inspector Steve Rooke.

“I know you guys missed a lot,” Morrissette shot back. “That’s why you should have approached me first. Then more damage could have been done.”

Morrissette said Perrin was openly dealing drugs in Prescott and that he couldn’t understand why he hadn’t been “taken down.”

He claimed he once told the retired cop to stop but there was no stopping him and “now I’m wearing it.”

At one point, he told investigators there was no problem for a cop to buy drugs in Prescott.

“Give me $20, give me half an hour and I’ll be back,” he said. “It’s not that hard.”

Morrissette said he knew he was being wiretapped and followed by police but didn’t care because he was depressed and addicted to pot at the time.

He wondered why the OPP was “pounding me” instead of helping him with his addiction when they realized he wasn’t dealing drugs.

Morrissette was suspended with pay after being charged with possession of marijuana following a traffic stop on Highway 416. Last year, he pleaded guilty to simple possession and received a $250 fine.

Perrin and several others arrested in the joint investigation, including the Kazikermanis, are still before the court.

The trial continues.

Article ID# 1348265