Conviction, but no reward

His life reads like the script for a Hollywood blockbuster.

An ordinary man pulled off the street and offered more than $1 million for his help. His past wiped away and a new identity assumed. Two years spent penetrating a terrorist organization, targeting innocent victims in both Canada and the United States. Staking out secret meetings armed with audio and video surveillance.

And risking his life to help capture one of the FBI's Most Wanted.

For Jack Steele, this was no movie. The risks were real. Now the American man is speaking out for the first time about his dangerous work as a secret agent -- and slamming Canadian police and justice officials for refusing to pay him a $547,000 reward.

"I pinched myself many, many times and asked myself what the hell am I doing here," Steele told the Free Press in a telephone interview this week. He was speaking from an undisclosed location, under the fictional name he created a decade ago to protect himself from harm.

Steele was the driving force behind the 2001 arrest of James Kopp, an anti-abortion radical who began targeting Canadian and American abortion providers for death in the 1990s. One of those was Dr. Jack Fainman, who took a bullet from a sniper while inside his St. Vital home on Nov. 11, 1997. Fainman survived, like two other Canadian doctors who were shot in British Columbia and Ontario.

The attacks led to the creation of a national police task force and the offer of a reward for "information leading to the arrest and conviction" of the person responsible.

Then, in October 1998, a single shot from a high-powered rifle killed Dr. Barnett Slepian in the kitchen of his Amherst, N.Y., home. It was the first time an American doctor had been targeted.

The FBI joined the investigation and soon identified Kopp as a suspect. However, the man nicknamed Atomic Dog was believed to have fled North America and his whereabouts were a mystery.

Enter Steele, a New York citizen at the time whose only connection to Kopp was through a longtime friend, Dennis Malvasi, who the FBI believed was helping harbour Kopp in Europe. Steele had no idea Malvasi had become linked to a radical extremist organization.

"They (the FBI) stopped me on the street one day in September 1999 and said 'How'd you like to have a million dollars?" Steele said this week. He initially balked at the idea of undercover work.

"I was approached on numerous occasion and eventually I gave in. My answer was 'Sure, why not, what do I have to do?' "

Steele was tested by the FBI for his trustworthiness and eventually given his mission -- bring them to Kopp.

"They told me I would work on a timely level, where I would take each step necessary to get to him," said Steele. "Eventually, they built up trust in me and left it up to me to determine how to best go about getting to James Kopp."

For nearly two years, Steele was forced to hide his true feelings and attend anti-abortion meetings across the United States with Malvasi and others. He also watched as several members vandalized abortion clinics around the country. He often had a bug in his vehicle and wore a wire, allowing investigators to listen in.

"They had no consideration for human life whatsoever. Their agenda was to kill, not to maim, but to kill," said Steele. "I was a convincing actor and I easily earned the trust of Kopp's violent aides."

Kopp continued to lie low overseas, where investigators believed he was biding his time and planning his next attacks. The big break came in March 2001.

Malvasi asked Steele to send Western Union cash payments to Kopp at his secret location in Dinan, France. Steele scribbled down the address of the hideout and slipped it into his boot while several of Kopp's associates stood nearby. He later gave the piece of paper to police.

The FBI contacted police in France, who arrested Kopp days later outside a post office in Dinan.

Kopp was extradited to the United States and stood trial in 2003 for the killing of Slepian. He was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Kopp was also charged with violating federal law protecting access to abortion clinics and convicted in 2007. He was given a life sentence without the chance of parole.

"Why should the safety of Dr. Slepian be put over the safety of unborn children?" Kopp asked at his sentencing. "I wish I could do 10 life sentences or 10 death penalties to save them."

The FBI thanked Steele for a job well done and paid up their half-million dollar portion of the reward once Kopp was convicted. Steele was expecting a similar payout from Canadian authorities -- but learned he was out of luck.

With Kopp behind bars for the rest of his life, Canadian officials saw no reason to take further action. The task force was disbanded, the investigations closed. A warrant for his arrest in Ontario would gather dust, while officials in Manitoba and B.C. would not lay charges. Kopp would not be extradited to face trial in Canada.

"I consider this to be a real miscarriage of justice in Canada," Jim Popkin, a former investigative reporter and producer at NBC news, told the Free Press this week. He has followed Steele's story closely and is now working with him to fight what they believe is an injustice.

"Here is a man who risked his life for two and a half years with a dangerous group of anti-abortion radicals. He is the reason James Kopp, who is a psychopathic killer, was taken off the streets and ended what was a terrifying crime spree in Canada and the United States," said Popkin. "This is a technicality, and an absurd one. Jack did everything the police groups and the government asked of him."

Together the men have started a website -- www.canadianpolicereward.org -- in which they warn other would-be informants about the risks of dealing with Canadian justice officials.

"Our presumption is there are many other tipsters who have been handled poorly and lied to by Canadian police officials," said Popkin.

Steele said senior FBI officials wrote two letters to the Canadian Task Force in 2003 supporting his request for the reward. One of the letters stated his "contributions to this investigation cannot be overstated" and that information Steele provided "directly led to Kopp's arrest and conviction."

The letter noted how Steele allowed FBI to wiretap calls and access emails Kopp's associates sent to him in Europe. They also warned Kopp may have been on his way back to Canada to continue targeting doctors if not for his arrest.

Steele said Canadian police have given him numerous stories over the years -- first he had to wait for Kopp to be convicted in state court, then federal court, then wait for his appeal process to expire. Finally they said there would be no payout because Kopp has never been convicted of anything in Canada.

"They made a tactical decision not to try Kopp in a Canadian court of law and now I am paying the price," said Steele.

Winnipeg police Sgt. John Burchill was the spokesman for the Canadian task force. He was unavailable for comment this week but recently told CTV News the terms of the reward were clear.

"The conditions... were that it had to lead to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for these shootings, with respect to the three shootings here in Canada, and to date, neither of those have happened in Canada," said Burchill. "Since we're not seeking extradition, its unlikely he will ever be back in Canada."

Steele believes that sends the wrong message to anyone who is considering life as a secret agent. He is now seeking other "horror" stories on his website while considering potential legal options for collecting his cash.

"The police need tipsters to help solve crimes. But if the police offer rewards and never pay, tipsters like us will just walk away. Let's put pressure on the police to act responsibly and do the right thing," Steele said on the website. "The police will try to dazzle you with promises of rich rewards. But unless you demand written assurances up front, and treat the relationship like a cold-blooded lawyer negotiating a business deal, you could end up risking your life for nothing. So think twice before co-operating in Canada."

www.mikeoncrime.com

Key dates in the James Kopp case

Nov. 8, 1994: Dr. Garson Romalis is shot in the leg with a high-powered rifle while eating breakfast at home in Vancouver.

Nov. 10, 1995: Dr. Hugh Short is hit in the elbow by a bullet from a high-powered rifle while watching TV at home in Ancaster, Ont., near Hamilton.

Nov. 11, 1997: Dr. Jack Fainman is shot in the right shoulder at his home in Winnipeg.

Nov. 18, 1997: A national police task force is established in Canada to investigate the Romalis, Short and Fainman shootings.

Oct. 23, 1998: Dr. Barnett Slepian, (above) 51, is killed by a single shot from a high-powered rifle through the kitchen window of his Amherst, N.Y., home.

Nov. 4 1998: U.S. police say anti-abortion activist James Kopp of Vermont is wanted for questioning in the Slepian shooting. A Canada-wide immigration warrant for Kopp is issued after police confirm he had entered Canada.

May 6, 1999: U.S. police officials issue arrest warrant for Kopp. Canadian authorities confirm he is a lead suspect in the Canadian shootings.

June 1999: Kopp is added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list.

June 1999: Kopp is indicted by a grand jury in the Slepian slaying on charges of second-degree murder, first-degree reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.

September 1999: New York resident "Jack Steele" is approached by the FBI to go undercover and help locate Kopp.

January 2000: A Canada-wide warrant is issued for Kopp in connection with the attempted murder of Short.

March 29, 2001: Kopp is arrested in Dinan in the Brittany region of northwestern France.

May 9, 2003: Kopp is found guilty of murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

June 19, 2007: Kopp is found guilty of federal charges related to the deadly New York shooting and given a life sentence with no parole.

-- source: Winnipeg Free Press/Canadian Press archives

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 28, 2009 A6