A global investigation into elaborate bank fraud and terrorism financing all started in 2004 with a seemingly innocent event in a Winnipeg parking lot and the keen observations of a Wal-Mart employee.
Crown attorney Sheila Leinburd told court Wednesday it's ironic such an elaborate criminal network was brought down by something so benign.
Just days before the brand-new CIBC branch on Empress Street would be robbed of $510,000, the Wal-Mart employee across the lot noticed two suspicious vehicles parked near the bank property.
The man was curious enough to get a closer look and record the licence plates.
His information proved invaluable for police, who traced the vehicles to Avis Rent-A-Car and first came across the name Gerald Blanchard.
Blanchard later dumped the vehicles -- which the company had reported stolen when they weren't returned -- and police found a fingerprint that matched.
Police also found two adult diapers inside that Blanchard apparently used during extensive surveillance he was conducting.
Associate Chief Justice Jeffrey Oliphant was stunned to learn Wednesday that Blanchard would have made such an amateurish mistake.
"Pretty dumb leaving that car sitting there in your name," Oliphant said to laughs from the packed courtroom, which included all of the police officers who worked exhaustively to bring him down.
Police would eventually begin wiretaps on Blanchard last year that culminated in the arrest of him and seven other accused.
www.mikeoncrime.com
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