15 YEARS AGO… (March 28 - April 3, 1995)
Stupich refuses to co-operate with bingo probe
Premier Mike Harcourt slammed former NDP MLA Dave Stupich this week for refusing to co-operate with forensic auditor Ron Parks's investigation into the Nanaimo Commonwealth Holding Society.
Mr. Parks, who was appointed by the government to conduct a forensic audit of the society's finances, said he has been forced to subpoena a series of missing documents from Mr. Stupich and two other society directors.
However, Mr. Stupich, the driving force behind the society, has launched a court challenge claiming Mr. Parks can't force him to produce the materials, which include personal banking records.
Mr. Parks said Mr. Stupich's daughter, Marjorie Boggis, and wife, Elizabeth Marlow, both former society directors, have filed similar petitions.
The Premier said Mr. Stupich has "a responsibility to New Democrats and an obligation to British Columbians to co-operate.''
Last year, the Nanaimo Commonwealth Holding Society and three related organizations were convicted of misusing charity funds raised in bingo games.
Mr. Parks was granted full powers to subpoena reluctant witnesses when he was appointed last fall.
Flash forward: In 1999, Mr. Stupich pleaded guilty to fraud and running an illegal lottery that diverted more than $1-million in bingo revenues from charities to NDP coffers.
Agent's murder shocks real estate community
The brutal murder of 37-year-old realtor Beverly Seto this week sent shock waves through the local real estate community and prompted female agents to cancel open houses for fear that a sex killer is on the loose.
"They are really scared and I don't blame them," said Bob Johnston, Ms. Seto's former boss, of Wall and Redekop Realty in Abbotsford.
Ms. Seto's body was found Sunday evening in a home in a Matsqui subdivision where she had held an open house earlier in the day, less than two blocks from her home.
Police said the victim was sexually assaulted and stabbed as many as 20 times. The killing bore striking similarities to the death of 27-year-old Lavonne Williams, who was raped and murdered five months ago while house-sitting in Clearbrook.
Don Shannon, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, said agents are being urged to work in pairs when they host open houses, even though there's no indication realtors are being deliberately targeted.
Flash forward: In January, 1986, 21-year-old Wesley Gareth Evans, a mentally ill man who lived four blocks from the scene of Ms. Seto's murder, was convicted of killing both Ms. Seto and Ms. Williams. The conviction was overturned in 1991.
Special to The Globe and Mail