Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 05, 2014, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A6 A 6 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014 MANITOBA winnipegfreepress. com $ 99 APPLIANCES & UP REFURBISHED DISHWASHERS . STOVES . FREEZERS . FRIDGES . MICROWAVES . WASHERS/ DRYERS USED APPLIANCES WPG LARGEST SELECTION FREE 90 Day Warranty PROVENCHER APPLIANCE 316 DES MEURONS ST CALL 204- 237- 6868 126 MARION ST CALL 204- 504- 4403 4- 660 Osborne St. | 204- 475- 4250 oakwoodcafe. ca BREAKFAST SPECIAL Come in and enjoy our unbeatable breakfast special Monday - Friday 8: 00am- 10: 00am $ 4 44 ONLY plus taxes B B A A C C O O N N ' ' N NE E G G G G S S Two pieces of crisp bacon, two eggs, potato wedges and toast For more information contact Michelle at the Winnipeg Free Press Phone: ( 204) 697- 7215 or michelle. racicot@ freepress. mb. ca Looking for extra cash to pay down bills? Become a part- time carrier for the Winnipeg Free Press! �� Earn $ 650 to $ 750 per month �� Average Route: Monday through Saturday, 3: 30 A. M. to 6: 00 A. M. ( 2.5 - 3 hours daily) �� Gas allowance per kilometers used ( over and above your earnings!) �� Easy Money ormation c 20 email: racico �� Optional Carrier Insurance �� Great way to get in shape �� Perfect job for students �� Must have a vehicle and valid driver's license in order to apply A GROUP of biker gang members and affiliates who are serving life sentences for the slaughter of eight fellow Bandidos is moving forward with appeals of their dozens of murder convictions. The internal cleansing of the Bandidos biker gang saw the bullet- ridden bodies of eight men stuffed into cars and abandoned in rural southwestern Ontario in April 2006. It's believed to be Ontario's largest mass slaying. Six men were convicted, including the purported mastermind, Wayne Kellestine, of 44 counts of first- degree murder and four counts of manslaughter between them. They all filed notices of appeal shortly after their convictions in 2009, but Appeal Court documents show five are only now proceeding, with four having secured lawyers who have filed written arguments. Three of the men found guilty were Winnipeggers: Michael Sandham, Dwight Mushey and Brett Gardiner. The only man convicted in the eight killings who appears to not be pursuing his appeal is Sandham, who used to be a police officer with the nowdefunct East St. Paul force just north of Winnipeg, and who shot the first of the eight men. In Kellestine's argument he takes exception to being branded a " psychopath" at trial and to other " massively prejudicial bad character evidence," including Nazi symbols found on his farm where the murders took place. " The difficulty in trying him fairly was greatly compounded by the all- out attack on his character mounted by many of his co- accused," Kellestine's lawyer writes. " They elicited extensive evidence portraying the appellant as frightening and deranged." Despite raising the character issue, Kellestine's main argument on appeal appears to centre on what the judge told the jury about how they could use his statements to police. The other men - Marcelo Aravena, Gardiner, Frank Mather and Mushey - were portrayed at trial as power- hungry schemers or wannabes gunning for status in the outlaw motorcycle club. Several are arguing on appeal they should have been allowed to use the defence of duress. " Kellestine had created an atmosphere of coercive oppression that encompassed an implied threat to kill Aravena if he did not do what Kellestine required," Aravena's lawyer writes. The Crown argued at trial the murders were the result of rising tensions between the dead men and the probationary Bandidos chapter in Winnipeg. Kellestine, a member of the Toronto chapter, had become increasingly alienated from his Toronto brothers and allied with the Winnipeg men. Court heard he had received orders from U. S. Bandidos officials to strip the Toronto men of their gang affiliation and start a new Canadian chapter, but at some point in the days or hours leading up to the killings the plan changed to mass murder. Killed that fateful night were George Jessome, 52, George Kriarakis, 28, John Muscedere, 48, Luis Raposo, 41, Frank Salerno, 43, Paul Sinopoli, 30, Jamie Flanz, 37, and Michael Trotta, 31. The Crown's version of events was largely based on the testimony of a man who is now an informant but was a member of the Winnipeg Bandidos. He is the only one who was at Kellestine's farmhouse on the night of the killings who is not dead or in prison. - The Canadian Press THE 58 teachers on Sandy Bay First Nation get edgy every two weeks, wondering whether their paycheques will arrive. The cheques have been late eight times since June 2012 and teachers are owed a total of at least $ 737,000, Manitoba Teachers' Society ( MTS) president Paul Olson said Tuesday. The teachers' union demanded Tuesday Ottawa place the band located 50 kilometres north of Brandon under third- party management. Officials with Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada did not respond Tuesday to an interview request. " The situation for our members in Sandy Bay has become more than intolerable," Olson told a news conference. Sandy Bay Chief Russell Beaulieu said he will respond at a news conference this morning in Winnipeg. TeacherMikeBeaulieu, abandmember and 23- year veteran of the staff at Isaac Beaulieu School - named after his father - said teachers have even been threatened with layoffs if they push harder for payment. " Our situation is deplorable. We don't know until the day before, or the day of" whether they'll be paid, he said. Teacher Marlene Lavasseur said she had to move elsewhere this school year because she couldn't pay her rent, utilities bills and car payments on time when she taught at Sandy Bay last year. " The cheques kept getting delayed. We weren't getting paid on time," she said. Olson said MTS was forced to act when Sandy Bay First Nation failed to keep its promise of meeting its financial obligations to teachers by Feb. 1. MTS has never had this kind of problem with any reserve school it represents or any public school division in memory, he said. Olson said for more than 18 months the band has not been paying its portion of benefits, including pensions, and that while it has been collecting the teachers' portion, has not been remitting those deductions to the Canada Revenue Agency. " Where the money went after that is anyone's guess," Olson said. MTS said three teachers who retired in June have not received pension benefits and five teachers on disability leave have not received benefits. Teachers may look for new jobs after June 30, but they will not withdraw their services, Olson said. " Teachers take their obligations to their kids very seriously." Olson said morale is low at the school, where fire alarms aren't working, bathrooms lack toilet paper and snow is not cleared. " School buses transport more students than legally allowed, and they are in disrepair," he said. Beaulieu said his father founded the school and made the decision to join MTS, and he's followed his father's path. " That's my home community, that's the school my dad built and I don't want to leave," he said. " My ancestors could not read or write, but they had the foresight to know that education is vital if we are to survive as a people." nick. martin@ freepress. mb. ca Bikers proceeding with appeals A man who shot and killed a Manitoba couple in their holiday home in Texas 25 years ago has been sentenced to life in prison. Arturo Almaguer, 44, must serve 30 years behind bars before he can apply for parole. A jury convicted Almaguer on Monday of capital murder in the deaths of Evan Squires, 70, and his wife Wilda Squires, 65. The couple lived in Minnedosa, north of Brandon, and travelled each winter to the Magic Valley Trailer Park in Weslaco, Texas. They were found shot to death in their mobile home, wearing their pyjamas, on the night of Nov. 13, 1988. The case remained unsolved until 2011, when authorities said they matched feces left on the floor of the trailer with DNA from Almaguer, who had been arrested in Michigan on an unrelated offence. " We went 23 years with no hope," Wilda Squires's son, Bill Jury, said after the sentencing hearing. " With DNA you can run, but you can't hide." The son sat through some of the trial and said the prosecution argued his mother and stepfather were killed in a burglary gone bad. The couple, married for 2 � years, were both regulars at the trailer park when they met and fell in love. Evan Squires taught painting classes there and Wilda Squires taught English to children at a school just over the border in Mexico. They were kind, trusting people who even had a habit of not locking their door. Jury explained the couple wanted their older neighbours to be able to come in and use their phone if they had medical emergencies. It was alleged Almaguer believed no one was in the home that night, because the Squires had parked their vehicle in a neighbour's driveway to make room for some renovation work. Court heard Almaguer piled a box of silverware, a portable radio and other belongings by the trailer door, then went to use the bathroom. When the Squires woke up and confronted the intruder, he shot the couple and defecated on the floor. DNA testing was still relatively new at the time, but Jury said a sample of the feces was collected. Experts were later able to collect enough skin and blood cells to create a DNA profile. Almaguer has filed an appeal. - The Canadian Press Man who killed Manitoba couple gets life By Allison Jones Sandy Bay First Nation $ 737K in arrears: MTS By Nick Martin Teachers tired of delayed paydays Convicted in deaths of eight fellow Bandidos Michael Sandham is not pursuing an appeal. Dwight Mushey has filed an appeal notice. KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Teacher Mike Beaulieu and Marlene Lavasseur, a former teacher at a school on Sandy Bay First Nation, say their paycheques were often delayed. A_ 06_ Feb- 05- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A6 2/ 4/ 14 11: 50: 42 PM ;