Sean Erez, 38, and Evgene Starchik, 24, were convicted after a three-week trial which heard key evidence from Erez's ex-girlfriend, Nataly Abitan, 30.
The former Montreal bank manager came to Toronto with Erez on the 2006 Canada Day long weekend and was with him when gunmen opened fire on the 28th floor of the Westin Harbour Castle hotel. After responding to a call about the shooting, police found four kilograms of cocaine in the ice room that Abitan said she had earlier seen in the hotel room the three had shared. No arrests were made in the shooting.
"I am happy for Ms. Abitan, who was an important Crown witness, because her credibility was attacked by the defence but by its verdict the jury found her evidence to be trustworthy and reliable," senior federal Crown attorney George Lennox said after the jury delivered its verdict.
In 2001, Erez pleaded guilty in Brooklyn, N.Y., to masterminding an international Ecstasy smuggling ring that used Hasidic Jews as drug couriers. He was sentenced to 15 years but was transferred to Canada in 2005 and released shortly after.
Lennox said he will be seeking a lengthy penitentiary sentence for both men.
Superior Court Justice Frances Kiteley rejected Lennox's request to revoke Starchik's bail, saying she was reassured that he won't disappear since he has shown up for court on time every day and police already have all of his travel documents. He is an Isareli citizen who is already facing deportation due to an earlier drug conviction.Erez's lawyer, Michael McLachlan, said he would appeal on a number of grounds. Starchik represented himself.
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