The U.S. Department of Justice says Deepak Paradkar, centre, provided a range of illegal services to Ryan Wedding and his drug-trafficking organization that went ‘beyond the scope of a normal attorney-client relationship.’Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press
Until his arrest this week, Deepak Balwant Paradkar was known as the kind of flashy, brash defence lawyer that drug dealers in Canada paid handsomely to help keep them out of jail.
On Wednesday, Mr. Paradkar was in custody in Toronto, facing extradition to the U.S., where officials accuse him of helping an international drug boss plot the murder of a key witness.
The high-profile Mississauga lawyer, indicted as part of the drug-trafficking case against former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, has long embraced the infamy of representing notorious clients, including serial killer Dellen Millard.
He used the Instagram handle “Cocaine_lawyer” – a nickname referred to in the indictment – and boasted about clients who beat drug charges, until he was reprimanded in 2017 by the Law Society of Ontario. He has a well-known taste for luxury cars and has described trials as warfare.
“People with money hire me because I don’t do legal aid,” he once told the Hamilton Spectator.
Several Canadians have been arrested for extradition to the United States in relation to a drug trafficking probe involving Ryan Wedding, a former Team Canada Olympian turned fugitive believed to be hiding in Mexico.
The Canadian Press
But U.S. officials say his work as Mr. Wedding’s lawyer has crossed over into criminality. According to an unsealed indictment released Wednesday, he advised Mr. Wedding to murder a key witness who was set to testify against him.
U.S., Canadian authorities announce new arrests in efforts to prosecute fugitive Ryan Wedding
Speaking to reporters in Washington, U.S. Attorney-General Pam Bondi – the top law-enforcement official in America – said the homicide in Colombia that followed his alleged advice, in January, was exceptionally deplorable.
“The witness was gunned down at a restaurant in Medillín before he could testify against Wedding,” Ms. Bondi said.
Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding’s alleged drug trafficking organization
An organizational chart prepared by U.S. law enforcement agencies showing what prosecutors allege is an international criminal network responsible for drug trafficking and violence in Canada, the United States, Mexico and elsewhere.
Alleged human
connections
Alleged business
connections
Miryam Andrea
Castillo Moreno
(Wife)
Carmen Yelinet
Valoyes Florez
(Madam)
Daniela Alejandra
Acuna Macias
(Girlfriend)
Edgar Aaron
Vazquez Alvarado
(’The General’)
VRG Energeticos
S.A. de C.V.
Grupo RVG
Combustibles
S.A. de C.V.
Grupo Ares
Imperial S.
de R.L. de C.V.
2351885
Ontario
Inc. d.b.a.
Diamond Tsar
Windrose
Tactical
S.R.L.S.
Made in
Italy Motor
-cycles Ltd.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding’s alleged drug trafficking organization
An organizational chart prepared by U.S. law enforcement agencies showing what prosecutors allege is an international criminal network responsible for drug trafficking and violence in Canada, the United States, Mexico and elsewhere.
Alleged human
connections
Alleged business
connections
Miryam Andrea
Castillo Moreno
(Wife)
Daniela Alejandra
Acuna Macias
(Girlfriend)
Carmen Yelinet
Valoyes Florez
(Madam)
Edgar Aaron
Vazquez Alvarado
(’The General’)
VRG Energeticos
S.A. de C.V.
Grupo RVG
Combustibles
S.A. de C.V.
Grupo Ares
Imperial S.
de R.L. de C.V.
2351885
Ontario
Inc. d.b.a.
Diamond Tsar
Windrose
Tactical
S.R.L.S.
Made in
Italy Motor
-cycles Ltd.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding’s alleged drug trafficking organization
An organizational chart prepared by U.S. law enforcement agencies showing what prosecutors allege is an international criminal network responsible for drug trafficking and violence in Canada, the United States, Mexico and elsewhere.
Alleged human
connections
Alleged business
connections
Edgar Aaron Vazquez Alvarado
(’The General’)
Miryam Andrea Castillo Moreno
(Wife)
VRG Energeticos
S.A. de C.V.
2351885
Ontario
Inc. d.b.a.
Diamond Tsar
Daniela Alejandra Acuna Macias
(Girlfriend)
Grupo RVG
Combustibles
S.A. de C.V.
Windrose
Tactical
S.R.L.S.
Made in
Italy Motor
-cycles Ltd.
Grupo Ares
Imperial S.
de R.L. de C.V.
Carmen Yelinet Valoyes Florez
(Madam)
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
According to authorities, the alleged murder conspiracy was hatched to help Mr. Wedding escape the reach of the U.S. charges that he has faced for the past year. The witness, left unnamed in the indictment, is identified in Montreal court documents as Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia. He was shot five times in the head and died instantly after Mr. Wedding reportedly placed a bounty on his head, authorities allege.
“The lawyer in Canada, his lawyer advised him to kill this witness,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California told reporters in Washington. “His lawyer told him ‘if you kill this witness, the case will be dismissed.’”
The U.S. Department of Justice says Mr. Paradkar was a member of Mr. Wedding’s criminal enterprise and provided a range of illegal services to him and his drug-trafficking organization that went “beyond the scope of a normal attorney-client relationship.” Investigators say he introduced Mr. Wedding to the drug traffickers who moved his cocaine, and has also helped him arrange bribes.
A reward poster for the arrest of Ryan James Wedding.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The indictment says Mr. Paradkar “violated the trust of his clients and the ethics of his profession” by allowing Mr. Wedding and his associates to eavesdrop on privileged conversations between Mr. Paradkar and his other clients, some of whom Mr. Wedding wanted to kill. It says Mr. Wedding paid the lawyer with luxury watches and additional fees for these illegal services.
Calls to Mr. Paradkar on Wednesday were not returned. His office was listed on Google as “permanently closed” and his LinkedIn page was taken down.
Who is Ryan Wedding, the former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who is on the FBI’s Most Wanted list?
Born in India, Mr. Paradkar was brought to Canada at age seven by his father, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, and his mother. Mr. Paradkar got his licence to practice law in Ontario in 1993, and became known in media interviews and on social media for dishing out uncensored advice to potential clients.
“Best advice for all my clients and those who are gangstas: trust no one including your right hand. In every drug case I’ve done, there is always a rat responsible for taking you down and you won’t see it coming,” he wrote in a post on Instagram that was later taken down in 2017.
The arrest of Mr. Paradkar at his Thornhill home has sent shockwaves through the legal community. Peter German, a Canadian legal academic and anti-money-laundering expert, said lawyers have a unique position when working with clients accused of criminal acts – but cannot become facilitators in those crimes.
“This is extremely unusual to see a criminal lawyer facing allegations such as this,” he said.
“There are limits on what a lawyer can do for a client, and a lawyer can never become involved in criminality,” he said, speaking generally.
Selwyn Pieters, a Toronto lawyer, said in an online post that he saw Mr. Paradkar appearing in court on Wednesday. Mr. Pieters said it was a shock to see a fellow lawyer facing such serious criminal charges.
Mr. Essayli, the assistant U.S. Attorney, told reporters that it was critical for public trust that lawyers accused of working with organized crime are held accountable.
“It was very important for us to get him,” he said, “because when you have people who are officers of the court, who are lawyers, we take oaths to protect the public and defend the law.”