Barry Bradley’s Old Newspaper Clippings

Throughout his career in the Force (1960 – 1995), Veteran Barry Bradley developed a newspaper scrapebook containing notable news stories about the RCMP in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

Each week, we will post three or four of these old newspaper clippings for the interest of Veterans and their families. This week’s webpage includes some interesting stories reflecting different aspects of activities in the RCMP.  These stories would have been forgotten if not saved by Barry and to be shared with others.

MOUNTIE CITES ‘DEAL’ OFFER

November 7, 1968 – MONTREAL – (Vancouver Sun newspaper) – Roger Mourant, 28, a former RCMP officer convicted earlier this week on a narcotics charge, testified Wednesday he had been offered a deal by the Crown to testify against the accused.

“I came here to tell the truth,” the witness said, “but threats and promises have been made.”

He was testifying at the trial of Arnold Steinberg, a Montreal druggist charged with illegal trafficking of controlled durgs.

“I was told that if I didn’t testify in the Steinberg car the Crown would appeal my sentence,” Mourant said. He was sentenced Monday to two years for selling heroin seized in an RCMP raid.

Prosecutor Louis-Philippe Landry took the stand following Mourants’s charges and denied that any threats or promises had been made.

fHe said he had known Mourant well and had worked with the former RCMP narcotics squad officer.

“I had sympathy for him but I in on way suggested or made any threats or promises.”

Judge Lagarde, hearing the Steinberg case, postponed the current trial to Nov. 21.

RCMP SPECIAL OFFICER GETS EIGHTEEN MONTHS

1966 – Penticton – (Vancouver Sun newspaper) –  Shaw. 64, former RCMP special constable, was sentenced today to 18 months in Oakalla prison farm.

He pleaded guilty June 26 to seven counts of theft and possession.

He and form RCMP constable Kenneth J. Glass, 21, were charged last month following thefts from a number of businesses here.

Glass was given nine months definite and one year indefinite on five charges of theft. Glass also pleaded guilty.

Both were members of the Penticton detachment. They were suspended from the force when charges were laid and removed from after they pleaded guilty.

NOTE: Kenneth Shaw was a retired RCMP member – Reg.#9846 and was employed at the Penticton Detachment as a Detachment Night Guard. Both Constable Glass and Kenneth Shaw broke into the Penticton Legion to steal money from they safe.

 MOUNTIES, PICKETS SCUFFLE AT LENKURT PLANT PROTEST

Struggling Mountie loses his hat and another officer appears about to lose his gun in scuffle with pickets outside Lenkurt Electric plant in Burnaby today. Trouble started when employees attempted to cross picket lines to enter plant. (Source of photo – Vancouver Sun newspaper)

May 11, 1966 – (Vancouver Sun newspaper) RCMP officers scuffled with jeering pickets outside the Lenkurt Electric plant in Burnaby early today as organized labor staged a mass demonstration against the company.

About 200 pickets paraded outside entrances to the plant in the 7000 block Lougheed Highway and handed out pamphlets urging employees not to report to work.

RCMP ACTION

The scuffling started when most employees ignored the picket lines and tried to drive into the plant.

Seven carloads of RCMP officers fought to clear a path as the pickets shouted at the car drivers and pounded their vehicles.

They were no arrests.

An RCMP spokesman said “We’re here to clear traffic and protect life and property.. That’s all we’re interested in.”

A company spokesman Ben Metcalfe, said none of the employees who drove through the picket line were injured.

However, one man, identified as Clarence Sartorius, of Langley, had his shirt torn by a picket who reached through his car window.

Metcalfe said one care driven by a girl was slightly damaged by the pickets.

JOINT PROTEST

The pickets said today’s demonstration was organized jointly by the B.C. Federation of Labour, the Vancouver and District Labour Council and Local 213 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The demonstration began about 7 a.m. apparently to head off employees scheduled to report at 8 a.m.

Most of the scuffling occurred att the entrance in the 2900 block Bainbridge.

A copy of a court injunction prohibiting picketing was posted there but it was ignored by the pickets, and Metcalfe said the firm was not insisting that police enforce it.

“It would be a matter of arresting about 200 people,” he said.

SHERIFF’s MEN

Sheriff’s officers were also on the scene attempting to serve individual pickets with copies of the injunction.

The pickets tore them up as they were handed out and shouted down the sheriff’s officers when they tried to read them aloud.

Leabour leaders at the scene included Paddy Neale, secretary of the Vancouver Labour Council; Art O’Keefe, business agent of Local 213, IBEW: Craig Pritchett, Longshoremen’s Union; Tom Clarke and Doug Evans of the International Woodworkers of America; Bill Stewart of the Marine Workers Union; Lorne Robson of the Carpenters Union, and Les McDonald of the IBEW.

PICKETS MEET

The picket line was removed about 9 a.m. and the pickets adjourned to the IWA Hall, Thirteenth and Commercial, for a meeting there.

Neale said after the hour long meeting the pickets estimated that only about 60 production employees reported for work at the Lenkurt plant today.

“Our intention is to shut down the plant – then maybe they’ll talk to us,”, he said.

“If necessary we’ll have neither picket line out there Thursday – a bigger one.”

PLEA TO PETERSON

Neale said the meeting decided that another attempt should be made to set up a meeting with Lenkurt officials and the Labour Minister Leslie Peterson should again be asked to intervene in the dispute.

Today’s incidents were the latest in a dispute that began April 26 when 257 Lenkurt employees walked out to protest the company’s overtime policy.

All are members of the electrical workers’s union. A total of 168 union members stayed on the job.

MEN FIRED

The 257 who walked out were fired after ignoring a company directive that they return or be dismissed. About 50 have since been re-hired.

A remaining 375 employees are non-union clerks and management staff.

Today’s picketing followed rejection by the workers Monday of a back-to-work settlement signed by the company and Angus MacDonald, president of Loca 213 of the IBEW.

The settlement would have meant loss of seniority for the workers, although they were promised there would be no discrimination as a result of their work stoppage.

The B.C. Federation of Labour also refused to endorse the settlement, which was worked out at a meeting from which O’Keefe, was excluded.

ESCAPEE NABBED AT CACHE DRAWS FOUR-YEAR TERM

Photograph of Oakalla Prison in Burnaby BC.

June 6, 1967 – PRINCE RUPERT -(Vancouver Sun newspaper) – An armed jail escapee who was captured Sunday by RCMP was today given an additional four years in jail.

Kalos Hegedus, 27, taken into custody by two RCMP officers who staked out a food cache near here, pleaded guilty to five charges before Magistrate W.N. Poole.

Hegedus, a ringleader in the 1964 Oakalla prison riot and presenting serving time for the attempted murder of a police officer, was given two additional consecutive two-year terms for escaping lawful custody and possession of an offensive weapon.

Magistrate Poole also sentenced Hegedus to two years concurrent for theft of a revolver. He also imposed two one-year terms, also concurrent, on two charges of breaking and entering.

Hegedus admitted stealing a .38 revolver during his escape here early Saturday and breaking into Rupert Cement Products and the Fairview Cafe.

Police said $35 was taken from the cement company and candy bars and pop were stolen from the cafe.

Hegedus surrendered without a struggle Sunday when recaptured. The .38 revolver was still tucked in his belt.

Prince Rupert constables Gerry Kopp and W.L. Weldon jumped behind a blind, pointed rifles at Hegedus, and said” “Thant’s it.”

An RCMP spokesman said the startled Gegedus did not have time to reach for his loaded revolver.

Hegedus had been the object of a full-scale police hunt since his escape from a jail cell here early Saturday.

The food cash about six miles southeast of here was found about 9 a.m. Sunday by an RCMP tracking dog, Rocky flown from Nanaimo.

A five-man RCMP posse lead by Staff Sergeant N.D. Gibson probed the thick underbrush in the area for several hours after the cache was located.

The posse gave up its immediate search of the area because of heavy fog, but the two constables were left behind to stake out the cache.

Hegedus, who police described as ‘extremely dangerous,’ escaped by wriggling through a ventilator opening in his cell shortly after midnight Saturday.

Police said he broke into a locker room and stole the revolver.

His escape was discovered at 7 a.m. Saturday.

RCMP set up roadblocks on Highway 16 east of here and 20 officers joined in the search, aided by a helicopter, a light plane and the dog.

Police concentrated the search in the dense bushland east of here after a man matching the description of the prisoner was spotted late Saturday on CNR tracks leading east to Port Edward.

Hegedus had been serving a four year term in the B.C. Penitentary for shooting at a police officer in downtown Prince Rupert last November.

He had been temporarily transferred in jail here to testify at the trial of a friend Laszlo Nagy.

Nagy was convicted Friday in Prince Rupert on charges of breaking and entering and possession of explosives and a sawed-off rifle.

Hagedus was one of 14 Oakalla inmates convicted in connection with a riot a the jail in October 1964.