The withdrawal of $475,000 in cash by the man who killed 22 Nova Scotians in April matches the method the RCMP uses to send money to confidential informants and agents, sources say.
Gabriel Wortman, who is responsible for the largest mass killing in Canadian history, withdrew the money from a Brinks depot in Dartmouth, N.S., on March 30, stashing a carryall filled with hundred-dollar bills in the trunk of his car.
According to a source close to the police investigation the money came from CIBC Intria, a subsidiary of the chartered bank that handles currency transactions.
Sources in both banking and the RCMP say the transaction is consistent with how the RCMP funnels money to its confidential informants and agents, and is not an option available to private banking customers.
The RCMP has repeatedly said that it had no special relationship with Wortman. RCMP Supt. Darren Campbell reiterated that statement during an interview with the Toronto Star published online, and in its print newspaper on Sunday, saying: The gunman had no special relationship with the RCMP whatsoever. Campbell told the Star: The investigation has not uncovered any relationship between the gunman and the RCMP outside of an estranged familial relationship and two retired RCMP members.
According to the Star story: Campbell said the reason for Wortmans large cash withdrawal, which he confirmed was hundreds of thousands of dollars, was not fully known, however, there are indications that near the time of the withdrawal the gunman believed that due to the worldwide pandemic, that his financial assets were safer under his control.'
Campbell declined to be interviewed by Macleans on Friday, prior to this storys publication online, and again on Tuesday.
Court documents show Wortman owned a New Brunswick-registered company called Berkshire-Broman, the legal owner of two of his vehicles (including one of his police replica cars). Whatever the purpose of that company, there is no public evidence that it would have been able to move large quantities of cash. Wortman also ran his own denturist business and there is no reason to believe it also would require him to handle large amounts of cash.
If Wortman was an RCMP informant or agent, it could explain why the force appeared not to take action on complaints about his illegal guns and his assault on his common-law wife.A Mountie familiar with the techniques used by the force in undercover operations, but not with the details of the investigation into the shooting, says Wortman could not have collected his own money from Brinks as a private citizen.
Theres no way a civilian can just make an arrangement like that, he said in an interview.
He added that Wortmans transaction is consistent with the Mounties experience in how the RCMP pays its assets. Ive worked a number of CI cases over the years and thats how things go. All the payments are made in cash. To me that transaction alone proves he has a secret relationship with the force.
A second Mountie, who does not know the first one but who has also been involved in CI operations, also believes that Wortmans ability to withdraw a large sum of money from Brinks is an indication that Wortman had a link with the police. Thats tradecraft, the Mountie said, explaining that by going through CIBC Intria, the RCMP could avoid typical banking scrutiny, as there are no holds placed on the money.
Thats what we do when we need flash money for a buy. We dont keep stashes of money around the office. When we suddenly need a large sum of money to make a buy or something, thats the route we take. I think [with the Brinks transaction] youve proved with that single fact that he had a relationship with the police. He was either a CI or an agent.
if we defund the police, how will a known domestic abuser make four hundred thousand dollars and commit the largest mass shooting in the country's history?????