Men charged in Bowness fraud accuse police of corruption in $3.5-million lawsuit

Two men facing fraud charges connected to allegations they embezzled much than $60,000 from a section assemblage relation assertion the household starring that organization, including 2 Calgary constabulary officers who are joined to each other, targeted them aft they tried to exposure corruption.

The allegations are elaborate successful a $3.5-million suit filed astatine the Calgary Courts Centre. 

This week, constabulary announced fraud charges against Nathan Mizera, 41, and Joshua Bredo, 40. The men person not yet entered pleas to the charges. 

Bredo antecedently served a nine-year situation condemnation for manslaughter aft helium admitted to attacking a 20-year-old with a hammer successful 2011.

Aliases used 

He besides has a past of utilizing aliases, including Joshua Baba, and has been accused successful a fig of fiscal controversies successful some Calgary and Prince George, B.C., implicit the past 17 years. 

Four months earlier they were charged, Bredo and Mizera, who are successful a common-law relationship, filed the suit against the constabulary and respective members of the Graham family, alleging they were illegally terminated from their jobs moving for the Bowness Ratepayers Scout and Guide Hall Association.

Harold Graham was the president of the relation for 40 years until his decease past year. 

The suit alleges 2 constabulary officers — Det. Sheldon Graham and his wife, Staff Sgt. Kathy Graham — utilized their positions to unlawfully entree and stock accusation gained via constabulary databases astir Bredo's manslaughter condemnation to "orchestrate and implement" the firing of Mizera and Bredo.

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The officers are the lad and daughter-in-law of Harold and Elaine Graham.

"The determination to intervene successful a backstage employment substance portion simultaneously overseeing oregon influencing a parallel transgression probe was a wide maltreatment of authority, devoid of lawful justification," reads the connection of claim. 

"The plaintiffs' termination, executed nether the shadiness of an ongoing investigation, was designed to make an quality of wrongdoing, inflict reputational harm and improperly interfere with their quality to support themselves."

Investigation 'independent of the Grahams'

When asked if the 2 officers were progressive successful the probe into Bredo and Mizera, the Calgary Police Service said it "conducted this probe autarkic of the Grahams."

"We cannot remark further connected litigation that is active," said the work successful its little statement.

"The Calgary Police Service volition record a connection of defence successful owed course."

CBC News has besides attempted to interaction respective members of the Graham household but did not person immoderate responses. 

Statements of defence person not yet been filed and nary of the allegations successful the assertion person been tested successful court. 

$66K in 'missing funds'

On Wednesday, Calgary constabulary announced the fraud charges against Bredo and Mizera. 

According to police, the brace became progressive with the relation and its hallway successful 2022. 

Police accidental the men rebranded the hallway arsenic BowCommons and held events nether the sanction Discover Bowness, utilizing it arsenic a spot to stitchery and clasp events wrong the community.

Bredo and Mizera began managing the regular operations and 1 appointed himself wide manager "without predetermination oregon consent from the board," according to police. 

In 2024, constabulary accidental committee members contacted constabulary aft they "became acrophobic with the attraction and deterioration of the hallway and the transparency of fiscal documents, which led to the find of a important magnitude of missing funds." 

Investigators said they believed that much than $66,000 was embezzled betwixt 2022 and 2024. 

Police allege the men hosted events utilizing enactment funds without paying attributed fees, falsified documents to get fiscal power and created mendacious receipts for services ne'er rendered, "which were past sent to fabricated email addresses and deposited into their idiosyncratic slope accounts."

The brace are owed successful tribunal connected Aug. 6. 

The suit names 2 sets of defendants — those connected to the Bowness Scout and Guide Hall Association and the Calgary Police Service defendants.

A 'whistleblowing memorandum'

Bredo and Mizera, who were employed by the relation betwixt October 2022 and April 2024, allege successful their suit that they were terminated 1 period aft attempting to uncover "financial mismanagement" wrong the association. 

The brace accidental they issued a "whistleblowing memorandum" successful March 2024, recommending an autarkic forensic audit of the association's fiscal records and the restructuring of its governance framework. 

Instead of calling a committee meeting, the plaintiffs allege that the stepdaughter of the president "attempted to bribe" them into silence.

They were fired a period later. 

Controversies connected to Bredo, aka Joshua Baba, day backmost much than a decade. 

In 2008, the begetter of a Canadian worker killed a twelvemonth earlier by a weaponry portion serving successful Afghanistan was attempting to acceptable up a instauration successful his son's name. 

Soldier fundraising a bust

At the time, Matthew McCully's begetter Ron McCully told CBC News that Joshua Baba was liable for the illness of his foundation.

Back then, Baba billed himself arsenic a nationalist relations advisor and signed up to assistance the grieving begetter commencement the Matthew McCully Foundation successful Prince George, which would person progressive a monument and a nationalist Support Our Troops speaking tour. 

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Baba committed to contributing the archetypal $10,000, wealth McCully said helium ne'er followed done on. 

McCully besides said Baba raised funds but the instauration ne'er saw immoderate of that money.

In the months aft McCully's planned instauration failed, Baba turned up successful Calgary, promising to, again, enactment up $10,000 of his ain wealth for a radical called Stand Up Calgary, a crime-fighting campaign. 

Baba told CBC News that his purpose was to get different businesses to spot successful to assistance money the radical he'd launched. 

Stand Up Calgary went obscurity aft the McCully communicative came to light. When asked for remark astatine the time, Baba refused to reply questions from CBC News, saying helium was trying to resoluteness things earlier commenting.

Political involvement 

Bredo/Baba besides has governmental connections. 

At 1 point, helium was the manager of communications for the Alberta Wild Rose Alliance Party, leaving the radical successful 2008. At the clip then-party person Paul Hinman confirmed to CBC News that he'd taken disconnected unexpectedly, leaving down nary interaction information, and a $2,000 telephone bill.

Bredo besides erstwhile worked for Conservative MP Dick Harris successful Prince George, B.C. When helium near that position, helium accused Harris of violating the Elections Act and helped motorboat an RCMP investigation. The probe revealed nary improper behaviour. 

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In 2009, Bredo worked arsenic enforcement adjunct for Calgary mayoral campaigner George Dadamo.

After the Calgary Herald revealed Bredo's arguable past successful some Calgary and Prince George, Dadamo pulled his sanction from the running.

The killing 

Two years later, Bredo was moving arsenic a manager successful Victoria astatine a 7-Eleven. In 2011, helium hired Daniel Levesque, an aspiring instrumentalist who'd moved to Vancouver Island successful hopes of furthering his euphony career. 

Details of the sidesplitting travel from a B.C. judge's sentencing determination issued successful 2017.

According to that decision, Bredo told Levesque a bid of lies astir his wealthiness and connections. The unfortunate "came to spot him absolutely."

Over their seven-month relationship, Bredo developed an "infatuation" with Levesque but realized the 20-year-old did not consciousness the same. 

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As Bredo's lies unravelled "his satellite was coming undone," wrote the justice who noted Bredo had mislaid his woman and was astir to suffer his occupation and apartment. 

On Aug. 3, 2011, Levesque was astatine Bredo's flat but came to recognize he'd been repeatedly lied to. Levesque told Bredo the relationship was implicit and tried to permission the apartment. 

Victim begged to beryllium fto go

In the sentencing decision, it said that Bredo blocked him, held him and grabbed a hammer, hitting Levesque implicit the caput 3 times. 

Levesque, who was bleeding from his head, tried to permission and begged to beryllium fto go, but Bredo continued to artifact the door. 

When Levesque yet mislaid consciousness, Bredo stabbed himself with a room knife, placed the weapon successful his victim's manus and called 911.

He told constabulary Levesque was the aggressor and that he'd simply defended himself. 

His lies were yet uncovered and helium was charged with murder. 

Bredo pleaded blameworthy to manslaughter and successful 2017 was handed a nine-year sentence. With recognition for the clip he'd already served, Bredo had 2 years near connected his condemnation to beryllium followed by 3 years' probation.