“The little time I have left to live, I want to live it in peace, no stress, far from all the problems”, promises Alain Charron.
The 74-year-old man, a former henchman of the Dubois clan, associate of the West gang, close to kingpin Raynald Desjardins and large-scale drug importer, convinced the parole board members to send him to a prison. transition on Monday, after a hearing where “the wear and tear of time” and the family took up a lot of space.
“Over the years, I have understood what is really important. Friends, we think we have some, but in the end, we don’t really have any. I made realizations. I have no honor for the things I have done or seen. If my life had to be redone, it would be different. I can’t change the past, but I can improve the future,” he added.
Charron is serving a third prison term, this time five years, for conspiring with others to import 15 tons of hashish in 2010.
He said that after his previous release, in 2006, he tidied up before going back to frequenting an Irish bar in southwest Montreal nicknamed “the Embassy”, where he was presumably offered the project.
His role would have been to move the drugs once they arrived and find the customer, he said.
“The offer was too good. I had the chance to make a good amount of money without too much involvement and too much risk. Without thinking beyond my nose, I gave in and said yes,” said Alain Charron, adding that it was “a serious mistake”. “But the damage is done, I accept my mistakes and I pay for it,” he said.
“I was hired and I worked. »
The authorities still consider Charron to be a member of traditional Irish organized crime, but he retorts that he was never a member of any criminal group.
“I was hired and I worked. I never had a membership like you see on TV, in the mafia and all that. I knew a lot of people in the West gang. But the West gang is not a structured gang. These are people who know each other in the Irish milieu. There was never a leader, like in the mafia or other gangs,” he explained.
Alain Charron said that his family was unaware of his illicit activities, that he went to Montreal as if he was going to work, and that when he returned home to the Laurentians, nothing seemed there. .
“I always kept my wife in the dark about what I was doing. I didn’t want her involved. At home, it was another world,” he described.
family and volunteering
Once released, Charron wants to take care of his family members and do volunteer work. He is going to live in another region, to avoid bad company.
There will be no more temptations. Dating is always that. I have to avoid meeting my friends. Many are deceased today. And my life and my values have changed.
Alain Charron
Even if they underline that Charron shows a “widespread criminality, that he has been in the business for almost 60 years and that he has greatly contributed to the scourge of drugs”, the commissioners conclude that the risk is not unacceptable to society and they agree to his going to a halfway house for six months.
However, they impose severe conditions on him: the septuagenarian cannot communicate with any individual involved in criminal activities or frequent them, cannot frequent bars and cafes where alcohol is sold, must have only one cell phone and a only SIM card, and allow his release agent access to all applications, calls and text messages contained in his device and not delete anything. Finally, Charron will also have to disclose the least of its financial transactions.
“I just want to think positively. I have no monetary needs. I just want to think about doing good and being good, and living in reality, without stress and without problems, ”certified Charron, before thanking the commissioners.
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.