A Montreal real estate broker with no criminal record, Jesse Wiseman, was sentenced to six years in prison last week, after police found more than 40 kilograms of cocaine in a condo a little over a year ago .
Wiseman, 35, was arrested following a short investigation by the Antigang section of the Organized Crime Division (DCO) of the City of Montreal Police Department.
After receiving information that Wiseman was trafficking narcotics, investigators followed him and observed him engaging in quick encounters and bag swaps with other individuals.
On May 29, 2023, following an exchange of bags between Wiseman and an individual, investigators arrested the two men and found a kilogram of cocaine and the sum of $23,000.
They also found two sets of keys on Wiseman, one for his condo and the other for another unit in the same building on Lennox Street.
In the condo occupied by Wiseman, they discovered a firearm and in the second, 43 kilograms of cocaine, one of the largest, if not the largest cocaine seizures made by the SPVM last year.
Compulsive gambler
Last Thursday, Wiseman pleaded guilty to three counts of trafficking cocaine, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking and possession of a prohibited weapon.
Judge Geneviève Graton of the Court of Quebec accepted a joint suggestion from the Prosecution and the Defense and sentenced Wiseman to six years in penitentiary.
By subtracting the period spent in preventive detention – which is calculated in time and a half – the convicted person has nearly four and a half years left to serve.
In a short closing argument, highlighting mitigating factors, Wiseman’s lawyer, Mr.e Dominique Shoofey explained his client’s involvement in this crime by his gambling problems.
There were days of surveillance during which the police saw him going from one casino to another, in Kahnawake, Montreal, and returning to his house. His involvement stems from gambling problems he developed over the years.
Me Dominique Shoofey, lawyer for Jessy Wiseman
According to a police document filed during the investigation into Wiseman’s release, the latter made purchases of $85,000 at gaming tables in April and May 2023 and suffered losses of $64,000 at the tables and $63,000 $ to machines.
For the single day of May 23, 2023, he would have played for $35,000 and suffered losses of $32,000.
High volume
During this same investigation into release, an investigator from the SPVM DCO, Mathieu-Olivier Couture, said that Jesse Wiseman would have been a trusted man of Erasmo Crivello, whom the witness described as “a major importer of cocaine independent, which has links with traditional Italian organized crime (COTI) and which, according to our information, is able to supply a volume of 20 kilos per day.
The 43 packages found in the condo to which Wiseman had the key displayed different logos, including the caricatured profile of Donald Trump.
PHOTO FILED IN COURT
One of the seized kilograms displaying the profile and name of the former US president.
In the condo, which was likely used as a drug cache, the police also found accounting hidden in a box of Lucky Charms cereal.
According to investigator Couture’s reading of this accounting, at least 300 kg would have passed through this condo and between 10 and 20 kg would have been passed each day.
The investigator also set the value of the 43 kg seized in May 2023 at at least $10 million once the drugs were cut and resold on the street.
Wiseman is now prohibited from possessing a weapon and was required to provide a DNA sample.
To contact Daniel Renaud, call 514 285-7000, extension 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of La Presse.