| StylinRed | 12-01-2009 12:28 AM |
Former Olympian, Ryan Wedding, Guilty minimum 10yrs in US Prison
Quote:
Former Olympian Ryan Wedding found guilty in cocaine conspiracy
Snowboarder faces a minimum of 10 years in a U.S. prison for possession and distribution
By KIM BOLAN, VANCOUVER SUNNovember 30, 2009 10:07 PM
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Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding was convicted in a San Diego, Calif., courtroom Monday of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine.
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Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding was convicted in a San Diego, Calif., courtroom Monday of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine.
Photograph by: Adam Pretty, Getty Images
Former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding was convicted in a San Diego, Calif., courtroom Monday of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine.
It took a jury just 2 1⁄2 hours of deliberating at the start of the day to find the man guilty of the charges filed against him in June 2008.
He will be sentenced on March 11, 2010, just weeks after the conclusion of the Vancouver Olympics, in which, his lawyer told a court, the 28-year-old had hoped to participate.
Wedding faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in a U.S. jail.
His two co-accused in the case, Vancouver businessman Michael Krapchan and North Vancouver’s Hassan Shirani, earlier pleaded guilty in the cocaine case. Krapchan is already serving his sentence while Shirani, who testified for the U.S. government earlier this month against Wedding, will be sentenced Friday.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Dave Goddard, of the Federal Drug Enforcement Branch, said Wedding’s fate should be a cautionary tale for other Canadians contemplating an attempt at drug-smuggling south of the border.
“When you get somebody like Ryan Wedding, who was a part of our national snowboarding team, it is quite a bit larger fall from grace for him,” Goddard said Monday. “He has gone from being a role model for our youth to ... a convicted cocaine trafficker.”
Goddard provided evidence to Wedding’s trial about the price of cocaine on the streets of Metro Vancouver.
Wedding was nabbed on June 13, 2008, three days after he arrived in Los Angeles from Vancouver with Krapchan and Shirani.
The U.S. Attorney led evidence that all three B.C. men worked for Elmar Akhundov, “the leader of the Akhundov drug-trafficking organization based in Vancouver and under investigation in California for money laundering and drug trafficking.”
The government had taped conversations of Wedding in which he appeared to be a willing participant in the scheme to purchase 24 kilos of cocaine to transport back to B.C.
The former snowboarder arrived in California June 9, telling an undercover operator the next day that the trio didn’t have the money immediately available.
Wedding was recorded saying the case for the cocaine was “waiting” in L.A.
“Obviously, I didn’t put it in my suitcase,” Wedding said on tape.
Wedding was also caught on tape saying that he and Shirani would “grab one” kilo of coke and “have a look at it” before getting the remaining 23.
The B.C. group paid the confidential informant $17,000 for the first kilo.
After the deal was done, Shirani and Wedding were picked up at a San Diego hotel where Wedding had rented a room. In his room, hidden in a piece of furniture, police “agents located approximately $100,000 of United States currency.”
Wedding’s lawyer, David Denis, had filed a flurry of last-minute motions before the trial began two weeks ago attempting to get additional information about Shirani, whose name surfaced in a 1997 murder investigation.
But most of Wedding’s defence motions to exclude evidence and gain additional disclosure were dismissed by Judge Jeffrey Miller.
Wedding denied ever being part of a drug gang and said he only accompanied Shirani to L.A. so he could check out real estate deals.
“Ryan Wedding had no prior conviction or involvement in any alleged drug or criminal activity,” Denis said. “In fact, the mountains of recordings don’t contain any statements regarding or referring to Mr. Wedding.”
Wedding was born in Thunder Bay, Ont., where his grandparents operated a small ski hill, and was a member of the Canadian National Snowboard Team from 1995-2002. His family moved to Coquitlam in 1991. He claims to volunteer for several cancer agencies, as well as being “an avid real estate investor and draftsperson.”
He ended up 24th in the 2002 Olympics and claimed in U.S. court documents to be training for 2010. However, the National Snowboarding Federation denied Wedding’s claim that he was still a contender.
kbolan@vancouversun.com
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