(Photo from www.melaric.ca)
By Jorge Barrera
APTN National News
Troubled suspended Senator Patrick Brazeau is headed to a drug and alcohol rehabilitation “resort” set in a bucolic environment with its own private lake, a community garden, bed-and- breakfast-type bedrooms along with volleyball and softball fields.
Brazeau was sent to the Melaric rehab centre, which is about 133 kilometres east of Ottawa, by a Quebec provincial judge Friday as a result of negotiations between Crown prosecutor Stephany Robitaille and Gerard Larocque, the defence lawyer for the fallen Algonquin politician. Brazeau was released on $5,000 bail which required no deposit and the rehab centre was among a list of imposed conditions.
Brazeau was facing the prospect of remaining in jail until his next court appearance on June 17 as a result of his latest run in with the law involving alleged domestic assault. Brazeau was charged by Gatineau police with assault, uttering threats, cocaine possession and breach of conditions following an incident involving his current girlfriend and another man early Thursday morning.
Brazeau has pleaded not guilty.
Brazeau wore the same dark sports jacket he wore for his initial appearance. His faced appeared to be scarred and swollen. He did not look at the gallery which was full of reporters awaiting his appearance. Brazeau fixed his gaze on the judge, saying only, “Yes sir, No problem, yes.”
Brazeau was given 72 hours to get himself into the Melaric, but he is restricted to visiting only two addresses in the interim, that of his father’s and a friend’s home. Aside from having to refrain from drugs and alcohol, he was also given curfew forcing him to stay inside between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Brazeau won’t be able to leave the rehab centre without permission, said Robitaille.
Brazeau was also told to stay away from the woman he allegedly assaulted and Marc Lamontagne, the man he allegedly uttered threats against.
Neither Robitaille nor Larocque would say how long Brazeau would remain in the rehab centre, which boasts hardwood floors, therapeutic baths and rooftop balconies overlooking a private lake. The self-described “resort,” also features a living room with a fireplace and at least one bedroom with a canopy over the bed, according to photos posted on Melaric’s website.
It seemed Brazeau was fashioning a new life before everything shattered amid blue and red lights, shouting and white powder in the early morning hours Thursday.
With his political career in shambles after he was suspended from the Senate, Brazeau seemed, on the surface, to have been reconstructing a new persona.
He became involved with a woman he met a little over a year ago. Photos on their Facebook pages depicted a happy couple snuggling, gazing into each other’s eyes and showing off their arm tattoos. One photo featured Brazeau strumming a guitar and crooning to the woman.
He had also landed a new job as the day manager of a strip bar in Ottawa’s trendy Market neighbourhood and seemed to relish the position. Brazeau was also preparing to referee a charity pro wrestling event in Smith Falls on May 10 featuring the famed Honky Tonk Man. In a video interview promoting the event, he even claimed that he threw his 2012 charity boxing match with Liberal leader Justin Trudeau to cash in on the three to one odds.
But that life ended up strewn on the snow in the backyard of the house owned by his latest love. His personal documents, photographs of his childhood, music CDs, letters, Senate business cards, a bag of marijuana and his sport jackets all were left piled in angry disorder.
At the time of Thursday’s arrest, Brazeau was already on conditions from previous assault and sexual assault charges against another former partner. Brazeau was arrested by Gatineau police in February 2013 after police received two 911 calls from a woman.
According to court documents, Brazeau choked and spat on the woman, grabbed her breasts and pushed her down the stairs. The documents also reveal that he pulled her pants down hard enough to snap a button and break a zipper.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
He was scheduled to appear Friday for a hearing to determine the trial date for those charges. That date was pushed to April 25.
The trial for the February 2013 incident is expected to cross-pollinate with another set of charges laid by the RCMP in relation to a separate investigation into Senate expenses and housing allowance claims. Brazeau, along with retired Liberal Senator Mac Harb, were both charged with fraud and breach of trust this year following that investigation.
Larocque, who is representing Brazeau in both Quebec cases, said he had obtained video of the RCMP’s interview of the victim from the February 2013 incident as part of a recent batch of disclosure. The woman was interviewed as part of the RCMP’s investigation into Brazeau’s housing allowance claims. Larocque hopes to use the video interview to test the woman’s credibility in the assault and sexual assault trial.
@JorgeBarrera
