Jeffrey Colegrove, classified by authorities as a member of traditional Irish organized crime, was not able to enjoy the beautiful summer days of 2023 for long.
Posted at 9:38 p.m.
Just three weeks after being granted parole in late June, his parole was suspended on July 13 because Colegrove had breached several of his conditions, according to a Parole Board of Canada (CLCC) decision made just before Christmas.
Colegrove, 57, has been serving a 12-year prison sentence for drug trafficking since January 2017. He was arrested in 2015 by investigators from the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) in a house in the west of the island of Montreal, where police discovered weapons, glasses tactics, laser sights, etc., in addition to drugs, and a bulletproof vest.
Surprise in the park
Colegrove was automatically released on June 21 – automatically two-thirds of the way through his sentence – but three weeks later he was subjected to a surprise check by his release officer when he was found in a park.
Contrary to his release conditions, Colegrove had downloaded the encrypted communications application Telegram onto his mobile phone.
Confronted by his release agent, he explained that the application had been used to track news about the war in Ukraine. Upon further searching the device, the officer also found research on an individual who Colegrove had safety concerns about.
Regarding a nickname stored in the phone, Colegrove said it was his, but at the officer's request, he called that contact, who refused to identify himself.
In a bag Colegrove was carrying, the officer found another phone wrapped in three dusty Ziploc bags, as if the device had been dug up. The officer asked him to unlock the door, but Colegrove refused.
Fellow inmates clean it
Authorities removed the SIM card from the phone, analyzed it and found a contact name.
When questioned again by his bail agent, Colegrove explained that he had equipped himself with a second phone so he could speak to his lawyer because his conversations in the past had been intercepted by authorities.
He said the contact in question was a fishing friend.
However, after verification, it was the name of an individual “associated with traditional Irish organized crime linked to the Colombian clan,” the decision said.
But that's not all. After Colegrove's release was suspended, a phone was found in his possession at the prison on September 13 and the man became the subject of interest by correctional officers.
“It was also observed that shortly after your return to prison, influential inmates were doing things for you, such as cooking and cleaning, which shows your importance,” writes the inspector in particular, who was in the audience listening to Colegrove’s testimony.
The latter denied any connection to traditional Irish organized crime, denied any involvement in the crime and complained about the “disproportionate” conditions which he said jeopardized his reintegration.
But his statement did not have the desired effect.
The commissioner revoked his release due to a lack of transparency and a high risk of recidivism.
“In reaching this conclusion, the Commission does not lose sight of the persistent nature of your criminality, your involvement in drug trafficking at a high level and your previous difficulties in the community in complying with your release conditions by being at large illegally and reoffending multiple times in this context. “The Commission has not found any progress since your release, considering that you were absent for less than three weeks before your suspension,” he wrote, among other things, in his decision.
During his long criminal career, Colegrove was at large more than once, including once for six years.
In 2018, he was arrested while incarcerated for allegedly running a drug trafficking ring. However, the charges were dropped after a judge ruled that the wiretapping was illegal.
Police once believed that Jeffrey Colegrove was a key player in the large-scale export of cannabis to the United States.
To contact Daniel Renaud, call 514 285-7000, extension 4918, write to [email protected] or write to La Presse's mailing address.