The judge who ordered an end to the trial against alleged Hells Angels leader Salvatore Cazzetta has explained his decision in more detail.
Justice James Brunton ordered a stay of proceedings against Cazzetta and three suspected aboriginal cigarette smugglers last week due to unreasonable delays in his trial.
Cazzetta and three members of the Rice family were arrested in 2009 as part of Operation Machine for their roles in a contraband tobacco ring. Cazzetta's trial on these charges was only supposed to wrap up next summer, while the Rice father and two sons were expected to go to trial this year.
In his written judgment concerning the three members of the Rice family, released on Thursday, Brunton explained there were excessively long judicial delays caused by both the defence and the Crown.
He pointed out that it would have been eight years between charges first being laid and the end of the trial, when a recent Supreme Court decision, R. v. Jordan, determined the maximum length of proceedings in Quebec Court should be 18 motnhs -- 30 months in Superior Court.
Cazzetta remains in custody. Along with Leonardo Rizzuto (Vito Rizzuto's son) and Gregory Wooley, he is charged in connection with an attempt to control organized crime in Montreal.
