A ‘dominant figure’ in the drug trade accused of smuggling cocaine into NS goes to a halfway house

A Montreal mobster charged in 2019 with operating a distribution network from his Quebec prison cell that moved cocaine, cannabis and fentanyl destined for Nova Scotia is released from prison on legal release.

Jeffrey Robert Colegrove, a 56-year-old man with alleged ties to Montreal’s West End Gang, was arrested as part of what police dubbed Operation Hackberry. But the drug trafficking charges brought against Colegrove here were dropped last spring because some of his calls from the Donnacona Institution, a maximum-security prison near Quebec City, were illegally recorded.

“According to the information in your file, you grew up in a criminal environment. You report that as a young person you had to steal food to feed your family. You have spent most of your life engaging in criminal activity to meet your financial needs, as well as for the adrenaline rush and prestige that comes with drug dealing,” the new parole order sent Colegrove to a shelter.

“It is reported that you had ties to organized crime groups and were considered a dominant figure in the drug trade between Canada and the United States.”

One of Colegrove’s co-defendants arrested during Operation Hackberry, Steven “Goofy” Sarti, was sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison in May 2021 for conspiracy to smuggle drugs into this county. But that sentence was cut short when the man once jailed for smuggling nearly $1 billion worth of drugs between Quebec and the US died last October.

While several others charged with Operation Hackberry ran away because Colegrove’s calls from prison (including some to his lawyer) were illegally recorded by his jailers, Dartmouth’s Phillip Hickey was not one of them.

In February, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Christa Brothers sentenced Hickey to four years in prison for a kilogram of cocaine that police found in a store vacuum that investigators seized from the garage of 57-year-old Stoneham’s rental home in November 2018 Court. A police expert testified that the 89 percent pure coke, once cut with other substances, could be worth as much as $120,000 on the street.

A judge sentenced Colegrove to nine years and nearly eight months in prison in January 2017 for possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. He will continue to serve his sentence in a shelter when he is legally released soon. The law requires federal offenders who have served two-thirds of a fixed term sentence to be released from prison under supervision.

Remote location

Colegrove wanted to be released to a remote location where he and his wife could hide from his former criminal compatriots. But that didn’t fly with the parole board.

“Given your rapidly approaching legal release, the board was required to make a decision without delay,” the June 19 parole decision said.

As a condition of his release, Colegrove must stay away from booze, bars and drugs.

He should also look for a job or an academic refresher course or volunteer work.

“You must also provide evidence of these activities to your probation officer,” the probation order said.

The board told Colegrove to stay away from criminals and banned him from owning more than one cell phone or SIM card unless it’s for work.

‘Quick and easy profit’

“You have involved yourself in criminal activity lured by quick and easy profits,” the probation committee said.

“To ensure that your income and expenses are legitimate and to detect any recurrence of crime, you must provide documented information about your income, expenses, debts, as well as bank details or financial transaction information to the satisfaction of your probation officer.”

If the Colegrove parole officer asks for his phone bill, he must provide detailed statements of all incoming and outgoing calls.

“Upon request, you must provide your probation officer with an unlocked mobile communications device to monitor functions, including but not limited to texting, instant messaging, emails and social media,” the probation committee said, noting that Colegrove “solicits no information from remove the mobile communication device without the prior consent of his probation officer.

Police arrested Colegrove in February 2015 for unlawful free roaming and possession of cocaine for the purposes of human trafficking.

‘Trouble surveillance’

“Items seized during the police intervention have revealed a sophisticated criminal operation ranging from fake IDs to devices to track police frequencies and thwart surveillance,” his new parole statement read.

“Police found money and a total of 2,222 grams of cocaine, as well as quantities of marijuana, hashish (and) methamphetamine pills. You were also charged with possession of three firearms, but you were eventually acquitted.”

Colegrove’s criminal record began in 1985, when he was convicted at the age of 19 of assault, reckless use of a firearm and making threats. He also has a “large number of convictions for offenses related to narcotics trafficking,” the parole board said.

During those early criminal years, Colegrove was “arrested on several occasions in contexts where guns were found and (his) lack of cooperation with the police was noted.”

‘Wouldn’t hesitate’

While the Parole Board does not identify it as the West End Gang, it notes that Colegrove is “allegedly affiliated with a group that threatens security” but that he is “working on disengagement. Your associates have access to guns and wouldn’t .” hesitant to use force to achieve their goals.”

Colegrove shows no empathy for his victims or “remorse for the consequences” his crimes have had on others, according to his case managers.

“No crime-free period has been reported on the file,” the probation committee said.

“Your persistent criminal behavior has contributed to your regular violation of social norms and the conditions imposed on you under conditional supervision. You have also (accumulated) several periods of unlawful free-roaming, escapes and conspiracies to escape.”

While behind bars, Colegrove continued his “unauthorized activities,” the parole board said.

‘Important player’

“During the current sentence, several incidents have been reported, namely for possession of (an) unauthorized item, a physical altercation with another detainee and verbal abuse at an officer. In addition, classified information from May 2022 indicates that you were believed to have been involved in the underground economy and a major player in the institutional drug trade.”

He appears to have collaborated with other gang members and inmates associated with “traditional organized crime,” the parole board said.

Colegrove was transferred to a maximum security prison in April 2021 for his “significant involvement in institutional trafficking,” according to his parole.

“Since then there has been no information in the file that you are involved in the institutional drug subculture.”

‘Asocial and narcissistic’

A mental health assessment conducted in 2019 notes that Colegrove exhibited “antisocial and narcissistic traits and low empathy and judgment,” the parole board said.

“According to your case managers, the efforts you’ve made to reduce your risk of violent behavior pale in comparison to your level of need in this area.”

Colegrove case officers recommended that he remain in a halfway house with furlough privileges for the remainder of his sentence.

An aide argued on behalf of Colegrove in May that he is no longer an active gang member and that he had “taken steps to distance himself from the criminal underworld”.

The assistant “states that your safety could be compromised if you were to stay in a halfway house. This leads the board to believe that you are still a person of interest to the criminal underworld. It is therefore logical to think that this would matter may lead you to revert to your criminal ways of protecting yourself, by arming yourself or by returning to your violent criminal allies.”

No ‘safety net’

Instead of a halfway house, Colegrove suggested he be allowed to live “in a remote location, far from the security office, with an unreliable cell phone connection, with a spouse who denies or minimizes (his) involvement in crime,” according to the parole order . plate.

But that “does not provide the safety net that is needed in your case. The board also believes that you will not be safer there than in a terraced house, but are even more at risk, given how far and secluded your home would be. It also reminds that two cars were recently vandalized at that location, which does not reassure the board.

The parole board insisted that Colegrove remain in a halfway house, noting that otherwise he “will pose an unnecessary risk to society”.

Build ‘credibility’

That could change before Colegrove’s sentence expires.

“Before this condition is dropped, the board expects you to have built your credibility by demonstrating your ability to respect your special conditions and the expectations of your case management team,” the probation committee said.

“It also expects that your associates will not arouse suspicion and that you will proactively participate in your correctional plan.”

However, the parole board cleared Colegrove for leave, believing that “they will provide a more gradual release into the community, while building (his) credibility.”