In any case, Bond, thinking the Fat Man was trying to do him in, decided to roll over on Tommy and in December 1991, he told George Snider everything he knew about Craig. His testimony was instrumental in putting Craig in jail for eight years.
“I was tired of this (criminal) life,” Bond says. “I wanted to straighten out, but most of all I wanted to get back at Tommy Craig. I know that sounds bad, but that’s the way it is.”
When Bond testified against Tommy it soon became clear it was Bond who had turned on Robert too. As a consequence, with his life in jeopardy on both counts, Bond was put into the witness protection program. Because he is now living out his existence under an assumed name, he was given an alias in this book.
Since going into the program, Bond hasn’t had a drink or a touch of cocaine. He says, “I stay out of bars because I know if I go back there, I’ll be right back into the drug scene.”
Being in the program is a difficult life for him because, on the one hand, he’s not welcome in the criminal community, and on the other, he’s not very comfortable in the straight world. He finds it difficult to relax and take people at their face value since he has to be cautious about any new friends and neighbours he meets. Although Bond misses the money and the excitement of his former life he’s glad to be free from the tension and hassle of the shady underworld.
“I’m glad I’m out of it and I don’t want to go back. I’m living a normal life for the first time in years. I got my own little business, and I’m doing OK. I can play a little golf when I want to. And it’s nice to know the police aren’t watching my every move.”
He’s not really afraid of someone coming after him, but if someone does, he says he’ll have to handle that when it happens. Bond has heard through the grapevine that as far as Tommy is concerned, all is forgotten. Bond says, “I’ve heard that Tommy says it’s over ... it’s a thing of the past. If he feels that way, I’m glad because it’s certainly over for me. Tommy was good to me; he treated me like a son. I don’t know how things ever got all twisted around like they are. I hope it’s over and we don’t have to go through any more of this shit. We’ve all done our time, now let’s live and let live. Everybody live a normal, decent life. That’s what I want.”
Janice Whiteman’s life has also been difficult. Immediately after her husband’s arrest she moved in with her mother for a brief time. Then, when Robert was imprisoned at Collins Bay, she moved to Kingston and remained there for two years.
On Galvan’s recommendation, she was initially receptive to talking with Ed Arnold about the possibility of his writing a book. To this end she granted Arnold a number of interviews. However, when Janice divorced Robert in 1990 and moved to a rural home in Wilberforce Township outside Pembroke, she became more reclusive and less willing to talk with anyone about her life with the Flying Bandit. In 1993 she moved back into the city of Pembroke. A year later, possibly to escape the notoriety that surrounded her there, she moved to southern Ontario.
Whether or not she is still bitter about her painful experience with the imposter Robert Whiteman is unknown. What is known is that it took her a long time to get over the hurt. Probably, she will never entirely get over his betrayal. Before her divorce she told Ed Arnold in Pembroke, “I’m still paying the price. I was really abused and angry. I feel used. It was so unfair of him to do that to me and the kids. I can live with all this shit, but these kids have nothing to do with it. He (Robert) is a good person, he’s gentle and caring. I believe in destiny. This has been done for a reason.”
Now, with her children approaching their teenage years, it’s easy to understand why she wants no interviews or publicity about a time in her life that is best forgotten.
Angelo Garlatti feels the same way about that time in his life. He was given an alias in this book because he deserves not to be identified. Since fleeing Ottawa with a contract apparently on his head, he has managed, through determination and hard work, to turn his life completely around. He is now a successful manager of a legitimate business and a solid member of his community. When contacted by the author for an interview he was very reluctant to get involved with this book since that part of his life is a nightmare from the past that he only wants to forget.
However, since his adventure in Vancouver was such an interesting part of Galvan’s story he was told it was going to be included in the book whether he consented to be interviewed or not. With that realization, he agreed to cooperate. Then, considering Garlatti’s successful reformation, the author thought it was only fair that he receive the anonymity of an alias.
Garlatti admits that at one time he was absolutely an alcoholic. He says, “My alcoholism was impairing my judgement.” He confesses to having been a mean, aggressive, confused young man with a chip on his shoulder. But he says that’s all behind him now, thanks mainly to his wife.
With her help he hasn’t had a drink since July 9, 1987, about three weeks after they fled Ottawa for his being falsely accused of “rolling over” on Robert Whiteman.
“When we ran out of Ottawa and hid, I knew I wanted to stop my drinking ... it was killing me ... getting me into nothing but trouble. I decided to stop “cold turkey” and it was hell. I had the shakes, I couldn’t sleep, I had the sweats. It was agony. My wife sat with me every night for six weeks, rubbing my back, rubbing my arm, helping me get through the night ... and with her help I made it.”
Lee Baptiste, like Tommy Craig, ended up going to jail. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit armed robbery for his part in the Vancouver holdup of Birks in 1986. On a plea bargain, he was given a one-year sentence which was bundled with an assault causing bodily harm conviction for which he received another six months to be served concurrently. Baptiste had already served five years for a previous armed robbery in 1987. The reason he got off so lightly for the Vancouver robbery was that the charge was outdated and his conviction was more a matter of house cleaning than retributive justice.
Since being released from jail Baptiste has kept a rather low profile around the bars and strip joints of Vanier and Ottawa. Now forty years old, he is an aging rounder in the twilight of a long and violent criminal career.
Unlike Lee Baptiste, Neil McLaren never engaged in any criminal activity whatsoever with the Flying Bandit. Neil was just a very social person who met Robert Whiteman and liked the excitement of being around him. He was aware of what Robert was doing but never made any attempt to join him as an accomplice in his nefarious pursuits. He and Robert stayed close friends even when the Flying Bandit moved to Pembroke. On one occasion Neil went to watch Robert participate in a small-time rodeo that was being held in Pembroke. He says, “Robert was phenomenal on a horse. He could ride around those barrels like the wind. It must have been something he learned as a kid from his father.”
The allure of the fast life with Robert was partly to blame for Neil becoming dissatisfied with his job. After he and Robert lost touch with each other Neil tired of being a mechanic and gave up his work with Southbank Dodge. His personal discontent led to stomach and intestinal problems and ultimately caused a rift between him and his wife. When they split up in 1992, Neil moved to Kitchener and his wife went to Toronto to pursue a career of her own.
The last few years have been tough for him. He has recently completed an eight-week training course where he learned to drive a tractor-trailer which, he hopes, will provide him with a steady income in the future.
Lyle MacCharles is still an inspector with the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch out of Kingston. Now in his thirty-third year of service, he intends to stay on for another two years until he retires. Since much of his work deals with investigating homicides, Lyle still finds the work fascinating. He says that as long as his job stays interesting, he will give little thought to retirement.
Being a hands-on investigator, Lyle can seldom be found in the confines of his office. Much to his delight, he spends his days roaming from courtroom to crime scene in the counties of eastern Ontario. Although he enjoys h
is work, the demands of his job are oppressive. Often he puts in 80 to 100 hours of overtime a month and he hasn’t taken a holiday in the last two years. Understandably, the workload has been hard on his personal life. He too has been visited by the anguish of divorce.
Now remarried, his family sanctuary is a thirty-five acre spread in the rugged terrain north of Kingston. It’s a solitary place surrounded by bush, where during his few free hours, Lyle can amuse himself by feeding the dozen or so deer who come to call.
Like MacCharles, George Snider is busier than ever. He’s still a detective with OPP Criminal Intelligence Branch for eastern Ontario. For two years after CAFE closed down in February 1988 George worked in the frustrating silence of the Ottawa oriental community attempting to investigate organized Asian crime. After that, he went on to a number of other projects. The first of these was SMOKER; he and Ralph Heyeroff were part of a team that was responsible for putting Tommy Craig behind bars in 1992.
In 1993 George worked with Lyle MacCharles on Project TOY which led to the prosecution of two notorious Ottawa drug dealers and their enforcers who were charged with an execution-style killing in Cumberland Township just east of Ottawa. Nineteen ninety-four brought Snider to FLATBED ONE which was a successful project pursuing Ottawa bikers that saw six imprisoned for a variety of narcotics offenses. In 1995 he was involved in FLATBED TWO which led to the conviction of an ex-Ottawa policeman who was involved in theft and illegal liquor and cigarette sales in the Arnprior area.
Recently George has been working with MacCharles again. The ongoing trial that resulted from Project TOY required more investigation and called for Snider’s assistance in handling some of the very difficult witnesses involved in the case.
George is forty-seven years old now. He can retire in five years but loves his work so much, he’s prepared to stay on longer. He keeps himself in good shape by playing hockey, jogging and weight lifting and feels he can still be effective working the streets and running informants. Since he hates office work and is not interested in either being promoted or working in police management, his hope is to be a street cop until the end of his career.
Although George’s professional life as an investigator is full and rewarding, his personal life remains unsettled.
When Ralph Heyerhoff returned to his duties with the Ottawa Police after CAFE, things went badly for him. There was an element in the Ottawa force who seemed to resent his success in CAFE. For the first time in his police career he received bad reports about his attitude and demeanor. Although these reports emanated from one particular Staff Sergeant, he also received some bad vibrations from detectives in major crime. It seems they weren’t happy that he, a lowly B & E cop, was involved in the capture of such a high-profile criminal as the Flying Bandit.
Ralph Heyerhoff after he was sent back to traffic duty in 1989
They were even less impressed when they were told that Gilbert Galvan would only deal with Shawn Smith and George Snider. Because Galvan had committed so many robberies in the Ottawa area, they wanted immediate access to him so they could interrogate him about the whereabouts of any remaining cash or jewellery. When they insisted that Heyerhoff get them this access, Ralph refused to do it because he didn’t want to upset Galvan’s relationship with Smith and Snider. This made the Ottawa detectives wonder if Heyerhoff was more loyal to the OPP than to his own Ottawa force. As one police officer put it, “It was as if Ralph had pissed in their corn flakes.”
Their concern was compounded when Ralph pushed to have CAFE extended beyond its February 1988 termination date. Seeing that the project was still very effective, Heyerhoff wanted it to continue until it had completely run its course. Heyerhoff’s antagonistic staff sergeant thought he was again being resistant and uncooperative. He demanded that CAFE be shut down as planned and insisted that Heyerhoff return to his work in Ottawa. The more Heyerhoff opposed him, the deeper grew the staff sergeant’s resentment.
When CAFE finally closed and Heyerhoff returned to Ottawa, he was sent to the penalty box. Ralph was given a two year stint in uniform, first walking a beat on Bank Street and then riding a patrol car around the city. In 1991, he was transferred to the traffic division where he was assigned to ride a motorcycle. His days were spent directing traffic, giving out tickets and escorting VIPs or funeral corteges. This was a long, hard fall from grace for a man who thought of himself as an accomplished detective.
Then came SMOKER. When George Snider was approached by Ottawa management to be part of a project to do Tommy Craig, Snider would only agree to work on the project if he had Heyerhoff working with him. Snider realized that to take Craig down they needed Pete Bond’s help as an informant. Since Bond was so elusive and difficult to handle, Snider knew it required him and Heyerhoff, working in tandem, to control Bond. Ottawa management resisted sending Heyerhoff on the SMOKER project. They maintained this resistance until high level discussions took place between the OPP and their Ottawa counterparts.
After Craig was convicted, Heyerhoff was allowed to remain as a detective in the intelligence division. He still works in that capacity today, doing highly sensitive and secret work throughout the Ottawa community.
Ralph’s marriage is in good shape although he will admit that the demands of CAFE took a heavy toll on him and his wife. With three sons aged eleven, nine and six, Ralph is kept more than busy driving them to hockey, karate, soccer and swimming.
At one time Ralph was a heavy drinker. After the closing party for CAFE he got so drunk they had to carry his limp body out to a taxi to get him home. That experience frightened him, and, since that date, February 5, 1988, he has not had a drop of hard liquor and only the occasional beer. His one remaining vice is smoking good cigars. A connoisseur with his own humidor, Ralph collects premium cigars from around the world. When the stress of the detective’s world starts closing in on him he can always lose himself in the smoke of a fine cigar.
Mel Robertson is now executive assistant to an inspector in the patrol division of the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police. He involves himself in special projects, staffing problems, research and public relations. Mel is no longer involved with the police diving team, but still does some sport diving on the weekends. Many of his dives take place in the St. Lawrence River near Brockville where there are a number of shipwrecks from the early 1900s resting on the river bottom.
Mel is also a member of the critical incident stress management team for the regional police. This is a group that has been organized and trained to help defuse and debrief officers involved in violence or shooting incidents.
As stable as ever, Mel is still very much a homebody who likes to spend a lot of his time with his two sons, age fifteen and eleven. In the winter they do a lot of snowmobiling or ice fishing together. Although he was recently offered a position with major crime in Ottawa, Mel turned it down because of the time demands such a job would have placed on his home life. He’s at a point in his career where he is looking forward to an opportunity of working either in surveillance or police management.
Six years after helping to catch the Flying Bandit, Shawn Smith was promoted to the rank of detective sergeant. With his promotion, he was transferred to the Perth District Crime Unit but continued to work out of the OPP detachment office in Pembroke. Then on August 24, 1994, while playing softball, he died suddenly of a heart attack. He was forty-five years old.
Shawn Smith (on the left) at the scene of an investigation in 1990
(Eganville Leader)
The funeral of Detective Sgt. Shawn Smith in Pembroke, 1994
(Eganville Leader)
His death was a terrible shock to his family and the community at large. Although Shawn was separated from his wife he had been a constant visitor in her home, helping her, supporting her, and maintaining a close relationship with his two teenage children. After his separation Shawn lived in an apartment in Petawawa, but when his mother became ill, he moved into her house in Renfrew to help her through her long and fatal bout with
cancer.
Although athletic and physically robust, Shawn suffered from an irregular heartbeat. In the spring of 1994 he went for tests to analyze and treat his problem. With the doctor’s consent, he continued to play softball throughout the summer. The night before he died he told his son about getting very dizzy in a recent game.
The next night, Tuesday, August 24, in the course of a game at Pembroke’s Riverside Park, he came to bat and hit a long ball between the outfielders. Running hard into third base, Shawn collapsed. He was given CPR on the field and attended to in the ambulance on the way to Pembroke Civic Hospital. All efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Ed Arnold, managing editor of the Peterborough Examiner
(Peterborough Examiner)
A large group of mourners attended his funeral, including over 100 police and military personnel. The local newspaper, in reporting Shawn’s funeral, referred to him as a “local OPP legend.” From the outpouring of grief in the community and the accolades proffered by his peers, it’s clear that Shawn was an effective policeman with a special knack for solving problems among the people he served.
Ed Arnold interviewed Shawn on several occasions and remembers him as a vibrant and fun-loving individual. He was stunned to learn of his death.
Arnold is still the managing editor of the Peterborough Examiner. After all his hard work on the Flying Bandit, it must have been difficult for him to set aside his intention to write a book on such a tantalizing subject. As time passed he saw that the demands of his job made it impossible for him to devote the time and energy required to complete such a demanding task. He was willing to contract his research to the author because, as he said, “I believe this is a story that should be told ... it’s got everything. In a way, it’s almost too strange to believe. But it happened, and people should be told about it.”
The Flying Bandit Page 29