Did Jailed 'Spy' in Canada Predict 911 Attacks ?

While jet fighters drop bombs on Afghanistan in the wake of the World Trade Center tragedy and FBI agents search for the source of anthrax letters, an incredible tale has been unfolding in a Toronto courtroom.

It draws together the threads of a narrative some describe as "stunning and fantastic," while others wonder if it isn't just the ravings of a lunatic.

The man telling the tale in sworn court affidavits is Delmart Edward Vreeland, who faces credit fraud charges in Canada and in the United States, where officials are attempting to extradite him.

The 35-year-old American claims to be a lieutenant in a U.S. Navy intelligence unit - a spy who says he knew in advance about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In his affidavit, he says he tried to warn Canadian intelligence about possible terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon, along with targets in Ottawa and Toronto, but was written off as a petty criminal.

So he wrote the warning on a piece of paper, sealed it in an envelope, and handed it to jail guards a month before the attacks. They opened the letter Sept. 14 and immediately forwarded the information to Ottawa.

His lawyers, Rocco Galati and Paul Slansky, are fighting extradition, telling the court he could face treason charges and the death penalty in the U.S.

In the first stage of hearings, federal prosecutor Kevin Wilson yesterday told Mr. Justice Archie Campbell of the Superior Court of Justice that he was skeptical of Vreeland's claims.

"Is his story possible? I can't go so far as to say it's not possible, but it's not plausible," Wilson said.

The prosecutor said he has seen no evidence to back Vreeland's claim that Canadian embassy official Marc Bastien was murdered in Moscow in December. Canadian officials said the 35-year-old computer specialist died of natural causes.

According to court documents, Vreeland was 18 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1984.

Two years later, Vreeland says in his affidavit, he joined a special unit investigating drug smuggling into the U.S. by naval personnel. But the navy says Vreeland was "unsatisfactorily discharged" in 1986.

Vreeland also claims he gathered information on a crime family in Detroit and testified against them in 1998.

Late last year, he says, he came to Canada to help smuggle Russian military secrets out of Moscow, including Russia's plan to counter the American 'Star Wars' missile defence system. While in Moscow, Vreeland says, he met Bastien.

Vreeland was arrested by a police fugitive squad nine months ago. While in Toronto (Don) Jail, he met Nestor Fonseca, who was facing drug smuggling charges and extradition to the U.S. The court documents say Fonseca allegedly told Vreeland of his plans to kill a Toronto judge and others. Fonseca was charged with counselling to commit murder.

Galati and Slansky said in the documents that Vreeland should be put into the witness protection program in Canada because he is the main witness against Fonseca.

Galati writes in one document: "Neither myself, nor Mr. Slansky ... have seen anything as incomprehensibly frustrating, inexplicable and irresponsibly absurd. as the RCMP's position that they are not interested in reviewing Mr. Vreeland's information."

It would appear, Galati says in the brief, that the Canadian and American governments have written Vreeland off as a "nut case," which he says is a "patently absurd conclusion."

The article at the top of this thread is from the 2001-10-23 Toronto Star. I'll be posting some follow-up reporting from that paper:

October 25, 2001 Thursday
Ontario Edition
Pg. A17

U.S. looks into inmate's story

Nick Pron, Toronto Star

American officials say they are looking into claims by a man held in a Toronto-area jail that he tried to warn Canadian authorities about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

"We're aware of what he has been saying and we will be looking into his story," a spokesperson for the American consulate in Toronto said yesterday about the continuing saga of Delmart Edward Vreeland. Vreeland claims to have worked for a secretive unit of the U.S. Navy on undercover drug investigations and been involved in military spying missions to Russia, documents filed at a downtown Toronto court have shown.

Vreeland says he gathered information in Russia on possible terrorist attacks on the U.S. and Canada. He tried to pass that information on to Canadian officials a month before the attacks but was ignored, he says in a sworn affidavit, part of the court documents.

But American law officials describe Vreeland as a con man, facing fraud-related criminal charges in five states. They want him returned to his native country. Vreeland is fighting the extradition request, saying in court documents he could be tried for treason, and even get the death penalty.

Acting on a tip, Toronto police arrested Vreeland in December, 2000. He also faces fraud-related charges in Toronto.

While in jail, Vreeland says in his affidavit, he tried to warn Canadian intelligence officials about the possibility of terrorist attacks, but was written off as a petty criminal.

Frustrated no one would listen, Vreeland wrote down his information, sealed it in an envelope and gave it to jail officials, who opened it Sept. 14.

The Toronto Sun
October 27, 2001 Saturday,
Pg. 24

JUDGE NIXES SPY STORY

GRETCHEN DRUMMIE, COURTS BUREAU

The conspiracy theory put forward by an accused fraud artist, who claims he knew in advance about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was described by a Toronto judge yesterday as having "no air of reality."

Delmart Edward Vreeland, 37, who is fighting extradition to the U.S., says he had worked for the U.S. Navy on undercover drug investigations and was involved in spy missions to Russia. But Justice Archie Campbell wasn't buying Vreeland's story.

"There is no independent evidence to support his colossal allegations and the allegation of conspiracy on its face has no air of reality," said the judge.

Vreeland was arrested Dec. 6, 2000, in Canada for fraud-related charges. The next day he was arrested on an immigration warrant. On May 8 of this year, while still in custody, he was arrested again on a warrant for extradition to the U.S. on credit card fraud and breach of probation charges.

Toronto Star
October 31, 2001 Wednesday
Ontario Edition
Pg. B05

'Plot' to murder judge may never have existed

Nick Pron staff reporter, Toronto Star

Toronto police first learned about the alleged plot to kill a Toronto judge eight months ago from a man in the Don jail who claimed to be a U.S. Navy spy.

Delmart Edward Vreeland, held at the Don on an extradition warrant to the U.S. for fraud charges, told detectives that a fellow inmate had confided in him about his plans to also kill two federal drug prosecutors, along with several FBI agents who had arrested him for cocaine smuggling.

Within three weeks, detectives charged Nestor Fonseca with counselling to commit murder, and hyped his arrest at a big news conference. It was said later that Chief Julian Fantino was disappointed he couldn't be there to tell reporters of the evil scheme that allegedly involved blowing up the judge's car. Fonseca's oft-delayed preliminary hearing was supposed to have started months ago with prosecutors laying out the case against him so a judge could decide if there was sufficient evidence to commit the 33-year-old Cuban native to trial.

But next Tuesday at a College Park court, a judge will be told instead that the "hit list" case against Fonseca has been dropped, according to several sources in the law community.

By withdrawing the charges against Fonseca, does that mean the Toronto police were taken in by a hoax? Were Toronto detectives duped by a man described by Detroit police as a con artist? And were the lives of the judge, the prosecutors and the FBI agents on Fonseca's alleged list never in any real danger?

Some Toronto police officers, who are well aware of Vreeland's shaky reputation, doubt there was any danger.

But other detectives say they had no choice but to charge Fonseca after finding a list of law officials at his home, presumably the corroborative evidence they needed.

"If he wasn't charged, the police could be in dereliction of their duty," said one detective.

But the credibility of the man who was their main witness against Fonseca took a major hit this week when a Toronto judge described him as a "petty frauds man with a vivid imagination."

The comment from Mr. Justice Archie Campbell came in his written judgment in the first round of Vreeland's extradition hearing. Vreeland fears that if he is returned to the U.S., he could be tried for treason and face the death penalty, according to court documents.

By his own words, in a sworn court affidavit, Vreeland claims to have been an international spy who knew in advance about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

Meanwhile, the Americans want Fonseca extradited for an alleged cocaine conspiracy that police say operated between Miami and Toronto.

Through seven months of legal wrangling, defence lawyer Laurence Cohen and co-counsel Joel Etienne have complained about Fonseca being held in isolation.

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