Former Pigeon King Arlan Galbraith remains in jail pending March sentencing

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

Ontario’s former Pigeon King will be spending most of the next three months in jail as he awaits his sentencing hearing.

In a session that lasted barely 20 minutes at Kitchener Superior Court, Justice G.E. Taylor ordered that Arlan Galbraith, convicted Dec. 5 of fraud over more than $5,000 under the Criminal Code and on two other counts under the Bankruptcy Act, remain in custody until sentencing takes place on Mar. 4, 2014.

Last week, shortly after the 12-member jury had confirmed their guilty verdict, Taylor had urged Galbraith, who had opted to represent himself after axing his lawyer Paul Williams in February 2012, to reconsider seeking council “in the strongest terms.”

On Thursday, the first question Taylor asked of Galbraith was whether he had obtained a lawyer.  

“No, apparently not,” Galbraith responded. He stood in the glassed-in prisoners’ box where he had waited quietly before court was in session, at times slumping forward and failing to remove what appeared to be a blue, heavy suede coat with fleece trim. His hair was disheveled and he appeared unshaven.

Galbraith explained that he could not reach his former lawyer, Paul Williams. Later on in the brief court session, he complained about not being able to communicate with any lawyers. “It’s so restricted,” he said of the facility where he was being held, noting he could only make collect calls.

Crown attorney Lynn Robinson noted that more than $3,000 was found on Galbraith when he was taken into custody last week. She said she planned to look into how the money, Galbraith’s property, could be seized and applied towards victim restitution. The money is currently being held at the jail’s canteen, she said.

Robinson also said that a female friend had cleared out the room in Sherwood Motel where Galbraith had been staying during the trial but had only delivered two grocery bags of belongings. She noted that it’s not known where his vehicle, a 2007 Nissan Murano, might be and said she speculates that it’s likely he had other belongings in there.

Galbraith, 66, had developed a Ponzi scheme that involved selling pigeon pairs to people and buying back the birds’ offspring. Initially, he claimed they would be used for sport. Later on, he described them as a multiplier flock for squab production and said he had plans to build a processing plant. The business flew high in the mid-2000s, with $41.6 million changing hands at its peak and nearly 1,000 investors from Canada and the United States involved.

But in 2008 the business collapsed and investors were left with birds for which there was no end market. Most of the birds had to be destroyed and more than 600 investors found themselves thousands of dollars in the hole.

Waterloo Regional Police and the RCMP charged Galbraith with fraud and four other charges under the Bankruptcy Act in 2010 after a two-year investigation. Two of the bankruptcy charges were withdrawn during his trial.

On Dec. 19 at 1 p.m., victims of the scheme will have a chance to meet with Robinson to find out what are the next steps and what is needed for victim impact statements. The meeting will take place on the third floor at the Waterloo Region Courthouse, 85 Frederick Street, Kitchener, or people can call in. For more information, contact Laurie Black Rooney collect at 905-878-4165 extension 3422.

Last week, Robinson noted that she was planning to seek a sentence of nine years. On Thursday, she said she is still working out her proposal for sentencing but that it will likely remain around that length of time.

Galbraith will be held at the provincial Maplehurst Correctional Complex until sentencing. BF

— With files from Dave Pink

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