Inmate dreams of Christmas at home

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This article was published 24/11/2009 (5413 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FRANK Ostrowski could spend his first Christmas in 23 years at home in the company of family and friends instead of inside prison walls.

The 60-year-old grandfather, convicted of a 1986 drug hit and sentenced to life behind bars, will find out likely within two weeks if he’ll be granted bail while Ottawa weighs whether he’s a victim of a wrongful conviction.

"I know he’ll be home for Christmas," Ostrowski’s daughter, Amber, said outside of the Law Courts Building on Tuesday. "She’ll make the right decision."

Amber Ostrowski was referring to Madam Justice Colleen Suche, who has presided over two days of submissions from James Lockyer of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted and Crown attorney Rick Saull. Suche said she needed about 10 days to decide if Ostrowski should be released on bail. Lockyer said in court there’s considerable — if not overwhelming — evidence Ostrowski got a raw deal at his 1987 murder trial, in that important information was not disclosed by the Crown and police.

Ostrowski has maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested.

The first piece of evidence had to do with a secret deal key witness Matthew Lovelace made with federal authorities to testify against Ostrowski in order to get a cocaine trafficking charge against him withdrawn so he wouldn’t go to jail.

Lovelace testified at Ostrowski’s trial the accused ordered two men to kill Robert Nieman because Nieman told police about Ostrowski’s cocaine business.

Lovelace told the jury he did not have a deal to get his drug charge wiped clean in exchange for his testimony, but months later he was acquitted on the drug charge at a trial where no evidence was called.

Saull told Suche the secret deal was not disclosed because chief prosecutor George Dangerfield didn’t know about it. Lockyer said the second piece of evidence that was not disclosed was a Sept. 24, 1986 police report detailing a phone call to police in which a man, who identifies himself as Sonny, says, "Frank has a contract out on my friend."

"Sonny" was later identified as Lovelace. In the call, Lovelace didn’t mention Nieman at all. He only referred to carpenter Dominic Diubaldo as the target. Lockyer said the secret deal and Lovelace’s phone call should have been disclosed to the jury so they had a full picture of Lovelace’s credibility.

Lockyer also said if Ostrowski is released on bail, he’ll be the fifth person in Canada claiming wrongful conviction to get such treatment. Two of the four are Manitoba cases, James Driskell and Kyle Unger, who were also prosecuted by Dangerfield.

bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca