Police charge River Heights cafe owners, say hate crime was staged By: Ryan Thorpe Posted: 1:51 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 24, 2019 Last Modified: 5:05 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 24, 2019 Updates

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This article was published 23/04/2019 (2073 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shock and disgust rippled through Winnipeg’s Jewish community Wednesday when police chief Danny Smyth announced three owners of BerMax Caffé + Bistro had been charged with staging the recent anti-Semitic “hate crime” at the restaurant.

After more than 25 officers from three separate units dedicated 1,000 hours to investigating the April 18 attack – which marked the fourth time in five months the family business was tagged with bigoted graffiti – Smyth said investigators concluded the whole thing was staged.

“I am hugely disappointed and frankly angry that this family has used hate and racism in such a disingenuous way. In doing so, they have allowed cynicism to creep into this discussion, cynicism that trivializes genuine victims of hate,” Smyth said.

The cafe – located in River Heights on the 1800 block of Corydon Avenue – was trashed during the incident and a woman (one of the accused) told investigators she’d been assaulted. The word “Jew” was spray-painted in black on the restaurant floor and a swastika was sketched on the wall.

Alexander Berent, 56, Oxana Berent, 48, and Maxim Berent, 29, have all been charged with a single count of public mischief. They were released on a promise to appear in court next month. If convicted, they could face a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.

Smyth said the investigation remains ongoing and police will look into whether the past three times the owners reported anti-Semitic graffiti at the restaurant were genuine or staged. It remains unclear if additional charges could be laid.

“This staged event has set in motion an investigation which has utilized significant resources from our major crimes division, our forensics division and our general patrol division,” Smyth said.

“We treated this and took it seriously at face value. I expect we’ll do that in the future as well. Hence my disappointment that someone would use this hate and racism for God knows what purpose… Certainly it has the potential to fuel cynicism about stuff like this.”

The allegations have not been proven in court. A phone call to Maxim Berent was not answered or returned Wednesday.

Tatiana Crawford, who owns the building the cafe has been located in for five years, said she was initially concerned for the Berent family’s safety after hearing about the incident. Now, however, she said she feels betrayed and hurt by their alleged actions.

The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg released a written statement within an hour of Smyth’s press conference, saying the agency was “shocked and deeply disturbed” by the news.

“It is deplorable that anyone would make false allegations of anti-Semitism, especially claims of such a serious nature, for any kind of gain. Filing false complaints of criminal acts of anti-Semitism are not only illegal, they undermine the important work necessary to counter anti-Semitism and hate in all forms,” the statement reads.

The BerMax incident comes on the heels of the high-profile case involving actor Jussie Smollet in Chicago.

After Smollet reported he’d been attacked by two men in “Make America Great Again” hats who shouted homophobic and racist slurs at him, there was widespread outpouring of support for the actor among politicians, citizens and segments of the media.

However, roughly three weeks after the alleged incident, the Chicago Police Department charged Smollet with staging the attack. But the following month, the state’s attorney’s office dropped all charges, drawing the ire of Chicago police.

On Wednesday, Smyth said he wasn’t aware of a precedent in Winnipeg’s history for faking a hate crime of this nature – an act he described as particularly odious given the rise in anti-Semitic violence around the world.

The charge of public mischief is laid when an individual intentionally misleads an “officer to enter on or continue an investigation based on a false statement.”

Investigators used video surveillance, forensic evidence and interview statements to conclude the attack was staged, Smyth said. Police have not stated publicly what is believed to be the motive in the case.

“Hate-related crime is one of the most heinous acts we encounter as a society. It tears at the fabric of who we are as a country,” reads a written statement released by the Winnipeg Police Service.

“False allegations of hate crime trivialize the trauma that genuine victims endure.”

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe

Ryan Thorpe
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Ryan Thorpe likes the pace of daily news, the feeling of a broadsheet in his hands and the stress of never-ending deadlines hanging over his head.

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