- Reaction score
- 5,753
- Points
- 1,360
Are you friggin' kidding me? 13 weren't even there that day??
Once again our legal system shows what a gutless spineless piece of trash it is. The only reason that the Govt. is going after these people is that they are "soft" targets, just normal working folk and that equals easy convictions or I'll pay the money deals.
They wouldn't go after hardened criminals like this. Some jerk-off sitting in a nice cushy building in Orilla or on Grovensers Road might have to actually make a call against actual bad people.
I'm pissed................
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090112.wdrunkeness0112/BNStory/National/home
Ontario golf club charged in fatal crash
TIMOTHY APPLEBY AND JOSH WINGROVE
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
January 12, 2009 at 10:04 PM EST
The fallout from an infamous Muskoka crash last summer that killed three young men and prompted sweeping changes to provincial driving laws continued yesterday as 16 staff members, managers and executives of a golf club were charged with serving the victims too much alcohol.
On July 3, Tyler Mulcahy, 20, his two friends and girlfriend left Water's Edge restaurant at Muskoka's posh Lake Joseph Club golf course. Mr. Mulcahy's father, citing police information, has said the group had 31 drinks in a few hours.
Soon after leaving, the young man's Audi lost control and flew off a winding road, landing in the Joseph River. Mr. Mulcahy and two others died. Police said speed and alcohol were factors.
The deaths prompted changes to Ontario's laws for young drivers. Now, ClubLink Corporation, which runs the Lake Joseph club, and many of its staff and directors each face two charges.
"The take-home message is that we take these types of breaches seriously," said Ontario Provincial Police Inspector Ed Medved, who heads the Bracebridge detachment investigating the crash. "You can't just go out and sell drinks to people without consequences, the law is quite clear on that."
Toronto Liquor licensing lawyer J. Randall Barr said such cases are serious, but not uncommon, and rest upon whether the golf club knowingly over-served the group, and allowed them to drive away.
"Basically, what [the defendants] have to do is establish that there's no negligence, and that's going to be something difficult for these people," Mr. Barr said.
The King-City based ClubLink Corporation and the 16 accused will now each face both an Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario review and provincial court proceedings.
The 16 accused — just three of whom were working at the restaurant that day — are due in court in Bracebridge, Ont., later this month. They're charged with supplying liquor to people who are apparently intoxicated and permitting drunkenness on a licensed premises, a lesser charge.
"The provincial prosecutor … wanted to make sure no one was missed," Insp. Medved said.
The AGCO can now choose to suspend the liquor license of the Lake Joseph Club immediately pending an upcoming hearing.
Scott Davidson, ClubLink's vice-president of corporate relations, who is among the 16 accused, said yesterday that on the advice of its lawyers, the company would make no comment.
Police and the AGCO have access to toxicology reports on Mr. Mulcahy and the two other men, Cory Mintz, 20, and Kourosh Totonchian, 19, including blood-alcohol levels that have never been made public. Evidence may also include testimony from the lone survivor, 19-year-old Inez Elzinga.
Beyond saying that "there were quite a few drinks consumed," Insp. Medved would not comment yesterday on how much alcohol was involved.
Mr. Barr, an expert who has not been retained by any of the parties in this case, said the club could be held responsible if it's proven that its staff willingly continued to serve the young people despite possible signs that they were becoming intoxicated.
"They [the defendants] may have a very tough case here, because there may be some very strong forensic evidence in play, that you often don't have," he said. "Once they do an autopsy, basically the alcohol in the blood of these boys is frozen in time..."
Although the Liquor Licence Act charges are not criminal in nature, they can result in hefty penalties.
In this instance, ClubLink faces fines of up to $250,000 on each of its two counts, if convicted, while the 16 individuals could be fined up to $100,000 each, and/or receive sentences of 12 months in jail.
More important to the company is the prospect of the AGCO applying to suspend or revoke the posh club's liquor license, Mr. Barr said. Set amid thick forest and granite rock, the Lake Joseph Club was hailed in 1997 as the best new golf course of the year.
After the crash, Tim Mulcahy, Tyler's father, campaigned to persuade the Ontario government to tighten laws for young people around speeding and drunk driving. He said publicly that he didn't know his son had previously received speeding tickets, and that had he been more severely punished for them, he wouldn't have been driving that July day.
Mr. Mulcahy set up a website in his son's name, and paid tens of thousands of dollars to take out advertisements.
Late last fall, Mr. McGuinty pointed to the crash in introducing the tougher legislation. Among other things, Ontario's proposed changes will impose zero-tolerance rules for alcohol on any driver aged 21 or under, and under a new graduated licensing scheme would also increase the time it would take to obtain a full licence.
Tim Mulcahy, reacting to the charges last night, said liquor license laws are just "asking other people to enforce laws… who are not police," and that "it looks like the OPP want to set a precedent."
He's hopeful the changes he fought for will save lives.
"I haven't pushed for [charges] in any way, shape or form... I'm not looking for blood," he said. "I never really felt that anyone was responsible except Tyler."
Once again our legal system shows what a gutless spineless piece of trash it is. The only reason that the Govt. is going after these people is that they are "soft" targets, just normal working folk and that equals easy convictions or I'll pay the money deals.
They wouldn't go after hardened criminals like this. Some jerk-off sitting in a nice cushy building in Orilla or on Grovensers Road might have to actually make a call against actual bad people.
I'm pissed................
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090112.wdrunkeness0112/BNStory/National/home
Ontario golf club charged in fatal crash
TIMOTHY APPLEBY AND JOSH WINGROVE
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
January 12, 2009 at 10:04 PM EST
The fallout from an infamous Muskoka crash last summer that killed three young men and prompted sweeping changes to provincial driving laws continued yesterday as 16 staff members, managers and executives of a golf club were charged with serving the victims too much alcohol.
On July 3, Tyler Mulcahy, 20, his two friends and girlfriend left Water's Edge restaurant at Muskoka's posh Lake Joseph Club golf course. Mr. Mulcahy's father, citing police information, has said the group had 31 drinks in a few hours.
Soon after leaving, the young man's Audi lost control and flew off a winding road, landing in the Joseph River. Mr. Mulcahy and two others died. Police said speed and alcohol were factors.
The deaths prompted changes to Ontario's laws for young drivers. Now, ClubLink Corporation, which runs the Lake Joseph club, and many of its staff and directors each face two charges.
"The take-home message is that we take these types of breaches seriously," said Ontario Provincial Police Inspector Ed Medved, who heads the Bracebridge detachment investigating the crash. "You can't just go out and sell drinks to people without consequences, the law is quite clear on that."
Toronto Liquor licensing lawyer J. Randall Barr said such cases are serious, but not uncommon, and rest upon whether the golf club knowingly over-served the group, and allowed them to drive away.
"Basically, what [the defendants] have to do is establish that there's no negligence, and that's going to be something difficult for these people," Mr. Barr said.
The King-City based ClubLink Corporation and the 16 accused will now each face both an Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario review and provincial court proceedings.
The 16 accused — just three of whom were working at the restaurant that day — are due in court in Bracebridge, Ont., later this month. They're charged with supplying liquor to people who are apparently intoxicated and permitting drunkenness on a licensed premises, a lesser charge.
"The provincial prosecutor … wanted to make sure no one was missed," Insp. Medved said.
The AGCO can now choose to suspend the liquor license of the Lake Joseph Club immediately pending an upcoming hearing.
Scott Davidson, ClubLink's vice-president of corporate relations, who is among the 16 accused, said yesterday that on the advice of its lawyers, the company would make no comment.
Police and the AGCO have access to toxicology reports on Mr. Mulcahy and the two other men, Cory Mintz, 20, and Kourosh Totonchian, 19, including blood-alcohol levels that have never been made public. Evidence may also include testimony from the lone survivor, 19-year-old Inez Elzinga.
Beyond saying that "there were quite a few drinks consumed," Insp. Medved would not comment yesterday on how much alcohol was involved.
Mr. Barr, an expert who has not been retained by any of the parties in this case, said the club could be held responsible if it's proven that its staff willingly continued to serve the young people despite possible signs that they were becoming intoxicated.
"They [the defendants] may have a very tough case here, because there may be some very strong forensic evidence in play, that you often don't have," he said. "Once they do an autopsy, basically the alcohol in the blood of these boys is frozen in time..."
Although the Liquor Licence Act charges are not criminal in nature, they can result in hefty penalties.
In this instance, ClubLink faces fines of up to $250,000 on each of its two counts, if convicted, while the 16 individuals could be fined up to $100,000 each, and/or receive sentences of 12 months in jail.
More important to the company is the prospect of the AGCO applying to suspend or revoke the posh club's liquor license, Mr. Barr said. Set amid thick forest and granite rock, the Lake Joseph Club was hailed in 1997 as the best new golf course of the year.
After the crash, Tim Mulcahy, Tyler's father, campaigned to persuade the Ontario government to tighten laws for young people around speeding and drunk driving. He said publicly that he didn't know his son had previously received speeding tickets, and that had he been more severely punished for them, he wouldn't have been driving that July day.
Mr. Mulcahy set up a website in his son's name, and paid tens of thousands of dollars to take out advertisements.
Late last fall, Mr. McGuinty pointed to the crash in introducing the tougher legislation. Among other things, Ontario's proposed changes will impose zero-tolerance rules for alcohol on any driver aged 21 or under, and under a new graduated licensing scheme would also increase the time it would take to obtain a full licence.
Tim Mulcahy, reacting to the charges last night, said liquor license laws are just "asking other people to enforce laws… who are not police," and that "it looks like the OPP want to set a precedent."
He's hopeful the changes he fought for will save lives.
"I haven't pushed for [charges] in any way, shape or form... I'm not looking for blood," he said. "I never really felt that anyone was responsible except Tyler."