Police suspected gangster moved cash for organized crime

Vancouver gangster Tom Gisby lied to a customs officer at Vancouver International Airport in 2006 about how much cash he was carrying to Mexico. Gisby, who was gunned down in Mexico April 28, claimed to have between $10,000 and $11,000 on him for the 10-day trip in March 2006. But the Canadian official searched Gisby's carry-on bag and found $36,000 U.S., as well as $1,725 CDN. Most of the money was seized, as the customs official believed there were reasonable grounds to suspect the currency was proceeds of crime, according to a Federal Court of Canada document obtained by The Vancouver Sun. Gisby tried to get the money back by launching a Federal Court challenge, but he abandoned it in June 2007, the documents show. Gisby, who was 47 when he died, was known to police as an international cocaine smuggler based in B.C. who brokered deals with cartels in both Mexico and Colombia for two decades. He had connections to many organized crime groups, from the Hells Angels to mid-level gangs. His criminal record in B.C. was relatively minor — a 1991 cocaine-trafficking conviction and lesser convictions for inflicting fear of injury and driving while prohibited. But government submissions in the Federal Court show police in Canada suspected Gisby was moving cash obtained from organized crime. The minister decided the forfeiture of the seized money should be maintained because it was reasonable to suspect it was proceeds of crime, a government lawyer argued. Less than two years before Gisby was caught at the airport, he declared bankruptcy in B.C. Supreme Court, claiming he was penniless. During the bankruptcy proceedings, he was grilled by a Canada Revenue Agency lawyer about his frequent trips to Mexico. Who paid? Where did he stay? Did he own property there? He claimed others paid and that he owned nothing. He said he wasn't even sure if his common-law spouse owned a condo there. When Gisby was caught with the undeclared cash, he said he intended to purchase property in Mexico and had been told cash was the preferable way to ensure an expeditious transaction there, his Federal Court claim said. He also claimed he didn't know he had to disclose the money to Canadian authorities. "The enforcement officer was candidly told by Gisby he is now a businessman with a criminal and financial history who derives income from a number of sources, including gambling, all of which were known to his financial and legal advisers," his statement of claim said.

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