Markham Mansion Busted For Running An Illegal High

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The slot machines (2,399 will be active when it’s fully operational) are all shiny and new, featuring the latest games. Because there are so few older games, however, low rollers won’t be able to bet 25 or 30 cents per spin. Wei Wei, 52, of Vaughan, is listed as the owner of the Markham and Vaughan residences and faces several gaming and weapons charges. His wife, Xiang Wei Chen, 48, who is listed as an owner of the Markham property, and daughter, Chen Wei, 25, also are charged with keeping a common gaming or betting house, among other charges.

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For years Wei succeeded in playing the role of a family guy, and local industry leader as Anhui Tonji Construction Group’s fortunes grew. One would think that the only thing left to do was to chlorinate the pool, drive the cars to the parking spaces and put some gorgeous paint collection on the walls. But instead of that mundane routine, Wei Wei spent several months on large-scale expensive renovation works. The icing on the cake of the construction design approved by the province near upon thirty months after the acquisition was a huge septic sewage system. It was one of those huge systems intended for regular use in hotels with a large number of guests. Alas, it seems that Ontario government officials didn’t find any room for doubt in the apparently commercial sewage system for an owner-occupied dwelling. These posh accommodations are in the ownership of a financially backed, the successful property developer of Chinese descent – Wei Wei. He took ownership of the above-described mansion at the address of 5 Decourcy Court in the year 2015. This high maintenance came at a price for him being specific – $4.7 million.

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There was no publicity this spring, however, when the Crown dropped charges against the Wei family, including allegations that Mr. Wei had illegally kept guns. Meanwhile, Mr. Wei agreed to relinquish his claim to any of the seized assets – including $960,000 in cash and his half of the value of the seized multimillion-dollar house . York police said they arrested 32 people and seized 11 firearms, almost $1-million in cash and the mansion itself. His wife and adult daughter were also charged with running a gaming/betting house. Police said at the time it was the site of a massive underground gambling operation, complete with slot machines, mahjong tables, a full cash bar with thousands of bottles of top-shelf alcohol and a banking area. Months after police unveiled a massive bust at an alleged illegal casino, charges have been withdrawn against a central figure in the case. He reminded me that Project Endgame was an “extravagant and unique” operation but that, for better or worse, the courts still look at illegal gaming as a non-violent, non-victim offence.

This website is for the use of adults in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Individuals must be 18 years of age or older to participate in lottery, charitable gaming and in-store sports betting, in Ontario. Individuals must be 19 years of age or older to visit casinos and slot facilities in Ontario, and to participate in online casino gaming and online sports betting, in Ontario. The proof of that hits home as I prepare to leave and stand in line for a redemption machine – a console that takes paper tickets from slot machines and dispenses cash.

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In total, police said 11 guns — including a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle — and more than $11.5 million dollars in cash, gaming supplies, alcohol and property were seized from the mansion. In a phone interview, Barry dismissed the criminal case against Wei Dong, pointing to his client’s clean criminal record. He painted Wei Dong as a hard-working immigrant from China who’d grown up in the suburbs of Toronto, a single young man who lives at home with his mother and flies planes on the weekend for fun. He works in private security, Barry explained, which was the sole capacity in which he’d been hired by Wei Wei. The idea that he was responsible for an illegal Covid casino and pleasure palace is “patently ludicrous,” according to Barry. Wei Dong is also alleging police mishandled the evidence against him—that after a search of his home, some of his cash and jewellery were found to be missing. According to sources close to Wei, he insisted from the start that the charges against him were bogus. Documents obtained by Toronto Life lay out the nature of Wei’s complaints and his defence team’s ensuing investigation. The first thing they noticed was that at Wei’s home in Vaughan, Slack’s team had photographed his retainer agreement with Robitaille—an act that violated his attorney-client privilege. Wei also alleged that two of his luxury watches, a $300,000 Patek Philippe and a $150,000 Jaeger-LeCoultre, were found to be missing after the raid.

Before joining Mackenzie No. 5, the three bouncers did amateur competitive heavyweight wrestling on the side. Police surveillance footage from summer 2020 shows the men entertaining themselves by practising tombstone piledrivers on each other on the front lawn. Shiny new banks of slot machines are grouped according to manufacturer, beeping and flashing to beckon you over. A couple of wide paths take you deeper into the casino – the key to any gaming establishment, after all, is to draw you in so you keep spending money. In total, 45 people have been arrested and 29 of them have been charged with more than 70 criminal offences. The operation saw police execute search warrants at several addresses in York Region, with YRP getting assistance from OPP and Durham police. Project Endgame was initiated in May with the launch of an investigation surrounding underground casinos across Markham. Police believe the closure of traditional casinos opened the door to illegal operations for hundreds of gambler within the 53-room gated mansion. In total, 45 people have been arrested and 33 of them have been charged with more than 70 criminal offences.

Gaming tables, video slot machines and more than $20,000 were seized, and five people were arrested. Police seized 11 guns and more than $1 million in cash as part of an ongoing investigation into organized crime. On July 30, 2020, investigators executed a search warrant at a residence on Woodland Acres in the City of Vaughan. Three people were arrested and more than $70,000 in cash was seized along with various documentary evidence relevant to the illegal gaming operations. Though Mackenzie No. 5 billed itself as a private members’ club, police later claimed it was really one of many illegal gaming houses in and around Toronto. In the first half of 2020, as the city retreated into Covid lockdown, police say this side of the operation ramped up. Professional casino tables were installed and staff were hired to run them.

WATCH: Police Raid Illegal Casino In Toronto Mansion And Arrest 33 Gamblers – CardPlayer.com

WATCH: Police Raid Illegal Casino In Toronto Mansion And Arrest 33 Gamblers.

Posted: Mon, 05 Oct 2020 07:00:00 GMT [source]

She went on to detail three main allegations of misconduct involving YRP personnel. She adds Wei agreed to forfeit his interest in the mansion at 5 Decourcy Court in Markham as well as $960,000 in seized cash and gaming equipment. Nicolle also notes under the conditions of Wei’s peace bond, he has to be of good behaviour, not go to any “common gaming house,” and not go to any premises in Ontario with gaming equipment present unless it’s licensed by the province. Laura Nicolle says York police are conducting a “thorough investigation” into the complaint. Thirty-three people have been charged with more than 70 counts, including alcohol and weapons charges, York Regional Police said. The house at 5 Decourcy Court, meanwhile, spent three months on the market last spring before selling for $8.2 million, nearly double its 2015 purchase price. Wei surrendered his interest in the mansion, but his wife and the bank still claimed their shares. After all that effort, the province was left with nothing but a few weapons, some cash and their take from the sale of the house. The cases against Wei Dong and other mansion staff are still before the courts, and none of the allegations against them have been proven. As the only defendant facing jail time over weapons charges, Wei Dong is effectively the fall guy. His defence lawyer is Calvin Barry, a slick showman with a specialty in celebrity DUIs.

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