‘Tooth and nail’
Shah and his associates own numerous residential properties in central Edmonton, many of them catering to the hard-to-house. The 59-year-old served time in prison after being convicted in 2008 of mortgage fraud, and pleaded guilty last December to ordering an unsuccessful jailhouse hit.
In July, he was hospitalized after being shot in the head by an unknown gunman.
Shah is scheduled to begin a preliminary hearing in January on drug trafficking charges.
After Behiels was suspended, he made a Twitter account to discuss his allegations against Shah and answered questions from the public on the message board site Reddit. The account has since been deleted.
Behiels’ wife said she was speaking out independent of her husband because she is frustrated with the EPS investigation. Postmedia is withholding her name because she has safety concerns.
She questioned why police are suspending her husband’s pay now, despite the fact no criminal or disciplinary charges have been laid against him. She also questioned why the investigation is taking so long, noting Behiels’ first interview with PSB investigators took place in October — nine months after he made his admission to McFee.
She also expressed frustration with Behiels’ union, the Edmonton Police Association, saying her husband had to “fight tooth and nail to receive legal representation.” EPA president Michael Elliott declined to comment, citing the PSB investigation.
Behiels intends to go before the Edmonton Police Commission, the EPS’s civilian governance body, to dispute the chief’s decision to remove his pay. Such hearings are closed to the public.
“It is my understanding that there is no appealing whatever decision they make,” Behiels’ wife said of the commission. “We just lose our farm, the home that our children were raised in.”
She added that Behiels is not allowed to find another job because he is still a member of the police service.
Under Alberta’s Police Act, a police chief’s decision to suspend an officer without pay must be reviewed by the police commission within 30 days. Chairwoman Micki Ruth said Friday afternoon that the commission had not yet been notified whether Behiels intends to dispute the chief’s decision.
jwakefield@postmedia.com
Editor’s note: This story has been changed to clarify to whom Behiels leaked claims to.