UPDATED — Jan. 31, 3:03 p.m.
Three Steelworkers Local 6500 members are “greatly relieved” they were found not guilty of criminal harassment Jan. 31, according to their lawyer, Frank Addario.
“This has been an enormously difficult ordeal for these three gentlemen and their families,” Addario said, while speaking to reporters outside of the Sudbury Courthouse after the verdict was given.
Frank Addario (forefront), the defense attorney for Patrick Veinot, Mike French and Jason Patterson speaks to media outside the Sudbury Courthouse on Jan. 31. French was found guilty of assault, but all three were acquitted of criminal harassment. Also in photo are Veinot (left) and United Steelworkers Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand. Photo by Heidi Ulrichsen.
While Justice William Fitzgerald found Mike French, 44, Patrick Veinot, 42, and Jason Patterson, 35, not guilty of criminal harassment, he did find French guilty of assault. French is due to be sentenced Feb. 18 at 10 a.m.
Addario said his clients were accused of orchestrating a “harassment campaign” against Todd Chretien, who had crossed the picket line during Local 6500's strike against Vale.
Among other things, Chretien's vehicle was vandalized and posters with his picture were put up at his apartment building. This harassment campaign was supposed to have been capped off with a physical confrontation last year, Addario said.
“The problem was, there was nothing to link (French, Veinot and Patterson) to the previous acts,” he said.
“It was somebody else, obviously not acting with the direction of the union, because it's not union policy to engage in illegal acts of harassment of people who choose voluntarily to participate in a lawful strike.”
The courtroom was filled with Local 6500 members and the families of the accused when Fitzgerald rendered his decision.
Many sighed with relief when the men were found not guilty of criminal harassment. French appeared to be holding back tears when he was found guilty of assault.
“This just proves that everything that Vale's been saying in the paper about the three-on-one attack never happened.”
Rick Bertrand,
Steelworkers Local 6500 president
The criminal charges were prompted by an incident which took place Jan. 19, 2010, when Chretien was jogging on Southview Drive.
French saw Chretien, stopped his truck and got out, waving a piece of paper with Chretien's photo on it, according to evidence recounted by Fitzgerald.
Both men blame the other for starting the fight, Fitzgerald said. However, the judge said he had no reason to believe Chretien threw the first punch.
Veinot and Patterson, currently vice-president and treasurer of Local 6500 respectively, were passengers in French's vehicle during the incident. They did not participate in the altercation.
Addario said he won't comment on French's assault conviction until his client has been sentenced next month.
Steelworkers Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand said he's “very, very pleased” his members have been found not guilty of criminal harassment.
“This just proves that everything that Vale's been saying in the paper about the three-on-one attack never happened,” he said. “We're very pleased with that, and we're looking forward to moving on.”
French, Veinot and Patterson were all fired by Vale as a result of the incident.
Local 6500 is currently involved in a bargaining in bad faith complaint against Vale with the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
The union contends that the company's refusal to take these men back, along with five other men fired during the labour dispute, held up the settlement of the strike.
When asked if the men being found not guilty of criminal harassment will impact on the labour board case, Bertrand said the court system and the labour board don't work hand-in-hand. However, he said it is time for Vale to take another look at the case, and let the men go back to work.
