Anatomy of a police probe: 5 years, 65 investigators, 70K pages of documents
Five years, thousands of miles and half a million dollars later, the numbers are in on the RCMP'S criminal investigation of possible identity fraud in the 2017 United Conservative Party leadership contest.
RCMP combed the database of 60,000 voters, eventually winnowing out 200 cases of suspected identity fraud, where people seem to have falsely registered as voters and received PIN codes to vote in the race. No charges were filed as there wasn't enough evidence to lay them against specific individuals.
There were a total of 65 investigators, including five core investigators, with others seconded for varying lengths of time.
There were 1,200 voter-canvass interviews and 563 structured interviews conducted by two interviewers, with 226 hours of audio.
RCMP got translation/interpreter help in Arabic, South Asian and Chinese languages.
Investigators included Edmonton K-division's federal policing, auto-theft, digital forensic service units as well as units in Airdrie, Canmore, Red Deer, Thorsby, High River, and Maskwacis RCMP detachments.
The estimated financial drain was $460,877 in overtime and travel expenses. That doesn't take into consideration the workload handled by people within their expected workday. There were 12 out-of-province trips to B.C., Ontario and Nova Scotia, at a cost of $38,647, in addition to $65,942 for travel within the province.
A whopping 7,484 PDF documents, totalling 69,922 pages, were pulled with the help of warrants, sealing orders, production orders, information to obtain, admin and mutual legal assistance requests, with materials received from American internet service providers.
EARLY TIMELINE
■ July 22, 2017 — Wildrose Party and Progressive Conservative party merge to form the United Conservative Party. A leadership campaign is launched, with Jason Kenney, Jeff Callaway, Doug Schweitzer and Brian Jean in the running.
■ Oct. 4, 2017 — Callaway drops out of the race and publicly endorses Kenney.
■ Oct. 28, 2017 — Kenney is elected as the new UCP leader.
Allegations of wrongdoing surface after the leadership contest.
■ Feb. 11, 2019 — Letter of complaint received by the Alberta RCMP in relation to the allegations, which results in the RCMP opening an investigation into two separate allegations: one alleging that Callaway had portrayed himself as a legitimate candidate and so was able to solicit money from individuals who believed he was a legitimate candidate, which would have been fraud contrary to section 380 of the Criminal Code. An Elections Alberta investigation investigated Callaway's campaign finances under the Alberta Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act.
Alberta RCMP investigators will conduct more than 170 interviews with contributors and campaign staff and examine 25,000 emails. They do not uncover evidence to establish that Callaway, or any other person in the case, committed a criminal offence.
■ Feb. 14, 2019 — Investigation assigned to the Alberta RCMP'S serious crimes branch general investigative division.
■ Feb. 19 — Initial interview with complainant.
■ Feb. 21, 2019 — Crown consultation begins, continues throughout investigation.
■ March 11, 2019 — First Judicial Authorization obtained. 22 Judicial Authorizations will be sought over the course of the investigation. The last of the ordered
records received in February, 2023.
■ March 14, 2019 — Investigators obtain UCP members' voter data for 2017 leadership vote, with more than 62,000 registered voters.
■ Apr. 16, 2019 — Kenney becomes premier of Alberta.
EVIDENCE GATHERING
■ Feb. 20, 2020 — RCMP receive several boxes from the UCP, filled with original copies of voter registration forms. More than 8,300 forms will be manually compared with previously received voter data to verify any discrepancies.
■ September 2020 — More than 24,000 emails are obtained by Judicial Authorization relating to the investigations.
REVIEW AND ORGANIZATION
■ October 2020 — Investigative team reviews and organizes massive quantities of materials. Addition Judicial Authorizations are sought, including Mutual Legal Assistance Requests.
■ September 2021 — Majority of
COVID restrictions lifted, interviews continue.
■ November 2021-February 2023 — More material comes in from Judicial Authorizations. MLAT authorizations granted, submitted to U.S. authorities for internet ISPS and other data companies headquartered in the US.
FINAL CONCLUSION, PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
■ October 2023 — Finalize remaining tasks, file audit.
March 8, 2024 — RCMP announces investigation concluded, no charges filed.
JEFF CALLOWAY TIMELINE
■ July 22, 2017 — Wildrose Party and Progressive Conservative party merge to form the United Conservative Party.
A leadership campaign is launched, with Kenney, Callaway, Schweitzer and Jean in the running.
■ Oct. 4, 2017 — Calloway drops out of the race and publicly endorses Jason Kenney.
■ November 2018 — Elections commissioner Lorne Gibson launches investigation after
anonymous complaint about the financing of Callaway's campaign.
■ Feb. 11, 2019 — Letter of complaint received by the Alberta RCMP.
■ July 2019 — Gibson fines Gallaway $70,000 for violations of the EFCDA.
■ November 2020 — appeals filed. April 19, 2023 — Calgary Court of King's Bench Janice Ashcroft orders elections commissioner to reconsider Callaway's fine.
■ March 1, 2024 — Amended Notice of Penalty applied, fines reduced by 25 per cent, or 20 per cent in most cases to $1,500, and to $4,000 from $5,000 in the case of the false statement.
■ March 8, 2024 — RCMP Supt. Rick Jané concludes criminal investigation, announces the RCMP weren't able to prove Callaway raised funds knowing he would drop out, as there wasn't proof to support that he wouldn't have accepted the leadership had he been elected.
“The investigation did not uncover evidence to establish that Callaway, or any other person, committed a criminal offence,” Jané said.