Registrar, Alcohol and Gaming Commission Ontario v. Manivone Yvone Miou, 2007 CanLII 26988

IN THE MATTER OF The: Gaming Control Act, 1992, as amended

Registrar, Alcohol and Gaming Commission Ontario Registrar

-and-

Manivone Yvone Miou Registrant

Panel: Beryl Ford, Board Member Allan Higdon, Board Member

Decision Date: June 22, 2007 Hearing Location: Brantford, Ontario

Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario 90 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 300 Toronto ON M2N 0A4 Phone (416) 326-0366 Fax (416) 326-5566 Website: agco.on.ca

Appearances Registrar, Alcohol and Gaming Commission ) Ed Wren, Representative Manivone Yvone Miou, Registrant ) On own behalf

Allegations

1On February 28, 2007 the Registrar issued an Order of Immediate Suspension under the Gaming Control Act to Manivone Yvone Miou suspending her registration as a gaming assistant, registration number 86510 The Registrant requested a hearing before the Board of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission (“AGCO”). The Hearing was held on May 31, 2007 in the City of Brantford.

Decision

2The Board ORDERS that the oral decision given at the hearing sustaining the immediate suspension of the gaming licence of Manivone Yvone Miou be CONFIRMED and a condition to be added. Reasons follow.

Preliminary Matters

3The Registrant appeared without an agent or counsel. She was accompanied by a friend, Mr. Duoc Pham, who acted as an interpreter from the Vietnamese language to English. He was sworn in as a translator. The Registrant said she understood English but she had her friend as a resource in case more difficult language arose.

4The Board informed the Registrant she had the right to be represented by legal counsel. She stated she understood that right and chose to waive it.

Registrar’s Evidence

5James Renwick was a member of the Ontario Provincial Police (“O.P.P.”) from 1968 until 1999, when he retired with the rank of Staff Sergeant. He has worked as an investigator for the AGCO since 2000. In January 2007, the witness was assigned to investigate the Registrant. The investigation was triggered in the Gaming Employee Disclosure form by the Registrant indicating her involvement with alleged criminal activities in the United States. The witness began the investigation on January 30, 2007 and gathered related documentation until February 8, 2007. On that date the witness interviewed the Registrant at 10:30 am at the AGCO offices in Toronto. She was accompanied by her daughter Kim Miou. The purpose of the interview was to determine the extent of the Registrant’s involvement in the alleged criminal activity outlined in her disclosure document.

6The witness referred to Exhibit #1 a U.S. District Court criminal complaint dated August 28, 2006 citing Manivone Miou as a suspect in the unlawful distribution of 60,000 tablets of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (“MDMA”), known popularly as Ecstasy. Exhibit #1 states the Registrant was in a restaurant in Niagara Falls, New York and she was overheard in a wiretap arranging a transaction of ecstasy with an associate to an undercover drug agent. The transaction took place, after which those present were arrested.

7In her interview the Registrant did not implicate herself in any drug transaction. However, she did admit she was in attendance when a drug transaction took place. The Registrant said she went to Niagara Falls, New York to gamble as she is not permitted to do so in Ontario where she works as a casino table dealer. The Registrant accompanied a friend and went to the restaurant where she talked with a man. She realized she was in a bad situation only after her friend told her to ask the man “if he had the money.” She was arrested 10 – 20 minutes later. She did not know any of the details and has never heard of drugs or tablets.

8After the interview at the AGCO, a statement was taken from the Registrant and her daughter. Each page was reviewed and signed by her and read to her for complete understanding. She indicated satisfaction with the completed document.

9On February 8, 2007, the witness telephoned the Registrant and asked her to send him a copy of the taped Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) conversation or to obtain a transcript from a lawyer. She said she would attempt to get a copy. On February 20, 2007 the witness again spoke to the Registrant and asked for the wiretap tape or transcript.

10On February 21, 2007 the witness interviewed the Registrant and asked questions. Ms. Miou said she had listened to the wiretap tapes and stated there was no direct conversation between her and the DEA agent regarding tablets or drugs. She stated she realized something was wrong when money was mentioned but did not leave because her associate had her identification. She was unaware the meetings which took place before the arrest were discussions involving the sale of drugs.

11From February to March 2007 the witness spoke to the Registrant’s lawyer in Niagara Falls, New York several times and asked to meet with him. The lawyer never agreed to a meeting.

12The witness attended several court dates for the Registrant in the United States, the outcome of which was the case being adjourned until June 5, 2007.

13On May 9, 2007, the witness was able to contact agent Chris Wizniewski of the Drug Enforcement Administration in the United States. The agent told him that Ms. Miou had knowingly taken an active role in the drug transaction and had met twice with the undercover operative. These conversations are on tape.

14The witness concluded by saying Ms. Miou had refused to sign the document that would permit the AGCO to have access to the tapes or transcript of the alleged drug conversations.

15Jeff Longhurst is the Deputy Registrar of the AGCO. He reviews all applications for the renewal and employment of gaming assistants.

16The witness stated Ms. Miou has been a card table dealer at the Brantford Charity Casino since 2000. On her Gaming Disclosure Form, dated January 19, 2007, she disclosed that criminal charges had been laid against her in the United States for the illegal distribution of 60,000 tablets of MDMA.

17The charges made against the Registrant call into question her ability to conduct her job with honesty and integrity, in accordance with the law, and in a manner that does not threaten public trust. Based on the allegations made by the DEA, the Registrar decided to impose an immediate suspension of the gaming licence of Manivone Miou. The allegations made are very serious and public trust must be maintained.

18On cross-examination, the witness was asked if the disclosure made by the Registrant indicates honesty on her part. The witness replied it does indicate some measure of honesty. The witness was asked if the Registrant would be re-instated if charges were dropped. He replied an assessment would take place and re-instatement would depend on a variety of factors.

Registrant’s Evidence

19Manivone Yvone Miou stated she went to the United States to play in the local casino. This whole episode has been a case of her being in the wrong place at the wrong time. She knew nothing of a drug transaction. Her associate, Nam Hong, had her identification in his wallet. That was the reason she did not leave once she suspected bad things were happening.

20The witness stated she did not release the tapes or transcripts of wiretapped conversations due to the instructions of her lawyers who told her not to do so. Although she has spoken to her lawyer on occasion, she was unaware until today’s testimony that she had a hearing coming on June 5, 2007 – one week away. She had no idea the man she was with was a drug dealer.

21In response to questions to the panel, Ms. Miou stated she met with the undercover agent on two occasions – August 24 and August 26, 2007.

Registrar’s Submissions

22Mr. Wren stated the Gaming Control Act requires the Registrar to ensure the operations of gaming facilities are operated with honesty and integrity. In order to ensure this, the Registrar is required to take into account the conduct of all staff. In this case, the Registrar has suspended the registration of the Registrant and not immediately revoked her registration, pending disposition of the charges.

23The evidence presented shows the Registrant met on at least two occasions with an undercover agent to discuss drug purchases and was later arrested for the alleged illegal distribution of 60,000 tablets of MDMA.

24The explanations given by the Registrant for her involvement in the proceedings are not credible. Even though the Registrant stated she knew something bad was happening she stayed at the restaurant where the drug transaction and discussions were taking place. The proposition that she could not leave as her associate had picked up her identification from the car seat and put it into his wallet does not stand scrutiny. She could not explain why she allowed him to keep it. She was unable to give any plausible reason why she would leave herself stranded in the United States by allowing her identification to be in the possession of someone else, leaving her unable to cross the border back to her home.

25The Registrant has refused to sign papers that would allow for the release of tapes and transcripts that would establish her innocence, if the sequence of events were truly as she described.

26Given the evidence presented at this hearing, it is clear that that the suspension notice issued to Manivone Miou should be sustained in order to ensure that public trust is maintained in the honesty and integrity of casino staff.

Registrant’s Submissions

27Ms. Miou stated that not enough evidence had been presented to deny her a gaming licence. She has worked in the casino for seven years and has a good work record. She has been a loyal and competent employee and demonstrated honesty and integrity in her work. This incident is a very unfortunate one in that she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. She did not leave the meeting in the restaurant in which the drug transaction took place because she was a woman alone, in the United States, and did not belong there.

Reply

28Mr. Wren stated that the public interest was more important to consider than any impact a continued suspension might have on the Registrant’s family.

Reasons

29The Board has considered the evidence provided by both parties. No evidence has been presented that would mitigate the serious allegations made against the Registrant.

30The Board does not find the explanation of the Registrant for her conduct to be credible or even plausible. The statement that she allowed her identity papers to be kept by another person and therefore could not leave the site of a drug transaction, even though she strongly suspected illegal activity was taking place, is simply not believable. Her refusal to release tapes or transcripts of wiretap conversations reinforces the conviction that her involvement with the drug transaction is much deeper than she has stated to the AGCO investigator or the Board. The Registrant must provide explanations much more plausible than those provided to date if the cloud of suspicion regarding her involvement in a drug transaction is to be lifted.

31The Registrant holds a position requiring the utmost integrity and honesty at the Brantford Charity Casino. Her employment as a dealer requires the highest level of public trust. The Registrant has been charged with the sale and distribution of a very significant amount of illegal drugs. The Board is convinced that these charges significantly compromise the trust required by the public in this individual and fails to meet the appropriate standards of honesty and integrity required for casino employment as required by section 12 of the Gaming Control Act.

Order

32The Board therefore CONFIRMS the order of immediate suspension issued by the Registrar on February 28, 2007 to Manivone Yvone Miou.

33The Board ORDERS that the following condition be added:

The immediate suspension order will conclude at the end of the criminal and regulatory processes involving Manivone Yvone Miou. In that regard the Registrar, if it so chooses, must issue a Notice of Proposed Order to revoke the registration of Manivone Yvone Miou within 15 days of the conclusion of the criminal matters which gave rise to this suspension. Where the Registrar issues such a Notice of Proposed Order the suspension will continue until the conclusion of that proceeding.

DATED AT TORONTO THIS 22^ND DAY OF JUNE, 2007

ALLAN HIGDON, BOARD MEMBER BERYL FORD, BOARD MEMBER

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