Judge prevents deportation of man linked to OPP organized crime probe
A Federal Court judge has stopped the deportation of a man arrested in a high-profile organized crime investigation led by Ontario Provincial Police.
A Federal Court judge has stopped the deportation of a man arrested in a high-profile organized crime investigation led by Ontario Provincial Police.
Justice John Norris issued a ruling last month setting aside a 2023 decision to refer Giorgio Campagna, 62, for an admissibility hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
Campagna has been a permanent resident of Canada since early childhood. He was among 28 individuals arrested in 2019 as part of Project Hobart — an OPP-led crackdown on what police described as a “lucrative online and traditional gaming enterprise” tied to organized crime groups, including the Hells Angels.
The investigation culminated in a province-wide raid targeting an illegal gambling network. Authorities laid 228 charges collectively against 28 suspects. The suspects included several alleged or confirmed Hells Angels members, including Robert Barletta, Eugenio (Gino) Reda, Raffaele Simonelli and Craig McIlquham — who was fatally shot outside a Burlington restaurant earlier this year.
According to court filings, Campagna was implicated in the operation of a gaming house based out of a Mississauga café, where officers seized seven gambling machines during a December 2019 search.
An agreed statement of facts cited in court states Campagna collected cash from the machines between March and October 2019, and allegedly retained about 20 per cent of the proceeds.
Campagna was originally charged with three counts of bookmaking and one count of committing an offence for a criminal organization.
He later pleaded guilty in March 2021 to a single summary offence — permitting a premises to be used as a common gaming house. The remaining charges were withdrawn.
Campagna received a conditional discharge and one year of probation, which was completed without incident in March 2022.
Despite this, he was later informed by the Canada Border Services Agency in early 2023 that he was the subject of a report under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act — specifically, “for engaging in an illegal gaming enterprise.”
Campagna’s legal team submitted detailed evidence opposing removal, arguing his deep-rooted ties to Canada. Born in Italy but raised in Canada since the age of five, Campagna has lived in the country for nearly six decades.
He is the primary caregiver for his elderly mother, who suffers from dementia. He lives with his common-law partner of 40 years. His children, grandchildren, and siblings also reside in Canada.
Additionally, the judge argued Campagna “should not be referred to the Immigration Division for an admissibility hearing” because he was gainfully employed in the construction business before suffering a back injury at work and then being “severely injured” in two motor vehicle accidents.
In his ruling, Justice Norris found the government’s rationale for referring Campagna to the immigration board did not adequately account for the mitigating factors and personal circumstances presented.
As a result, the admissibility hearing will not proceed.
So a foreigner tied to organized crime and convicted of crimes can’t be deported because he’s been here this long, and he has family here. Maybe he ought to have thought of that before being a degenerate. Just send him packing and good riddance.
Former Prime Minister Trudeau appointed Omar Khadr’s lawyer, John Norris, as a federal judge. This is the same man who defended a confessed murderer and terrorist, Omar Khadr. Norris is an utter embarrassment for Canada and the Canadian judicial system......