Sudbury man pushes 30-year-old RCMP lawsuit

A Sudbury man who has been suing the RCMP for almost 30 years is taking his case to the House of Commons with the hope that political pressure will end the long legal battle that began with fraud charges in the early 1980s.

Paul Temelini was a lawyer and developer building a real estate empire in Sudbury when the RCMP charged him with fraud. He was accused of defrauding clients in several property deals. The real estate agent was convicted, while the judge threw out the charges against Temelini.

'They destroyed my whole life.' —Paul Temelini

Nevertheless, Temelini said the damage was already done.

"They destroyed my whole life," he said. "I lost my law practice, office buildings, [and] investments."

Temelini filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1985 — and it is still working its way through the courts.

He is hoping to speed things up by collecting a petition that his MP has promised to present in the House of Commons.

Temelini said his lawsuit is about money, but it's also about his reputation, which he believes can never be fully repaired.

"I cannot say that it's not about money, because it is. But the most important thing to me was it questioned my integrity. That's what really bothered me," he said.

"There will always be some people saying ‘oh, he paid off the judge, or he got away with it. That's just the way human nature is."

The RCMP said it cannot comment on this case, because it is still before the courts.