by Ian Elliot
Northern News Services

NNSL (Oct 01/97) - An internal probe has concluded that Yellowknife RCMP did not ignore criminal activities occurring at the Gold Range Hotel.

During the summer, Yellowknife Women's Centre executive director Arlene Hache complained that the local detachment overlooked gambling and prostitution at the Range, and that pressure to do so had been exerted on the force by prominent community members. Police maintain this is not true.

Hache says she is not surprised the probe found no wrongdoing. "It's a useless process and a waste of time," she said. "Nothing will resolve it except a public inquiry."

Hache lodged her complaint after poker baron Wing Lee, 61, was arrested and a search of his Gold Range rooms uncovered gambling paraphernalia, weapons, 1,300 videotapes and photographs of what police say were sexual activities involving underage girls.

Lee faces nearly 50 criminal charges, however he has yet to be tried in court on any of them.

In her complaint, Hache said police had ignored the well-known gambling den for more than 20 years. She said if concerns about prostitution and pornography had been acted on years ago, police could have lessened the impact of the current scandal.

She said that the inquiry was only concerned with the conduct of local police officers and was not equipped to tackle the larger issues raised by her complaint.

In a three-page letter to Hache dated Sept. 12, RCMP Inspector R.A. Connell concluded that: "I find our members' actions were proper in dealing with you and there is no violation of...RCMP policy."

Breaking up illegal gaming operations was not a priority in a town where violent crime, the Giant Mine strike and several unsolved homicides have demanded the RCMP's attention, the letter says.

Undercover investigations had been mounted in the Range and other bars, but those operation targeted narcotics, "(and) this is not a case that police were ignoring the Gold Range."

The police were aware of prostitution concerns, but no victims were willing to speak with them, no complaints had been lodged by parents and the police turned up no evidence of a prostitution ring in other investigations, the letter said.

In addition, Connell said the allegation that a gambling investigation was not pursued because it would affect important people in the community was "without foundation," and that the RCMP "would not be deterred from investigating and prosecuting...important people for criminal acts if evidence supported such action."

Hache said child prostitution was a priority in the community and doubted that the RCMP could not investigate one illegal activity, such as drug trafficking, without becoming aware of the other matters.