Ernie Dew

Ernie Dew has been in jail since the massive police drug bust in February 2006. The sting saw the arrests of 13 people, and it hinged largely on the undercover work of Franco Atanasovic, Dew's friend more than 20 years.
Atanasovic, 48, detailed the undercover operation Monday at Dew's trial in Winnipeg, where the courtroom was heavily guarded by armed police officers and closed to the public.
Atanasovic said on one occasion, he was invited to Dew's home to collect cocaine. Trying to delay the deal because he was not set up with the RCMP handlers, Atanasovic said he invented a story that his sons had his vehicle at an AHL hockey game.
Instead, Dew arranged for someone to visit Atanasovic at home. The delivery arrived with someone else Atanasovic said he's known for more than 20 years.
"He passed me a white plastic bag ... with coke in it," Atanasovic said.
The next day, Atanasovic said he went to a Winnipeg motorcycle shop to pay for the drug delivery. Dew climbed into his truck, and he handed him $13,000, which Dew put up his sleeve, Atanasovic said.
He told court he can't remember if Dew counted the cash in front of him.
During one of his projects as an agent, Atanasovic visited Dew at an auto wreckers on Winnipeg's outskirts, where Dew worked. Instead of making a deal, Atanasovic ended up selling a raffle ticket.
"It was for my son's hockey tournament. I sold it to him," Atanasovic told the court Monday.
Atanasovic, whose criminal record goes back to the late 1970s and contains convictions for violence and fraud, was paid more than $525,000 to infiltrate the gang.
During the operation, Atanasovic was only supposed to use a special cell phone that was being monitored by RCMP officers. On Monday, he admitted to phoning Dew numerous times using a private cell phone that was registered to a friend - calls that were not reported to police.