Conman Albert Walker loses another parole bid

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Now 80 years old and facing health issues, notorious conman Albert Walker has been denied day parole by the Parole Board of Canada yet again.

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Dubbed The Rolex Killer in Britain after his conviction there for murder, Walker first gained fame as a smooth-talking scammer from Paris, Ontario who stole millions from his friends and neighbours before fleeing to England with his 15-year-old daughter.

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“You will … present an undue risk to society if released on day parole and your release will not contribute to the protection of society,” says a report by the Parole Board of Canada written at the end of September.

“The board finds you are continuing to demonstrate slow and steady progress… however, you continue to have limited insight into your risk factors and struggle with minimization, all-or-nothing thinking, manipulative tendencies as well as your self-identified weakness in stress management.”

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Walker has often been described as a charismatic conman, who was able to bilk Ontario residents of an estimated $3.2 million through his Woodstock-based investment business.

He fled with the funds in 1990 and, in England assumed a British man’s identity and home. When that man, Ronald Platt, turned up wanting to return to his previous life, Walker took him fishing and, after a fight, weighed down Platt’s body with an anchor and left him in the English Channel.

Platt was identified by the Rolex he was wearing and police unravelled the complex tale, which included the fact Walker was living as the husband of his daughter and her three children.

With murder, money and romance involved, Walker’s story captivated the news and resulted in books, a TV movie and even a story-line on Coronation Street, the British soap opera.

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The parole board noted a specific concern in its report: one of the letters of support submitted for Walker came from a chaplain who referred to him as David, “a name that is problematic considering aliases you used to commit the fraud offences”, the report says.

Walker was given a life sentence in Britain, begun in 1998, with no eligibility for full parole for at least 15 years.

He was transferred to Canada in February 2005 and has been eligible for day parole since 2010 but, aside from escorted leaves from a prison in British Columbia, and a day course he was allowed to take two years ago, he hasn’t been successful in getting paroled.

The Correctional Services of Canada and his case management team have each recommended day parole, but the parole board doesn’t agree, saying the often-charming Walker focuses on “impression management” and making a positive impression to others.

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Walker remains estranged from his family and, each year, victim statements that have been filed with the parole board are reviewed and some victims make new statements.

“One victim read part of their statement near the end of the hearing,” reads the report.

“They focused on how your actions put your daughter in a vulnerable position by being cut off from family and isolated in a different country.

“She described watching you become more unhinged over 20 years.”

A previous statement from Walker’s ex-wife described him as a successful businessman in the community while, at home, he was histrionic and abusive.

Walker told the board he took his daughter from her Paris home because he was “concerned for her safety”.

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He also said he promised the girl he would never tell anyone the name of the father of her three children.

Walker has repaid $1,500 toward a $1.5-million restitution order that was ordered. He told the board he will make payments of $4,000 to $5,000 a year once he’s released.

“Victims expressed that they trusted you and lost significant sums of money after you asked them to invest funds in your company and misrepresented your financial skills and education,” said the report.

“One family estimated their financial loss at over $8 million.”

All of Walker’s parole applications have emphasized his church involvement both within the prison and at a community church where he’s had escorted visits and is welcomed.

But the board has expressed concerns over the years due to the fact Walker’s Ontario victims included fellow church members.

He’s been warned about getting overly involved with fellow church-goers and also warned about offering financial or tax assistance to others, including other prisoners.

If he one day is released, the board said rules will include not providing “financial, counselling, spiritual or teaching services, no one-on-one volunteering with vulnerable populations and monitoring of your relationships with vulnerable elderly people.”

SGamble@postmedia.com

@EXPSGamble

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