The wife of an Ontario lawyer allegedly involved in a transnational drug smuggling ring told his bail hearing today she never saw her husband receive luxurious gifts or suspicious amounts of cash from clients in their decades together.
Federal prosecutors are asking Mandy Paradkar about the couple’s finances, assets and work as she continues her testimony in a Toronto courtroom.
Her husband, Deepak Paradkar, is one of eight Canadians arrested on extradition warrants last month in connection with an FBI operation targeting Ryan Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder allegedly turned drug kingpin.
U.S. officials allege Deepak Paradkar, 62, advised Wedding on the murder of a federal witness and introduced the former athlete to drug traffickers who moved product through North America.
They further allege the lawyer — who they say was also known under the name “cocaine_lawyer” for his previous social media handle — was paid with bulk cash drops and luxury items such as watches.
On the stand today, his wife said that while it’s not uncommon for clients to pay lawyers in cash, none of the amounts received by her husband raised any concerns, nor did she ever see him get any gifts from clients aside from alcohol or chocolates.
On Wednesday, Deepak Paradkar made his pitch to be released on bail until his extradition hearing, proposing to place himself under conditions that include round-the-clock house arrest and GPS monitoring, as well as a joint pledge of $5 million with his wife.
