Moosehead CEO laid to rest

Retired_Can_Soldier

The End of the Dog is Coming!
Mar 19, 2006
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Farewell Richard Oland

The Oland family is a household name in New Brunswick and to my knowledge their contribution to the community has always been excellent. I first came across the Olands when I was trying to raise funds and contributions for a fishing derby I was in charge of when I was an instructor at the artillery school in CFS Gagetown. One of the great people that helped me out was the CEO of Moosehead Brewers named Richard (Dick) Oland.

The Oland family has been a long time supporter of Canadian Soldiers and why not, Dick Oland's father was none other than Brigadier General Philip Oland (Ret). When Mr. Oland sent out a package for my fishing derby I almost fell over. There had to be $600.00 in merchandize, from Hats, to playing cards, to mugs and glasses and even darts, but more so he sent us an entire skid of Moosehead beer.

We lost a good one this week and I hope they find his killer.

Rest in Peace Richard Oland you will be missed.



Moosehead heir’s death still a mystery
SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- The investigation into the homicide of a prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist continues to rattle this small city.
On Tuesday, the same day members of the community came to grieve Richard "Dick" Oland at his funeral, one report suggested Oland had been bludgeoned in the head with an axe.
For those who knew him, it's difficult enough to understand that he might have been murdered. Suggestions he was killed in his office in such a brutal fashion are beyond comprehension.
"You never saw any reason. You never saw any animosity around him at all," said John Ainesworth, who rented the office space to Oland for the past 10 years.
Ainesworth was back at the building Wednesday as police continued their investigation.
"(Oland) gave of himself and for whatever reason someone wanted to do that to him. You couldn't fathom why," Ainesworth said.
Oland was a former executive at Moosehead Breweries, but left his family's business in the 1980s to venture into the transportation industry. He sat on several boards in his community and was a competitive sailor with his boat, Vela Veloce.


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TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
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Location, Location
Fact check - he was not CEO, and had nothing to do with, the brewery since 1980, when he left it in the hands of his brother after many bitter disputes over direction. Incidentally, for those who care, these Olands are not the same Olands of Olands Brewery fame, the family split many many years ago.

He was a tremendous booster in favour of various causes, his church, his city, etc.
He will be sorely missed by those of us still here, and tonight I had a couple of Mooseheads in his honour.

Haul away your anchor, Dick.
 

shadowshiv

Dark Overlord
May 29, 2007
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I hope they find his killer. It was quite a brutal murder from what I have read so far.
 

Retired_Can_Soldier

The End of the Dog is Coming!
Mar 19, 2006
11,282
479
83
59
Alberta
Fact check - he was not CEO, and had nothing to do with, the brewery since 1980, when he left it in the hands of his brother after many bitter disputes over direction. Incidentally, for those who care, these Olands are not the same Olands of Olands Brewery fame, the family split many many years ago.

He was a tremendous booster in favour of various causes, his church, his city, etc.
He will be sorely missed by those of us still here, and tonight I had a couple of Mooseheads in his honour.

Haul away your anchor, Dick.

Man, I stand corrected then, perhaps it was his brother I dealt with back in 90.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
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N.B. Crown will not appeal Dennis Oland's acquittal
Canadian Press
Published:
August 13, 2019
Updated:
August 13, 2019 9:07 PM EDT
Dennis Oland and family members head from the Law Courts in Saint John, N.B., after he was found not guilty of murdering his father on Friday, July 19, 2019. Andrew Vaughan / THE CANADIAN PRESS
FREDERICTON — New Brunswick’s Public Prosecution Services announced Tuesday they will not appeal last month’s acquittal of Dennis Oland on a charge of second-degree murder in the 2011 bludgeoning death of his multi-millionaire father, Richard.
Oland, 51, was charged with the killing in 2013 and spent close to a year in prison after being convicted by a jury in 2015. That verdict was overturned on appeal in 2016 and the new trial ordered — this time before judge alone.
In his July 19 decision, Justice Terrence Morrison of the New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench said Crown prosecutors failed to prove their case against Oland.
“More than suspicion is needed to convict someone of murder,” the judge said. “In short, I am not satisfied the Crown has proved beyond reasonable doubt that it was Dennis Oland who killed Richard Oland.”
Morrison also said he “cannot accept outright the accused’s denial of guilt.” He said there was much to implicate Oland in the crime, including blood stains containing his father’s DNA on the jacket he was wearing the day of the killing in Saint John, N.B.
But the presumption of innocence and the need for proof beyond a reasonable doubt are high standards in law, he said, and they were not overcome by prosecutors.
The prosecution services issued a statement Tuesday saying the ultimate aim of any trial must be to seek and ascertain the truth.
“This search for truth is qualified however by other laudable principles upon which our system is based: the presumption of innocence, the principle of reasonable doubt, fair process, the prohibition against double jeopardy, among many,” the statement said. “Public Prosecution Services pursues the truth in every trial and appeal process, but we do so simultaneously as guardians of these equally important principles upon which our system is based.”
It said Justice Morrison’s 146-page decision was closely reviewed before it was determined “there is no basis upon which the Crown can appeal the acquittal of Dennis Oland.”
The news was welcomed by Oland’s defence lawyer, Alan Gold, who called Morrison’s decision “legally impeccable.”
“It was their only possible decision in law and expected for all the reasons they set out,” Gold said in an email to The Canadian Press.
“Now we hope the police will move forward and actually solve this tragic case.”
Dennis Oland and his family did not make any public comment following the verdict last month. At a news conference the day of the decision, Gold said Dennis Oland’s immediate plans were to decompress from the pressures of the past eight years and spend time with his family.
He said Oland was a victim of police tunnel vision.
The family-owned business, Moosehead Breweries, is based in Saint John, and Richard Oland was a former vice-president until he lost out in a succession dispute and left to run his own enterprises.
Oland was bludgeoned to death sometime during the night of July 6, 2011 in the office of his investment firm Far End Corp. He was struck 45 times with a hammer-like weapon, leaving his skull cracked in several places.
Dennis Oland was the last known person to have seen his father alive.
The police and prosecution theory was that during his visit to the office that day, Dennis Oland used something like a drywall hammer with both a sharp edge and a blunt end to beat his father to death.
During his time on the witness stand, Oland described that theory as “absolutely ridiculous,” saying he is “not that kind of monster.”
One witness, who was working in the office below Oland’s said he heard thumping and banging coming from the floor above around 7:30 or 7:45 p.m. — a time when Dennis Oland was nowhere near the crime scene.
“Justice Morrison, was impacted by the ‘alibi-like’ evidence relating to the ‘guesstimates’ of the time of death of Richard Oland,” Public Prosecution Services says in its statement. “Consequently, his decision erects a complete barrier to an appeal by the Crown.”
Nicole O’Byrne, a law professor at the University of New Brunswick, said while it took eight years for the case to move through the courts, “justice has been served by going through this process.”
She said it’s not uncommon for murder cases to drag on for years.
“The difference with Oland is that there was a lot more media and publicity about this case,” she said. “People are a lot more aware of the twists and turns of the processes that were engaged in this case.”
http://torontosun.com/news/national/n-b-crown-will-not-appeal-dennis-olands-acquittal
 

spaminator

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Oct 26, 2009
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Saint John police chief says Oland murder investigation no longer active
Canadian Press
Published:
August 14, 2019
Updated:
August 14, 2019 2:43 PM EDT
Dennis Oland arrives at the Law Courts in Saint John, N.B., on July 19, 2019.Andrew Vaughan / The Canadian Press
FREDERICTON — The Saint John Police Force said Wednesday it is not actively investigating the 2011 killing of multi-millionaire businessman Richard Oland despite last month’s acquittal of Oland’s son on a charge of second-degree murder in the case.
Police Chief Bruce Connell made the statement the day after New Brunswick’s Public Prosecution Services announced they will not appeal Dennis Oland’s acquittal.
Dennis Oland was charged in the bludgeoning death of his father in Saint John, N.B. He spent close to a year in prison after being convicted by a jury in 2015. That verdict was overturned on appeal in 2016, and his second trial before judge alone resulted in a ruling of not guilty July 19.
Justice Terrence Morrison of the New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench found that Crown prosecutors failed to prove their case against Oland beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defence lawyer Alan Gold has said his client was the victim of police tunnel vision. After the ruling he called on the Saint John force to “reinvigorate” its investigation and “find the real perpetrators of this terrible, terrible crime.” But the police chief says the investigation is done.
“It is the function of the Saint John Police Force to complete an investigation then turn the file over to the Crown prosecutor’s office. The Crown decides if there is sufficient evidence to warrant a charge, as was done with this case,” Connell said in a statement.
“Our investigators worked closely with the Crown prosecutors assigned to this file, both during the initial investigation and the follow up.”
Connell said while the investigation is no longer active, police will consider any additional information or evidence that comes to their attention.
N.B. Crown will not appeal Dennis Oland’s acquittal
Dennis Oland found not guilty of father’s murder
Dennis Oland denies killing dad, who suffered 45 blows mostly to head
That statement drew a disappointed reaction from the Oland family.
“The family of Dennis Oland would certainly renew its offer of a reward, something that may provide the police with additional information or new evidence, which Chief Connell has suggested is required for further investigation to take place,” they wrote in a statement released through their lawyer William Teed.
“Notwithstanding this offer, we would have thought that the complete re-examination of the evidence by fresh eyes — a common step used by many police forces in reviewing old cases — would have been the obvious next step. Sitting and waiting for clues to be delivered to the police department is a very disappointing response. As a family, we believe our husband and father deserves better.”
Richard Oland, 69, was beaten to death in his Saint John office on July 6, 2011, his skull shattered by repeated blows from a weapon that was never found.
During the trial, the court heard that at least 19 Saint John officers entered the crime scene on the day the body was discovered — a parade defence lawyer Gold likened to a sightseeing tour. Many of the officers did not wear protective coverings, especially on their feet, despite the bloody scene.
The defence asked pointed questions of police officers testifying at the trial, suggesting there was a failure to prevent contamination of the crime scene and a failure to properly examine such areas as a possible back door escape route and an office washroom.
The New Brunswick Police Commission, an independent civilian oversight body, has yet to decide if it will review the Saint John Police Force’s handling of the investigation.
“We are determining how to proceed in the public interest,” Jennifer Smith, the commission’s executive director, said in a statement. “This is an active, ongoing, important file for the commission, and we want to carefully assess all relevant info.”
She said part of that determination will hinge on recommendations of an independent review of the commission itself. Alphonse MacNeil, a retired assistant commissioner with the RCMP, was appointed in May to conduct a review of the commission’s policies, practices and procedures. Results are expected soon.
http://torontosun.com/news/crime/sa...s-oland-murder-investigation-no-longer-active