Whitehorse Daily Star

Ex-correctional officer offers an emotional apology for his crime

Michael Gaber, a former correctional officer, will serve two years in a federal penitentiary.

By Amy Kenny on September 29, 2016

Michael Gaber, a former correctional officer, will serve two years in a federal penitentiary.

That was the sentence handed down Wednesday afternoon by Justice Ron Veale in the Supreme Court of Yukon.

During sentencing, Veale called the case the “first of its kind in the Yukon.”

Gaber, 48, was working as a correctional officer in 2013 when he was arrested for smuggling drugs into the Whitehorse Correctional Centre (WCC).

A supervisor had searched Gaber after having received a tip, and found Gaber carrying a condom filled with 59 Ritalin pills.

Gaber pleaded not guilty to a charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking, but was convicted by Veale in June of this year.

As Veale spoke in court Wednesday, he said Gaber’s case lacks the mitigating factor of a guilty plea, which both saves a community money and suggests an accused person is taking responsibility for his or her actions.

However, he noted that there were rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms at play with regard to Gaber’s search and detainment.

(Veale ruled in August that aspects of this, including the search of his car, where marijuana was found, were unlawful.)

On Wednesday, Veale said the breach of trust in Gaber as a correctional officer was the most aggravating factor in his crime.

He also acknowledged what the last three years have been like for Gaber.

The offender lost his job at WCC. He declared bankruptcy in July 2015.

Unable to find work in Whitehorse besides vehicle-washing, he moved to British Columbia to live with his mother. He separated from his wife, who still lives in Whitehorse with their two daughters.

Veale said Gaber had explained he turned to smuggling because he was financially overextended at the time of his arrest.

Since the construction of the new $70-million WCC, Gaber said there had been more contact with inmates, which he called an additional stress.

He said you can say no to an inmate’s requests a million times, and then one day, you just break down.

Veale’s two-year sentence landed in the middle of what was being sought by Crown prosecutor Eric Marcoux and defence attorney Vincent Larochelle.

Earlier in September, Marcoux asked for 3 1/2 to four years, while Larochelle asked for 18 months.

Speaking to Veale before his sentence was delivered, Gaber was quiet and withdrawn.

“I’m not good at this stuff,” he told the court, before calling the last few years “the worst part of (his) life.”

An emotional Gaber had difficulty getting the words out as he told the court he’s glad the process is over. He said he looks forward to dealing with the sentence and getting on with his life.

“Most of all, I want to say ‘sorry’ to my friends and family … I’m still the same person I was four years ago.”

Veale called the apology heartfelt.

“Good luck to you, Mr. Gaber,” he said as sentencing concluded.

“And thank you for that apology.”

Comments (4)

Up 8 Down 6

Always a Yukoner on Oct 3, 2016 at 2:20 pm

I think him being white has nothing to do with anything, what a racist thing to say. Yes he was punished and it was a good punishment, should of been longer, hopefully he'll learn something in jail.

Up 25 Down 7

interesting sentencing on Sep 30, 2016 at 1:50 pm

What a joke. Two year sentence for smuggling Ritalin pills to jail birds, while murder nets the same sentence. The law really is not colour blind. Sorry but there it is. What the man did was very wrong, but the treatment of white people is so vastly different from others, the standards they are held to is so much higher, that it can't go without mentioning.

Up 34 Down 4

2 years? What about Brandy's murderer? on Sep 29, 2016 at 10:39 pm

I believe that if you are a corrections officer or police officer you must uphold the law to the fullest degree--you are working to change society so you must set an example. Clearly Gaber did not. What bothers me, however, is the young offender who killed Brandy Vittrewka got about the same amount of sentencing with no federal penitentiary time. He MURDERED her. This fella was pushing prescription drugs on inmates….clearly the young offender should be dealing with 25 years. Bet he never apologized and if he did, it was hollow words. So unfair in the Yukon how the 'lack of justice' system works….

Up 36 Down 40

June Jackson on Sep 29, 2016 at 3:41 pm

"Most of all, I want to say ‘sorry’ to my friends and family … I’m still the same person I was four years ago."

I'll bet he was emotional, going to a federal prison is pretty scary.. too bad he is the same person he was.. was hoping he might have learned something and changed.. guess not. Good bye. One less pusher in the territory.

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