Angel's recovery has Parole Board skeptical Says clean so they ask for financial details

Thursday, June 27.2013.....

He says he's cut all ties to the Hells Angels, volunteers his time and has started up a burgeoning — and legitimate — painting business while taking university courses on sociology and crime by correspondence. Even Winnipeg police are cautiously optimistic Ian Grant's now a changed man who could be given additional freedoms, parole officials say. Despite this, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) thinks it's still too soon for Grant to receive full parole from his 15-year prison term and has ordered him to remain living at a halfway house for at least the next six months. Grant, 39, learned earlier this month his bid for full parole — and a chance to live at a newly rented apartment — was denied. The board elected to keep him under the closer supervision which goes with day parole, which Grant's been free on without issue since last June. "Gains achieved on conditional release, while extremely positive, were seen as relatively short-lived when viewed against your persistent, dense and violent criminal history," the board stated in a recent decision. Grant was arrested as part of a sizable Manitoba police undercover bust targeting the Hells Angels and others in 2006. He was found guilty after trial of drug-trafficking and extortion and sentenced in May 2007. The recent PBC decision cites a wealth of positive changes Grant has made in his life. But ultimately, the board says it wants to take a wait-and-see approach before full parole can be granted. "Your skills and commitment to change need to be further tested," the decision said. The PBC imposed a new condition on Grant. In addition to past requirements he return nightly to a halfway house and avoid all contact with the criminal element, he must now also provide detailed financial information to the satisfaction of a parole supervisor.