Calgary millionaire paid $800,000 to PI firm to 'discredit and harass' ex-spouse, jurors told

The man accused of paying more than $800,000 to discredit and harass his ex-girlfriend, who was also the mother of his daughter, nicknamed her "the reptile" as their custody battle intensified,jurors in the corruption trial heard Tuesday.

The three-week jury trial began Tuesday morning for Steve and Heather Walton and Ken Carter who are accused of criminal harassment, among other charges.

Steve Walton is a retired CPS officer while his wife, Heather, used to be a civilian member of the service.The couple ran a private investigation firm that was hired byCarterduring a bitter custody dispute with his ex, Akele Taylor.

'Campaign to discredit and harass'

Carter who is said to be worth about $80 million allegedly directedthe PI firm in a "campaignto discredit and harass" Taylor, after their breakup in 2012, said prosecutor KatherineLove in her opening statement to the jury.

Aside from the harassment charge, the Waltons each face charges of bribing an officer, accused ofpaying police officers to access private information from CPS databases.

Carter paid the Waltons more than $800,000 with a goal to "push [Taylor] over the edge and force her to stop fighting" for custody of her child, said Love.

Love told jurors they will hear Taylor's harassment included:

• Having aGPSunit placed on her car.
• Being followed and watched for months.
• Family and friends offered "large sums" of money in exchange for negative information about her.
• A Walton employee tried to "buy access" to Taylor'scondo.
• A Walton employee tried to buy the condo.
• Taylor was falsely reported to police for breaking into her own storage locker.
• The Waltons attempted to get a retired officer try to purchase drugs from Taylor.

Carter breaks down in court

One of the Crown's first witnesses was Aristidis Tipouikitiswho owned the condo rented by Taylor.

Tipouikitis testified that suspended CPS officer Tony Braile who court later heard worked for the Waltons tried to "gain access" to Taylor's condo by offering the owner $2,500. WhenTipouikitisrefused, Brailethen suggested he might be interested in buying the condo instead, but that never happened.

Under cross-examination,Tipouikitistold Carter's lawyer Gavin Wolch that Taylor's apartment was a "disaster" and that he once observed her daughter on the kitchen floor alone.Tipouikitis said he believed Taylor was high on cocaine at the time.

"I wouldn't want any child in that, let alone my own," saidTipouikitis.

As he talked about the child, Carter began to cry in the courtroom and wascomforted by Steve Walton.

'The reptile'

Social workerEvelyn Wotherspoon was involved with Carter and Taylor after their breakup, providing an evaluation of the former couple's daughter and supervisingvisits between the girl and her mother.

Wotherspoonsaid on one occasion Carter called Taylor "the reptile." The witness said she encouraged Carter's lawyer to suggesthis clientrefrain from using that language.

Retired CPS officerRob Wilson testified he was hired by Steve Walton in 2012 to surveilTaylor in an effort tofind evidence which would discredit her for the purposes of a custody hearing.

Walton's former partner testifies

Steve Walton and Wilson have known each other for nearly 40 years and the two used to be police partners back in the 1980s.

Wilson said Taylor knew she was being followed, confronting him on one of the approximately 10surveillance shifts he conducted.

Under cross-examination, Wilson told Heather Walton's lawyer Kelsey Sitar that he did not believe any of the surveillance he participated in was illegal.

"If anything struck you as troublesome, you would have quit?" asked Sitar. "Your integrity is more important to you than money?"

"Absolutely," Wilson responded.

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