![]() ![]() Johal and five co-accused were acquitted of the murder charges against them while juror Gillian Guess was convicted of obstruction of justice after police learned she had been sexually involved with one of the accused.Īfter the Thursday evening shooting, York Regional Police have appealed to anyone with dash cam video from around 6:35 p.m. at the 1995 murder trial of the late Bindy Johal and five alleged associates, and said he believed there was a murder contract on his life. Kucovic had criminal convictions for cocaine trafficking and possession of an assault rifle in Ontario.Īfter testifying against former underworld associates in B.C., Kucovic was briefly in an RCMP witness protection program - even playing hockey for a police-sponsored team - before returning to a life of crime in London, Ont. He presented himself as a multimillionaire jeweller in York Region and was a regular in the downtown entertainment district, with a personal fleet of half a dozen high-end vehicles, including a Bentley, Maserati, Mercedes and Lexus. “The query was not part of his duties, but rather (he) accessed (the Canadian Police Information Centre) and other TPS records of contacts with Michael Costa for his personal interest,” a court document states.ĭespite changing his identity, Kucovic lived a high-profile life in the GTA. The Toronto Police Service Professional Standards Unit audited Daniel Costa’s computer activity and found that on January 5, 2011, Daniel Costa conducted an unauthorized search of his brother’s name. ![]() He “denied any knowledge of his brother’s whereabouts or activities,” the court document states. Less than two hours later, Daniel Costa gave a videotaped statement to homicide investigators and was asked six times if he knew where to find his brother. Hours after the interview, Daniel Costa drove Michael to the airport after buying his ticket. Michael Costa wasn’t detained by police or instructed to stay in town, the document continues. “He did not want to co-operate with police because he lacked confidence in their ability to protect him, as he had previously been a victim of an unsolved knife attack.” “He denied any involvement in or knowledge of the murder, but admitted that he was having an affair with the deceased’s wife and expressed concern that he might have been the target of the killing,” the document states. One court document notes that Michael Costa was interviewed on July 7, 2011, by York homicide investigators, hours before he took a one-way flight to Rome. Immediately after his murder, homicide investigators said that Kucovic had been “targeted.” His body was found in the middle of the street on well-lit Grandvista Crescent, near Rutherford Road and Pine Valley Drive, in an upscale area known for million-dollar homes, nannies and strollers, not crime. Kucovic was separated from her at the time of his murder, according to Kucovic’s Facebook page.Ī month before the murder, in June 2011, police were called to Kucovic’s home in connection with domestic complaints. Michael Costa felt a killer might end his life because he was romantically involved with Kucovic’s wife, court papers state. as “Kosto Barjaktarovic.” He changed his name and slipped into witness protection after testifying against former underworld associates in a 1995 Vancouver murder trial.Ĭosta fled to Italy five days after Kucovic’s murder, which remains unsolved.Ĭosta’s older brother Daniel was disciplined by the Toronto Police Service for lying to York Regional Police homicide investigators about Michael’s whereabouts and for using a police computer data bank without authorization.ĭaniel Costa pleaded guilty to deceit and insubordination but was found not guilty of perjury.Ī hearing officer at a Toronto Police Service Discipline Hearing imposed a penalty of dismissal, which he successfully appealed to the Ontario Police Commission, which instead imposed a penalty of a suspension, demotion and deduction of pay.Ĭourt papers note that Michael Costa was a “person of interest” and not a suspect in the Kucovic murder investigation. ![]() Kucovic, 37, had formerly been known in the lower mainland of B.C. He believed there was a “hit on his head,” which caused him to hide out in Italy after the murder of gangster Alex Kucovic on July 2, 2011, in Vaughan, according to court documents. Michael Costa, 35, was shot at least twice on Thursday night in the parking lot outside a café on Steeles Avenue West near Yonge Street. A Mississauga man who was hospitalized in critical condition Friday after a failed murder bid outside a Vaughan café has known for years that dangerous people want him dead, court documents state.
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