Do-over granted fraud suspect who earlier pleaded guilty

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Mortgage fraud suspect Arnold Breitkreutz has been handed a “do-over” in his bid to establish his innocence.

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Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Colin Feasby ruled Thursday that an earlier guilty plea, and admissions made to support that plea, could not be used against Breitkreutz in his ongoing trial.

“In sort of a general sense, I’m saying that your client has a do-over,” Feasby told defence counsel Cale Ellis-Toddington.

“He’s getting a complete do-over.”

Feasby rejected an application by Crown prosecutor Brian Holtby to consider as evidence both a guilty plea Breitkreutz entered in March 2021, and the agreed facts read into court at that time.

Breitkreutz was subsequently allowed to withdraw the plea because he didn’t understand a consequence of his admission would be he couldn’t appeal a crucial pre-trial ruling admitting evidence the RCMP seized from the Alberta Securities Commission.

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On Monday, Breitkreutz told…