At a funeral reception for Toronto philanthropist Glen Davis four years ago, his godson, Marshall Ross, wore the man’s trademark outdoorsman’s hat and delivered a eulogy on behalf of the family.

He also placed the wealthy conservationist’s ashes into his grave at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

But Ross, whom the 66-year-old victim considered his favourite relative, carried a terrible secret: he was the ringleader behind Davis’s execution.

On Wednesday, a week before his trial, Ross, 41, stood in a University Ave. courtroom and in a firm voice pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, admitting he enlisted others to kill Davis under the misguided belief the death would solve his financial woes.

“I cannot do anything to change the terrible thing that I have done,” he said in a statement read out in court by his lawyer, James Lockyer.

The surprise plea was covered by a temporary publication ban that Ontario Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer lifted Thursday.

Davis’s widow, Mary Alice Davis, in court when her godson said “guilty,” said she was devastated to learn Ross engineered the death of her husband of 42 years.

“This was such a disgusting betrayal of my trust,” she wrote in a victim impact statement read out by prosecutor Hank Goody.

Nordheimer sentenced the divorced father of two young children to the mandatory life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years.

“I deserve the sentence I am getting,” Ross said, adding he can’t expect Mary Alice Davis to forgive him for the “black hole” he created.

“I devastated the lives of all those near and dear to me,” he said.

Davis, a multi-millionaire who bankrolled many conservation causes across Canada, was shot twice as he returned to his vehicle in an underground parking garage at 245 Eglinton Ave. E., at Mount Pleasant Rd., on May 18, 2007.

He had just had lunch with an official from one of his favourite organizations, the World Wildlife Fund, whose offices are in the building.

Davis invested more than $20 million in environmental causes over 40 years and had “established an unprecedented conservation legacy for our country,” his widow wrote.

His activism and generosity led to fully 10 per cent of Canada’s land mass either being protected or managed for conservation purposes, she said.

“Our life together was very fulfilling, and in the absence of any children, we were happy to be a part of the Davis extended family, which included the accused.”

The murder divided the family after Ross’s arrest in February 2009, she said. He continued to protest his innocence and friends were forced to choose sides. “This has isolated me,” she wrote.

On Wednesday, Goody took almost all day to read out a statement of facts in support of the plea and play wiretaps.

The intercepted phone calls and police bugs reveal an increasingly nervous Ross talking to alleged co-conspirators as homicide detectives Peter Moreira and Mike Barsky close in.

Goody said, and Ross acknowledged, that he was having financial difficulties with his housing renovation and resale company, Rosshire Enterprises, and was under pressure to repay a $2 million loan to N.M. Davis Corp., the company owned by Davis.

Ross also admitted he resented the fact Glen Davis — who was adopted — was giving away the family fortune inherited from the Toronto business tycoon Nelson Morgan Davis, who died in 1979.

Yet it seemed Davis, Ross’s first cousin once removed, had no clue about this seething displeasure. He fondly referred to Ross as his nephew. They skied and went camping together.

Davis took a liberal attitude to Ross’s finances. He never sought independent verification of Rosshire’s books.

He also gave Ross free office space and secretarial support at N.M. Davis’s corporate headquarters, on a tony cul-de-sac in North York.

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But he made it clear he wanted the money repaid, with interest.

Meanwhile, Ross deceived his godfather about his finances. He falsely claimed Rosshire was working on major projects and inflated the extent of property his company owned.

To obtain financing for his north Toronto home in 2004, he stole N.M. Davis Corp. letterhead and forged his godfather’s signature on letters and a payroll cheque purporting to prove he was an executive at the company earning $178,000 annually.

“Mr. Ross was in a deep financial hole, from which he had no realistic prospect of extricating himself,” Goody said.

He was in constant risk of his godfather discovering he had misstated Rosshire’s finances, the prosecutor added.

“Mr. Ross decided that, for Rosshire Enterprises to survive, he had to have Glen Davis killed.”

Ross recruited one or more killers, he acknowledged in court. He offered to pay substantial amounts of money and unlock future business opportunities. He said he didn’t want to know when, where or how the murder would occur, but simply that he wanted it done, Goody said.

Ross acknowledged he was behind an earlier attempt on Davis’s life.

On Dec. 21, 2005, a man attacked Davis with a baseball bat in front of Penryn House, the Georgian-style headquarters of N.M. Davis Corp. on Versailles Court, east of Bayview Ave. and south of York Mills Rd.

He was not charged with that crime.

Davis needed surgery and a metal plate was placed in his left forearm and elbow area. He required 100 stitches to his head and was still recovering when he was gunned down 15 months later.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin next week for Ross’s co-accused, Dmitri Kossyrine and Ivgeny Vorobiov, both 33 and charged with first-degree murder.

Their lawyers, supported by the Crown, had asked Nordheimer to impose a publication ban on Ross’s plea to ensure they would receive a fair trial. The Star and CBC opposed the ban.

On Thursday, Nordheimer dismissed the application and lifted a temporary ban imposed 24 hours earlier.

Last year, Jesse Smith pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact for helping the alleged shooter flee the crime scene. Smith, who was sentenced to five years in prison, implicated Ross at his preliminary hearing last year.