Article content

The one-man provincial inquiry into money laundering had its first of five public meetings the other night and it was not a pretty sight.

About 70 people filled a downtown Vancouver Fairmont Hotel conference room where Commissioner Austin Cullen solicited the views of anyone who cared to come forward.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Ian Mulgrew: B.C. money-laundering hearing a magnet for conspiracy theories Back to video

He heard from a dozen — one complaining about foreign mothers bearing children in Richmond, another about having a mile-high skyscraper rejected by crooked politicians, and a martial-arts-trained poker player pleading for protection.

Did someone say this entire exercise could go off the rails?

Chad McLennan, a self-described inventor and licensed security-safety officer, quoted Balzac via The Godfather — “All great fortunes originate with a single crime.”

For him, the key issue was corrupt corporations and bent politicians.

He recounted how his 13-page plan for mile-high skyscrapers, housing one million people in a kilometre square area to stop urban sprawl was blithely rejected.