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“It would have been helpful to clear the air,” said a staffer who left Vice in recent months. “It was radio silence completely. Like, no one knew what was going on; a person who had been in the office for so long just suddenly left, disappeared.”

Pearson offered a different opinion: “It was speedily and appropriately handled,” he said.

In a statement, Ball said, “Our internal investigation dealt with allegations that were brought forward by employees in early 2016. (Vice Canada’s) response to this situation was guided by legal advice and applicable laws, including maintaining confidentiality. During that investigation, no other names or allegations came forward. The employee in question was terminated on Feb 16th 2016 and neither before nor since that date have any employees come forward with similar allegations.”

On February 17, 2016, the day after Vice fired Pastukhov, it published one final piece under his byline (“We Asked a Lawyer About Ciara’s Defamation Lawsuit Against Future”). He has not since been featured on any of the company’s media properties.

Perhaps he figured out who told his bosses about his alleged activities. That June, Pastukhov tweeted: “friendly reminder that journalists are just professional snitches.”

As for Gardner and his co-accused, they await their fate in Australia. Sentencing for those who pleaded guilty is set for next week. The maximum penalty for smuggling a commercial quantity of cocaine into Australia is life imprisonment.

Havas said Gardner wants to help others avoid the same fate.

“I don’t fucking bullshit: these guys do not deserve what’s about to happen to them. He wants other people to know that he made a mistake and do not make the same mistake he made.

“He’s thrown away a large portion of his life. He’s been in jail while his album has been released, by Èbony. All these opportunities have gone to waste,” said Havas, adding: “Go buy the rap album.”

National Post

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