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24 Can. L. Libr. 176 (1999)
Book Reviews

handle is hein.journals/callb24 and id is 188 raw text is: BOOK REVIEWS RECENSIONS Edited by Franki Elliott J3lue Trust: The Author; the Laier, his 7fe, and her Monq,. By Stevie Cameron. Toronto: Macfarlane WValter & Ross, 1998. xii, 315 p. Includes illustrations and index. ISBN 1-55199-027-X (hardcover) $29.95. In 1994 Canadians were shocked by Stevie Cameron's On lhe Take, her whistle-blowing account of the Tory years under former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Four years later she has authored another expos6, Blue Trust: TheAuthor, lhe Lazj'e; his Wif e, and her Alone, the tragic story of Bruce Verchere, a Montreal tax lawyer whose closest connection with politics was that he administered Brian Mulroney's blind trust while Mulroney was Prime Minister. Bruce Verchere was a man who got lucky early in his career. Arthur Haile), the author in the subtitle of this book, and the well-known author of such bestsellers as Hotel and /llbpor, was a Canadian citizen living in the US, making pots of money and paying a huge chunk of it in taxes. A friend suggested he contact Bruce Verchere, a tax specialist with Stikeman Elliott in Montreal. Hailey, forever grateful to Verchere for suggesting that he relocate to a tax haven, opened his home in the Bahamas to the Vercheres, and invited them to join the exclusive Lyford Cay Club, which offered Bruce some of the prestige he was aching for, as well as the oppor- tunity to mix with the super rich. This lifestyle, in addition to a beautiful home in Montreal, an ambitious and talented wife, two lovely sons, and a growing tax practice, would have been enough for many people, but for Bruce, whose lust for power and money and the most luxurious of lifestyles was insatiable, this was only the beginning. Bruce and Lynne Verchere had come to Montreal in 1967, when he left Revenue Canada in Ottawa to go to Stikeman Elliott. The contact with Hailey began in 1969, and it was not long before these successful dealings, combined with a growing client list, allowed his blind ambition to take over. le tried to organize a palace coup at Stikeman, as a result of which he was asked to leave. Cameron quotes several highly respected Stikeman partners who attest to the veracity of this story, but Verchere's version, to his wife and anyone else who asked, was simply that he fell victim to an office power struggle. It was now time to start up his own firm which, after some earl), growing pains, became Verchere, Noel & Fddy in 1976. In 1989 this firm merged with a Calgary firm to become Bennett Jones Verchere. While Verchere was building up his reputation as a clever and creative tax lawyer, his wife Lynne was having her own great success developing legal software systems which she sold to law offices across the country. Very ambitious her- self, she worked hard building up her business which eventu- ally was sold to Gulf & Western for $17,000,000. In fact, she was fast becoming her husband's passport to all those things in life he so desired and couldn't quite achieve on his own. In 1976 Verchere had set up his own family trust, the Blue Trust, with Lynne and their two sons as the beneficiar- ies and himself as the sole trustee. Although an obvious tax- saving ploy, the stated purpose of the trust was to create a patrimony for the boys. When Lynne's business, which was mostly owned by the Blue Trust, was sold for $17,000,00(0 it seemed natural that the proceeds of the sale should go back into the trust. Lynne never concerned herself with personal financial matters, those were left to her husband the tax spe- cialist. She never questioned him, and when he moved money around he was able to get her to sign documents by telling her it was all part of his overall tax planning efforts. This blind trust in her husband in fact enabled him to cater to his every financial whim. The story of how Bruce Verchere swallowed up the assets of the Blue Trust and most other family assets is indeed the sad tale of one man's inability to be satisfied. Extra-marital affairs were another form of excess in- dulged in by Verchere, and his final fling, combined with his financial excesses, in the end proved too much for him. Stevie Cameron has written this book as a high society mini-thriller. The names of the rich and famous come tip often, having no particular relevance whatever to the story. Most of the story is told through interviews with Arthur Hailey, but the reader will find inconsistencies from one story to another as well as several distortions of fact which may only be obvious to those familiar with the principals. Not appropriate to a law library collection, but not a bad read for anyone interested in a juicy account of excessive ambition and where it can lead. Lenore Rapkin Cataloguitn libraian Nahuni Gelber Law, I ibrary AicGill Unjiersity Afontreal, QC 1999 Canadian Law Libraries/Bibliothtques de droit canadiennes, Vol. 24, No. 4

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