Man who killed Eddie Melo granted unescorted temporary passes

The hitman who pleaded guilty in the deaths of former Canadian boxer Eddie Melo and his friend Johnny Pavao, has been granted a taste of freedom by the Parole Board of Canada.

Melo, 40, and Pavao, 42, were gunned down as they were talking in the parking lot of a strip mall in the Hurontario and QEW area of Mississauga on April 6, 2001. Melo was sitting behind the wheel of his vehicle, Pavao was standing outside of it.

It wasn’t until 2003 that Charles Gagne, was arrested in connection with the murders, admitting to police that he was paid to kill Melo. A plea deal got him convicted of a lesser charge, second-degree murder, in exchange for cooperation with the police investigation. The man that Gagne told investigators had allegedly hired him to kill Melo was acquitted.

Over the course of several years, Gagne has appeared before the Parole Board multiple times trying for various forms of parole or work releases.

On February 18, he was granted 60 unescorted temporary day passes to attend a personal development program.

Despite being incarcerated at Beaver Creek Institution in Gravenhurst, Gagne will get the opportunity to participate in a program based in Toronto, where his family is.

“It’s disgusting, it’s appalling,” says Jessica Melo, daughter of Eddie. “It was devastating. It was a major, major blow to us.”

Despite the pleas made in victim impact statements written by Jessica and other members of Melo’s family, Board members granted the request, noting that Gagne’s behaviour behind bars has been good for the last several years. They also credited him for taking part in several rehabilitation programs while in custody.

Gagne has been ordered to stay away from drugs, alcohol, his victims’ families and anyone involved in criminal activity. He also must return to a Toronto halfway house every night over that stretch, driven by his wife.

That’s a stipulation painfully familiar to Melo’s family. When Gagne killed him and Pavao, Gagne was already on parole with a long rap sheet including various theft, weapon and assault charges.

That day, on an unescorted pass from a halfway house near Ottawa, Gagne had enough time to drive to Mississauga, commit two murders, carjack someone, get rid of the evidence and drive back in time for curfew.

“And here we are, again,” sighs Jessica Melo.

“(The Board is) going to give him the same opportunity to go out on multiple days, (for) two months, where he just has to be back at night time.”

Gagne’s application for day parole was denied, but Parole Board members expressed confidence, with support from Correctional Service Canada, in his ability to rehabilitate.

Jessica Melo feels it is unfair and that the opportunity is unwarranted. She said she was speaking out because she wants the community to know her father’s killer is among them on conditions he breached previously.

“I want people to be upset and I want people to be outraged at our system,” she told Global News.

“I want people to know what is going on behind closed doors, because they don’t make this stuff public. And people have a right to know.”