Fats Robertson: Vancouver's Notorious Drug Kingpin

William Faulder Robertson, known as Fats, was a major drug trafficking boss in Vancouver during the 60s and 70s, born and raised on Vancouver’s East Side. His criminal life began as a teenager in February 1947 when he tipped off police about his friends' bank robbery plans. This led to a shootout at False Creek Flats, killing two VPD officers, Charles Boyes and Oliver Ledingham.

In July 1962, Robertson and Rockmill Myers tried to open a "plush gambling casino" at the Wigwam Inn on Indian Arm. The Inn, originally a luxury resort from 1910, had been declining before they bought it. Police found out, raided the Inn, arrested 15 people, and took gambling equipment and liquor. RCMP officer Jack McDonald testified that Robertson and Myers asked him to be a "tipoff man" for raids. Robertson denied it, but Myers also told McDonald that Robertson would "kill anyone who tried to cut in or double cross him on the casino deal." Both were found guilty of trying to bribe an officer and got six years in prison.

Jean-Pierre Charbonneau's 1976 book, *The Canadian Connection*, exposed connections between figures like Fats Robertson, Montreal's Lucien Rivard, and mafia organizations involved in drug trafficking across several countries. This book was even used in 1979 during a contempt of court hearing for a BCTV Newshour reporter. Robertson claimed the reporter made an "objectionable comment" at his trial, referencing past drug investigations, which he felt prejudiced his character. The reporter’s lawyer argued Robertson’s criminal past, detailed in Charbonneau's book, was common knowledge.

In April 1978, Robertson and nine other men were arrested for conspiring to traffic over $3.5 million worth of cocaine. The RCMP and VPD, with international police agencies, intercepted 19 pounds of cocaine at Vancouver International Airport. This was Canada’s largest cocaine trafficking seizure at the time. Robertson and his co-conspirator Ido Paul Zamai each got 20-year prison sentences and $50,000 fines, but Robertson was released after just eight years.

After his release, in 1988, Robertson appealed to the B.C. Securities Commission to get his trading privileges back on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. He had lost them in 1972 due to stock manipulation accusations, and he claimed he needed a way to support himself. The commission granted his request, despite the VSE's reputation for shady dealings and money laundering.

Investigators documented Fats Robertson's connections with numerous gang leaders, traffickers, and mafia members. During hitman Michael “Mickey” Phillip Smith’s 2003 trial for the 1993 murder of Joseph Gaja, Smith mentioned Robertson by name. Smith confessed that Robertson had paid him for contract killings dating back to 1969.