Hubert Green, who ran a crew of about 40 street-level dealers in southeast Scarborough, supplying them with cocaine to sell and guns to arm themselves.

Meet Otis Wood, a churchgoing family man.

Then there is Hubert Green, who ran a crew of about 40 street-level dealers in southeast Scarborough, supplying them with cocaine to sell and guns to arm themselves.

They are the same, remorseful man, his sentencing hearing in Superior Court was told Friday.

“I take responsibility for breaking the law and I know I must be punished,” read a statement dictated by Wood and read out in court by his lawyer, Rudy Koch.

The dual identities began when Wood came to Canada from Jamaica as a visitor in 1999, using the ID of a friend, Hubert Green. While ordered deported as Green, he applied for landed immigrant status as Wood.

The 40-year-old is the latest person to plead guilty to charges stemming from Project Fusion, a multi-million-dollar wiretap investigation and prosecution.

Earlier this month, Lisa Parmanand, 32, admitted she was in the business of trafficking illegal firearms, referring to them as “lula” in text messages. Parmanand received a 10-year prison sentence, less six years for time already served in custody. She supplied guns to Wood, among others.

In early 2009, police began bugging phones of people suspected of criminal activity, mainly around two subsidized housing projects near Markham Rd. and Eglinton Ave. E. That led to 100 search warrants, 83 arrests and the seizure of drugs and firearms.

Last fall, defence lawyers representing 19 defendants, including Wood and Parmanand, challenged the legality of the wiretaps. There were 160,000 intercepted calls. But Superior Court Justice Brian Trafford dismissed the application on Oct. 31, triggering guilty pleas by several key figures.

Wood pleaded guilty Jan. 6 to trafficking cocaine and firearms. He also, reluctantly, pleaded guilty to instructing a criminal organization, Koch told court.

It was a major “sticking point” because Wood did not see his network as a gang, as alleged by police and the prosecution, but rather as a loose affiliation of friends who sold drugs, Koch explained.

The police and Crown said Wood was the leader of street gangs called MNE (for Markham and Eglinton) and 400 Crew, named for 400 and 410 McCowan Rd.

Back in 2009, police said the mass arrests would deal a significant blow to the firearm supply in the east end and make the streets safer.

Police who work in the area targeted by Project Fusion say it had a significant impact, including decreasing the number of shootings and robberies. However, there has been a recent rash of shootings a few kilometres away from the Fusion epicentre, including the killing of barber Chris Thompson and aspiring rapper Anthony Spencer.

Crown attorney Nevina Crisante asked Justice John McMahon to sentence Wood to 16 to 18 years in prison, with six years’ credit for time already served in custody. Koch suggested the judge impose a sentence of 12 years. McMahon said he will rule Feb. 9.

In any case, the man with different names will be deported to Jamaica after release.

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