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INDEPTH: TORONTO POLICE: CORRUPT COPS?
Timeline: 2004
CBC News Online | Oct. 15, 2004
Jan. 5, 2004: Drug squad officer charged
Officer Ned Maodus is charged with possession of heroin, cocaine and ecstasy
January 7, 2004: Six drug squad officers charged with 40 criminal charges
Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino and special task force leader RCMP Supt. John Neily announce that six veteran police officers with the Central Field Command drug squad are facing 40 criminal charges as a result of the RCMP-led investigation. The charges include perjury, theft, extortion, assault causing bodily harm, and obstructing justice. None of the accusations have been proven in court.
"The actions of the accused demonstrated a pattern of attempting to obstruct, pervert or defeat the course of justice," says Neily. The accused "deliberately betrayed the trust of some of those in the justice system, thereby victimizing the entire justice system..."
He says from July 1997 to March 2002 the officers allegedly gave false testimony, falsified documents and faked search warrants.
"I am deeply saddened and disappointed," says Fantino. "I can, however, tell you that the allegations are isolated and confined."
Charged are: Staff Sgt. John Schertzer, Const. Steven Correia, Const. Joseph Miched, Const. Raymond Pollard, Const. Ned Maodus, Const. Richard Benoit.
Four are also named as unindicted co-conspirators: Det. Jason Kondo, Const. Gregory Forestall, Det. Jonathon Reid and Const. Mike Turnbull.
The officers, who have a combined 113 years of service between them, turn themselves in and are suspended with pay. Toronto Police Association lawyer Gary Clewley says those lawsuits brought against them are a tool used by drug dealers to cast suspicion on police officers who are good at their jobs.
Jan. 19, 2004: Criminal activity alleged
In affidavits obtained by the CBC and Toronto Star, RCMP Supt. John Neily, Special Task Force leader, says there is evidence of criminal activity by 17 members and that 12 were involved in "serious criminal activity." The allegations include charging a "tax" on drug dealers, stealing over $400,000 from safety deposit boxes and beating up drug dealers. Neily says suspicions about drug squad members were first raised within the force in 1995. He says during the investigation the RCMP have encountered hostility within the police ranks extending to death threats against witnesses, including one witness who was pulled over at gunpoint.
In the affidavits the task force concludes that 83 per cent of the drug charges laid by the unit headed by Staff Sgt. John Schertzer were later either stayed or withdrawn. 200 cases were dropped because of questions about the officers' credibility. Neily estimates that 2,100 prosecutions and 600 search warrants would have to be reinvestigated.
Feb. 26, 2004: Ferguson report released
Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino gives the Police Services Board a copy of an internal review of police policies and practices written by retired judge George Ferguson. The report was delivered to Fantino in January of 2003 but was not made public at the time. It contains 32 recommendations for reform, including better supervision and mandatory drug testing.
March 31, 2004: Luxury car salesman Jeffrey Geller dies
Convicted auto thief and luxury car-leasing salesman Jeffrey Geller dies of a drug
overdose. Later, police will allege Geller had mob connections and that his dealership may have been a front for money-laundering and a way station for stolen cars. In May, four officers are charged in relation to his case.
April 16, 2004: Plainclothes unit disbanded
The 14-member plainclothes unit in downtown Toronto's 52 Division – which includes six officers and their supervising detectives – is disbanded and reassigned. The move comes after an Internal Affairs investigation is launched into allegations of a police protection racket in Toronto's entertainment district. It is examining complaints from bar owners that police officers demanded cash in exchange for tips about upcoming raids. Several transvestite prostitutes accuse a member of the plainclothes unit of demanding sexual favours.
Const. William McCormack Jr.
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Constable William (Billy) McCormack Jr., a 28-year veteran with the force and son of former police chief William McCormack, is suspended with pay.
A few days later, the Toronto Star reports that the alleged corruption began when several officers turned to crime to pay back gambling debts owed to mobsters, according to sources. The sources say the current investigation began when members of another police force spotted an officer leaving an illegal gambling den in Woodbridge.
RCMP's Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit Chief
Superintendent Ben Soave (CP PHOTO/Aaron Harris)
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Two weeks later the RCMP reveal that the move to disband the unit was prompted by the continuing investigation by the RCMP organized crime unit, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, which began in 2000. Chief Supt. Ben Soave says members of the unit brought allegations against Toronto police officers to him and he passed them on to the Toronto police's professional standards branch.
Rick McIntosh
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April 18, 2004: Police union head steps down
The head of Toronto's police union, Rick McIntosh, steps down from his post after being linked to the alleged police protection racket in Toronto's entertainment district and allegations that he visited an illegal gaming den. He and three others are charged on May 3, 2004.
April 24, 2004: Report: Organized crime connection to protection racket
The Toronto Star says the probe into the alleged racket in the entertainment district began after the RCMP informed the police it had information relating to the officers working in the downtown 52 Division. The source said the Mounties monitored conversations between police officers and organized crime figures about money and loans as a reputed organized crime family tried to buy a bar in the entertainment district.
April 26, 2004: Four officers charged with 14 Police Services Act violations in Geller case
Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino announces that four officers have been charged with 14 violations of the Police Services Act, ranging from corrupt practices and insubordination to discreditable conduct. The charges arose out of information given to police by the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council. They allege that the four officers associated with a known criminal, Jeffrey Geller, and appeared in uniform to vouch for him when he tried to win back his licence to sell cars. Geller died of a drug overdose on March.
Michael McCormack
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Charged are veteran officer and son of former police chief William McCormack, Const. Michael McCormack, as well as Const. Michael Thompson, Const. Robert Correa and Const. Nick Morris.
Internal Affairs documents later allege that McCormack's wife and Constable Correa were in business with Geller.
In late July, four more Police Services Act charges are laid against Correa and Morris.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
April 27, 2004: Fantino announces review
Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino announces a review of operations at 52 Division. He says he's considering random drug testing for his officers.
April 30, 2004: Report: Mob alleges link to police officer in bar protection racket
The Toronto Star reports that the Mounties have overheard organized crime figures bragging that they have an officer in their pocket, according to sources. The newspaper's sources allege several police officers are known to have massive gambling debts and have turned to bar owners in the theatre district for cash.
May 3, 2004: Four officers charged with 26 criminal charges in alleged bar shakedown
Police Chief Fantino announces that four officers are charged with 26 criminal charges arising from a separate RCMP-led organized crime investigation. Most of the charges are in connection with an alleged shakedown of a bar in Toronto's downtown entertainment district. The officers are accused of demanding thousands of dollars in bribes from a downtown club in exchange for advance warning about visits by liquor inspectors. The charges include influence peddling, breach of trust and fraud on the government.
"I made it clear that any corrupt behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated," said Fantino. He says the public continues to have faith in the police service.
None of the accusations have been proven in court.
Charged are: Police Association head Rick McIntosh, Constable William McCormack
Jr. (son of former police chief William McCormack), his wife Constable Jodie Watson, and Constable George Kouroudis, 54 Division. McIntosh later resigns from the force after a bitter battle with the Police Association. He maintains his innocence.
June 14, 2004: Lawyer arrested
Prominent lawyer and Tory fundraiser Peter Shoniker is arrested on money-laundering charges. Shoniker lobbied for Julian Fantino to become Toronto's police chief. Fantino became chief in March 2000.
June 24, 2004: Fantino contract not renewed
Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino's contract, set to expire in March 2005, is not renewed by Toronto's Police Services Board. The severely divided board, plagued by infighting, has a strained relationship with the police. Fantino's supporters rally in his defence and demand city council overturn the decision. In a rowdy session, the mayor rejects a motion to override the decision.
No replacement has been named.
July 5, 2004: Nine officers face 55 Police Services Act charges in alleged bar shakedown
Toronto police Chief Julian Fantino announces that nine officers face 55 charges under the Police Services Act, arising out of allegations of misconduct within the 52 Division plainclothes unit.
The charges stem from allegations officers either demanded or accepted cash from downtown bars and restaurants in exchange for tips on upcoming police raids or help in acquiring liquor licences. The charges include corrupt practices, deceit and neglect.
Charged are: former chief of police William McCormack's son William McCormack Jr., former 52 Division supervisor Sergeant Brian Berger, McCormack Jr.'s spouse Jodie Watson, Constables Dean Ion, Ricardo Clayton, Simon Knott, Paul Stone and Roger Mayers of 52 Division, and Detective Hugh Wong of 51 Division.
Twenty-three of the charges are levelled against McCormack. Among them, he's accused of divulging the date of an undercover police drug bust.
None of the accusations have been proven in court.
July 23, 2004: Four more Police Act charges laid against two officers in Geller case
Constables Nick Morris and Robert Correa are charged with two counts each of insubordination in connection with the Geller case. The charges are in addition to those announced in April.
Oct. 15, 2004: 21 charges laid: 8 criminal and 13 under the Police Services Act in alleged bar shakedown
Chief Julian Fantino announces 21 new charges, 17 of them against Const. William McCormack. McCormack is charged with nine counts of misconduct and eight criminal offences, including breach of trust, fraud and obstruction of justice. The police say the criminal charges are the result of a follow-up investigation into the ongoing RCMP-led probe into organized crime. That led to initial charges being filed against McCormack and others in May and July 2004. The follow-up investigation continues.
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