Drugs, Informants and Complaints:A Trail of Alleged Police Corruption

Drugs, Informants and Complaints: A Trail of Alleged Police Corruption

RCMP probes corruption on Toronto police force (Aug. 16, 2001)

Oct. 28, 1997: A team of Central Field Command drug squad officers, acting on a tip, arrest and strip-search two men and search homes without obtaining warrants. No charges are laid and the men are released that day. One of them, Memis Sipar launches a formal complaint through his lawyer.

April 27, 1998: An officer investigating Sipar's complaint finds charges of discreditable conduct are warranted against Detectives John Schertzer and Ned Maodus, and Detective Constables Jonathan Reid, Gregory Forestall, Joseph Miched and Steve Correia. The complaint is eventually dismissed on a time-limit technicality.

April, 1999: Internal Affairs detectives investigate a complaint that the central drug squad illegally obtained search warrants and stole cash and jewelry from drug suspects. At some point, a force-wide audit of money used to pay informants also begins.

Nov. 17, 1999: Constable Mark Denton is pulled over by traffic police, who discover a large amount of hashish in the vehicle. Denton, an exhibits officer with Central Field Command drugs, is later charged with possession of hashish for the purpose of trafficking.

Late November, 1999: After senior officers meet with federal drug prosecution officials regarding Denton and concerns over other central drug squad officers, major drug cases end abruptly. Under orders, crown attorneys cite problems with their obligation to release information to the defence. They ask for adjournments or stay charges. In one heroin trafficking case alone, seven co-accused, two of whom are considered serious flight risks, walk free.

Nov. 22, 2000: Former Central Field Command drug squad members Schertzer, Correia, Reid and Miched are charged criminally in connection with allegations that police "fink fund'' money had been stolen. Four other former members are also charged.

June 15, 2001: Forestall charged with perjury in connection with an allegation that a justice of the peace was given incorrect information while swearing out a search warrant in a 1998 drug case.

July 13, 2001: A Toronto man serving a 45-month sentence on heroin charges is freed after an appeal court orders a new trial. Central to the decision is the secret affidavit of a Toronto Internal Affairs detective. The affidavit has been ordered sealed and the accused man's identity is protected by a publication ban. The officer in charge of exhibits in the case is one of the eight former Central Field Command officers facing criminal charges in the fink fund scandal.

Aug. 15, 2001: Chief Julian Fantino confirms he has called in the RCMP to lead an internal investigation into allegations of perjury and corruption by Toronto officers.