SCANDAL JEOPARDIZES DRUG CASES

Nine Toronto Police Officers Charged With Theft, Fraud, Trafficking

TORONTO -- The federal Department of Justice has been forced to drop or put
on hold at least 115 drug prosecutions since the fall of 1999 because of a
widening scandal involving veteran Toronto police officers.

The number of cases affected has more than doubled in the past year as a
result of ongoing investigations and there are concerns that even more
prosecutions may be jeopardized.

Nine former members of the Toronto police force's Central Field Command
Drug Squad currently face criminal charges.

The trial of a 19-year veteran of the Toronto force is scheduled to begin
this week in Newmarket. The officer is charged with possession of hashish
for the purpose of trafficking.

Eight other officers were charged last November with a total of 75 theft
and fraud-related criminal offences. They are accused of misappropriating
money from the "fink fund," which is used to pay informants.

Their trial is not expected to begin for several months because of
procedural wrangling. All of the officers have been suspended with pay.

The amount of money involved in the informant fund charges is relatively
small. But in early 1999, a group of Toronto defence lawyers wrote a letter
to police with a number of serious allegations. The lawyers said many of
their clients claimed they were robbed of significant amounts of cash and
jewelry during police raids.

The police force's internal affairs department decided not to lay any
criminal charges. But in late 1999, the Department of Justice quietly began
withdrawing charges in several pending drug prosecutions.

The cases that have been withdrawn or suspended "range from the minor to
the more serious," said David Littlefield, a senior Crown attorney in the
Toronto office of the Department of Justice.

Mr. Littlefield said it is impossible to determine how many cases may
ultimately be compromised. "It's the type of problem we haven't had
before." Yet he's hopeful that "the numbers have levelled off."

The Department of Justice will not comment about specific cases, but admits
that the nine officers were potential witnesses in many of the proceedings.

Police also have said little since the charges were laid, which frustrates
Alan Gold, the president of the Ontario Criminal Lawyers' Association. "If
the officers are tainted enough to impact on so many prosecutions, why
can't we know the whole story?" he asked.

While it is standard to decline comment when criminal cases are before the
courts, Mr. Gold believes the level of secrecy is inappropriate. "The way
this whole matter is being handled looks more like an exercise in damage
control than in getting at the truth," he said.

As well, a recent decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal has led to
speculation that the scandal is not winding down.

The court agreed to quash the conviction of a man who pleaded guilty to
heroin-related charges in 1999, because of "fresh evidence" it received in
the form of an affidavit from Toronto police.

The court described the conviction as a "miscarriage of justice," yet in an
unusual move, it agreed with a Crown motion to ban publication of the man's
name and seal the evidence until next January.

Not even the accused's lawyer was allowed to see the evidence. "I can only
assume that the Crown discovered information about the conduct of police
during the investigation that was extremely troubling," said the
defendant's lawyer, Greg Lafontaine.

Unsealed documents indicate there may have been a problem with the legality
of the search warrant. One of the officers charged with stealing from the
informant fund is also listed as the exhibits officer in the case.

A Toronto police spokeswoman said drug investigations are now more
centralized, as a result of an overall review conducted by the chief of
police. But she insisted the changes were not made as a result of the
charges filed against the former drug squad officers.