T.O. POLICE SCANDAL FOILING DRUG CASES

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
due to 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 to begin this
week in Newmarket, Ont. 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 months. 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 federal 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The cases that have been withdrawn or suspended "range from the minor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.

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?" asked Gold.

Also, a recent Ontario court decision has led to renewed 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.

Unsealed court 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.