TWO OFFICERS CHARGED IN CORRUPTION SCANDAL

Suspended pair accused of theft, fraud and forgery

Two veteran Toronto police officers concocted stories about meeting
informants, obtained cash from a force "fink fund" and made it appear as
though the money had been paid out for tips, internal police charges allege.

The charges, released by police yesterday, provide the first detailed look
into what could prove to be the force's largest corruption scandal.

Detective Rod Lawrence and Detective Constable Gary Corbett stood before a
police adjudicator at police headquarters yesterday morning to face nearly
50 internal charges of deceit and corruption.

The officers, who worked together on a squad that tracks down escapers and
parole violators, have not yet entered a plea and no evidence has been heard
in the case.

Lawrence, 43, Corbett, 41, and three other Toronto officers already face a
total of 136 criminal charges ranging from theft and fraud to forgery and
breach of trust.

Last fall, a routine internal audit of the force's Repeat Offender Program
Enforcement (ROPE) unit revealed inconsistencies in the use of money for
informants. That prompted Internal Affairs detectives to launch a criminal
investigation, which led to the arrest of the five officers April 7.

Lawrence and Corbett, who were both assigned to the ROPE unit, were
suspended with pay late last year.

Details of the criminal charges have not yet been filed in court, but the
discipline charges against Lawrence and Corbett are related and more charges
are expected. The internal allegations, contained in discipline charges that
have not been proven, include:

Falsifying reports to make it appear as though information was obtained from
informants, when there had been no contact with the informants at all.

Filing follow-up paperwork that suggested informants expected payment of as
much as $500 for information when no money, or in one case just a portion of
the requested amount, was paid out.

Forging receipts to make it appear informants were paid.

The internal allegations focus on five cash transactions, all of which
police allege involve falsified paperwork that suggested three informants
were paid money out of the force's so-called "fink fund," a special reserve
used to pay for information leading to arrests. In many cases, the
informants are small-time criminals or drug addicts.

Some $1,410 never made it to these informants, according to police
prosecutors.

In one case, an informant received money, but not the entire amount taken
out of the fund by the officers, the charge documents allege.

According to the documents, on Dec. 30, 1998, Corbett spoke to a
confidential informant - identified only as No. 2806 - about a man wanted on
an outstanding warrant, and filed paperwork saying that an amount of
compensation was expected for information received. Corbett then "secured
$400 to be used as payment," the documents state.

Lawrence, who was acting as the unit commander at the time, reviewed the
paperwork and accompanied Corbett to meet the informant.

The charge sheets allege Corbett and Lawrence gave the informant only $140
of the $400. According to the documents, it's alleged Corbett told the
informant: "This is a little something for your trouble."

The two officers then had the informant sign a receipt that did not specify
the amount paid out, the documents allege.

In incidents involving two other informants, the charges allege the officers
received no information and the informants received no money, although
documentation filed by the officers states otherwise.

In the case of one of those informants, identified as No. 186, the two
officers are alleged to have taken a total of $1,000 to pay the same
informant on three occasions in 1998 and 1999. Documents filed by the
officers showed they were getting information about drug dealers and a jail
escaper, according to the charges.

Arrests were made, but an investigation revealed informant No. 186 never
received a penny and, in some cases, hadn't even spoken to the officers, the
charges allege.

Lawrence is charged under the police act with 22 counts of deceit and
corrupt practice. Corbett faces 27 deceit and corrupt practice charges.

Penalties for findings of guilt at a police tribunal range from a reprimand
to dismissal.

Police adjudicator Superintendent Ed Hoey ordered Lawrence and Corbett to
appear before the tribunal again on May 29, but the internal case will
likely be on hold pending the outcome of the criminal allegations.

Lawrence and Corbett face a total of 112 criminal charges, including theft,
fraud, forgery and breach of trust. Constables Gordon Ramsay, Wayne Frye and
Rick Franklin face a total 24 charges, including, fraud, forgery and breach
of trust.

All five officers are scheduled to appear in criminal court May 5. Details
of the criminal charges will likely be entered into court then, or when the
remaining three officers appear before the police tribunal.

Criminal charges have been laid against nine officers since Julian Fantino
became Toronto's new police chief March 6.

In addition to the five officers arrested in the informant fund
investigation, four others have been charged with criminal offences ranging
from sexual assault and domestic assault to armed robbery. Another officer
was charged in January with possessing hashish for the purpose of
trafficking.

Charges against the officers in the "fink fund" case and the officer accused
of trafficking have raised questions about the drug cases they worked on,
and federal crown attorneys are reviewing each case.