MAODUS AWAITS DECISION ON TRIAL

Defence Says Crown Delayed Proceedings

A former Mono resident whose possession charges were tossed out
because it took too long to get to court could beat the same drug rap
again, if the judge finds the Crown dragged its heels on disclosing
important information.

Ned Maodus, 42, a senior drug investigator with Toronto Police, faced
several charges after drugs were said to have been found at his Mono
home in March of 2002.

Maodus was initially arrested, and summarily charged, in relation to a
domestic dispute but a subsequent search of his residence led to the
2004 charges of possession of heroine and ecstasy, and possession of
cocaine for the purpose of trafficking.

Those charges were stayed by a judge in February 2005 because the
initial Nov. 29, 2004, trial date, slated more than two years after
Maodus was first charged, violated his charter rights to a trial
within a reasonable period of time.

The Crown, however, appealed that decision, arguing that Maodus'
rights were not violated because he played a big enough role in
delaying the trial. A federal judge will decide whether or not Maodus
will stand trial on those charges today (May 19).

"The range (to bring a matter to trial) for a serious crime is 16 to
18 months," defence lawyer Peter Brauti told a Brampton court,
Tuesday. "For three counts of simple possession (going to trial four
years later) is a tremendous amount of time.

"We can't have a trial without fairness."

Brauti argued that too much time has lapsed since the incidents
occurred and that Maodus' fading memory would make it difficult to
conduct a proper trial.

He said the trial was delayed largely due to scheduling and the
Crown's mishandling of important information.

"I received a disc from the Crown containing the disclosure but the
disc was unusable," said Brauti noting that rather than provide a hard
copy of the disclosure, the Crown's office handed over a compact disc
containing information that could only be viewed using a complicated
computer program. "I couldn't even view the disclosure."

Brauti said several court dates on the matter, stretching over a
significant period of time, had been compromised as a result of the
inaccessible data -- time he said the Crown should be held accountable
for.

Justice Christopher Speyer told the court that a decision handed down
by a provincial court judge on May 8 (provincial charges against
Maodus that stemmed from the 2002 domestic dispute were also stayed
because they took too long to be heard but were appealed) compels him
to bring this matter back to trial.

However, the corrupt computer disc could be the defence's saving
grace, if the judge agrees with Brauti that the delay of trial was
caused by the Crown's negligence.

Crown attorney Cindy Sa said it didn't occur to her to print out a
hard copy of the roughly 600-page document and hand it over to the
defence.

"Why couldn't the Crown just provide (a hard copy of) the disclosure
like any other Crown attorney's office in the province of Ontario?"
Speyer asked. "Is it because (the Crown) didn't want to deal with the
magnitude of the job?"

Sa argued that the Crown shouldn't have to bare the brunt of
responsibility because Maodus played a large enough role in delaying
the trial by refusing an early trial date.

Other delays include Maodus' decision to change his lawyer before a
trial date had been set, and the defence's decision to wait for the
results of an internal police investigation.

At the time of his arrest, Maodus was one of six Toronto officers
identified in a separate RCMP investigation into alleged police corruption.

Charges stemming from the alleged 2002 drug seizures were laid roughly
two years after the incident took place because those looking into
potential police corruption didn't want to compromise their
investigation.

However, just days before a tentative trial date was to be set,
Toronto Police responded to concerns that the very people
investigating the case were involved in illegal activity.

A Dufferin OPP officer claimed that in 2002 two Toronto officers
involved in the probe sought access to Maodus' property without being
noted on any paper work. It is said that the two men bullied the
Dufferin officer when she refused.

Those claims have since been deemed unfounded by Toronto
authorities.

Sa argued that the trial may have gone forward sooner had Brauti not
insisted on waiting on those results.

The trial is expected to commence Tuesday if the judge sides with the
Crown.