DRUG COP'S WIFE STANDING BY HER MAN

Shannon Lilly-Ryan is upholding the vow she took over one year ago to
stand by her husband, now a convicted former RCMP officer.

In an Aug. 4 letter to a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge in which she
begged that her husband be spared prison time, Ms. Lilly-Ryan says why
she stood by Joseph Daniel Ryan after his arrest for trafficking
marijuana and breach of trust.

When he committed the crime, Mr. Ryan, then a highly respected member
of the RCMP, was serving on the force's drug enforcement team in
Tantallon. "What happened was a huge shock to me, but the decision to
stay with him was easy to make," Ms. Lilly-Ryan wrote. "I know that he
was under a lot of stress at the time, and this situation was a
one-time thing for Daniel.

"He is not a criminal. He has never been in trouble with the law
before in his life."

On Monday, a judge sentenced Mr. Ryan, 33, to four years in
prison.

Mr. Ryan's stellar record as a constable included the Commanding
Officer's Award of Excellence, presented to him in January 2000.

That award was given to Mr. Ryan in recognition of his outstanding
performance as a member of the Tantallon street team.

One year later, Mr. Ryan received a commendation letter commenting on
the job he and his colleagues on the street team were doing. In one
year, Mr. Ryan and a partner had made drug seizures to the tune of
over $3 million.

While his offence was drug-related, Mr. Ryan's wife says that Mr. Ryan
"has never tried drugs before - ever."

"This is something I know that Daniel regrets and he'll have to live
with his mistake for the rest of his life," she wrote.

Ms. Lilly-Ryan also offers insight on the consequences of Mr. Ryan's
crimes.

"We have had this hanging over our heads for a long time now," she
wrote.

When the couple moved to Aylmer, Que., in 2002, Mr. Ryan was so
severely depressed that his psychologist feared he might have been
suicidal.

"He was like a zombie for the first few months and would break down in
tears on a regular basis," his wife wrote.

Mr. Ryan suffers from constant nightmares relating to his January 2002
arrest and a car accident in early July.

The head-on collision July 3 in Quebec left the Ryan's six-year-old
son with a severe brain injury and Mr. Ryan with fractured ribs.

In her letter, Ms. Lilly-Ryan reminded the judge that her husband had
already paid a lot for his mistake.

"With our son starting Grade 1 in the fall and another child on the
way in December, there is no way that I could go on without him," she
wrote. "His children need him as a caregiver, provider and protector,
as do I. We need a second income in order to survive as well."

Ms. Lilly-Ryan earns $32,000 a year but will be getting less in
employment insurance benefits when she takes maternity leave. She said
her EI benefits won't cover even half of their monthly bills.

In a 28-item list Mr. Ryan wrote in asking the judge to consider a
conditional sentence, Mr. Ryan states that he and his wife have just
consolidated almost $60,000 in debt.

He also says they financed everything they owned due to legal bills,
loss of employment, travel and accommodation for court and relocation
fees.

Unable to get security clearance for many other jobs, Mr. Ryan has
worked as a service manager for Certigard, Petro-Canada's car-repair
division, since last December.

A Quebec probation officer who authored Mr. Ryan's presentence report
stated the offences may have been related to financial problems that
he was having at the time.

"He could easily have had access to drugs because of the nature of his
duties, but he acted as he did because of the appeal of quick gain,"
the probation officer wrote.

"His love of luxury and tendency to live beyond his means may also
have played a significant role."

Seventeen other people, including a priest, Mr. Ryan's new employer
and friends also wrote letters of support describing him as a person
of high character and integrity.

At the time of his arrest, Mr. Ryan was to be transferred to Ottawa in
January 2002 to join the prime minister's security detail. But the
transfer was delayed while the force investigated criminal allegations
against him.

On Sept. 27, Mr. Ryan will appeal his conviction on grounds that his
case took too long to go to trial.

He will ask a Nova Scotia Court of Appeal Court on Thursday to release
him on bail pending his appeal.