CRACK ADDICTION LED OFFICER TO RUIN

Gave Confidential Police Information To Drug Dealer

Richard Staley likes to think of himself as a "good cop," even though
he pleaded guilty in court yesterday to 13 criminal offences,
including passing confidential information to drug dealers.

"I've made mistakes in my life, sure. Who hasn't?" the 50-year-old,
soft-spoken constable said in an exclusive interview with The Star
yesterday, not long after he acknowledged his guilt to breach of
trust and gun-related charges.

"But I'm not trying to justify what I did. I just hope at the end of
the day my colleagues on the job and the public will not see me in
too harsh a light."

Police Chief Julian Fantino said he was disappointed with Staley's
actions and stressed that his case was "an exception" on the force.

For the first part of his career, Staley was a front-line street
copper who lived for the job. He has more than 30 commendations in
his file.

While police officers are reluctant to talk about it with outsiders,
many buckle under the pressures of the shift work and the long hours.
Some turn to booze.

For Staley, it was crack cocaine.

He talked about how he "first sampled" the illicit narcotic during
his undercover jobs while he worked in the downtown core.

"I had no idea of the powerful nature of the drug. The strength of
it. The lure."

In an agreed statement of facts read in court by prosecutor David
Finley, Staley was described as a crack addict. He's now in drug
therapy for his addiction.

When he was arrested nearly two years ago, detectives found three
crack cocaine pipes in the breast pocket of his police uniform.

Staley's downward spiral started more than a decade ago when he went
through some mid-life crises.

First, his mother died. Then, his fiancee walked out on him. The
single father had separated from his wife not long after he joined
the force 25 years ago. Pressures of the job wrecked his marriage, he
said.

Depressed, suicidal, he went to a doctor and bared his soul. The
doctor, he recalls, alarmed at what he was hearing, went to internal
affairs behind his back.

When the police went to Staley's apartment, they found he had two
unregistered weapons. He was charged and suspended from work.

"They took away my gun. They took away my badge. They might as well
have taken away my identity, too," he said with some bitterness.

He said he had too much time on his hands, and his addiction got worse.

The only criticism he has toward the force is the way he was treated
after he was suspended. He said that officers should be given a desk
job, rather than just told to go home and collect their pay.

The charges were eventually withdrawn, and Staley was sent to 53
Division and given a desk job. It was a bad fit for someone who was
comfortable patrolling the mean streets.

"I was the black sheep at the station. They never really accepted me."

According to court documents, Staley bought his crack from a drug
dealer identified as Devon Beckford.

Beckford had a falling out with his girlfriend and wanted Staley to
get some dirt on her, using the police computer. Foolishly, Staley
agreed.

"I did it. It was wrong. I got caught."

Beckford made several calls to the place where his ex-girlfriend
worked, telling her employers she had a criminal record and was using
drugs.

He even faxed her criminal record to the company.

But more damning against Staley were the revelations in court
yesterday that he "had lost" three handguns: a .22-calibre Colt
Derringer, a .38-calibre Smith and Wesson and a 7.65-mm Browning. A
police spokesperson said yesterday it's not known what happened to
the firearms.

The court also heard that Staley had passed other police information
to a second drug dealer, identified only as Jane Doe. She had
connections with a biker gang.

The documents stated that the bikers were worried they were selling
drugs to an undercover police officer and wanted to know his name
from a licence plate check.

Jane Doe was told to get the information and she went to Staley. He
got the name off the computer and passed it to her. She gave it to
the bikers, the documents stated. A police spokesperson said later
nothing happened as a result of that incident.

Staley has been on paid suspension since he was charged in May, 2000.

It's expected that he will soon retire from the force under its early
retirement package.

Since he pleaded guilty and avoiding a trial, the crown dropped seven
of the 20 charges.

Staley will be sentenced on April 26. He faces up to a year in jail.