Five former Toronto drug cops go on trial today in what the CBC is calling “the largest case of alleged police corruption in Canadian history.” The case dates back to the late ’90s, when the officers were busting high numbers of drug dealers and allegedly beating up suspects, stealing drugs and cash and working together to cover it all up. The officers were charged way back in 2004, but some nifty legal acrobatics slowed the case’s progress to a standstill. A judge even stayed the charges in 2008 before the province’s court of appeal decided the five would stand trial. Former mayor and head of the city’s Police Accountability Coalition John Sewell says legal stalling can often go on so long that witnesses die or leave the country, which has already happened with two witnesses in this case. Okay, maybe it won’t be quite the high drama of Law and Order, but we’re still looking forward to watching the story unfold. Read the entire story [CBC] »
The discerning mediavore’s take on the news of the day, from city hall to Power Ball
Toronto police play the part of The Avengers (and improve their image in the process)
Old-timey Toronto police (Image: Toronto History)
The Globe and Mail reports that this week’s coordinated police raids—which took place both here and in far-flung locales like British Columbia—grew out of an investigation into a shooting in the Jane-Finch area. The police probe revealed there was what Bill Blair called “a level of mobility among street gangs” (in other words, gang members were committing crimes all over the country, not just at Jane and Finch), and the success of the operation should go some way to repair the police’s image in the public eye.
Read the rest of this entry »
News that a man nabbed a poppy donation box from a Toronto pizza shop has the city’s media organizations united in their determination to see this poppy bandit brought to justice (the Toronto Sun even went as far as to dub him a “piece of ‘scum’” in its headline). The thief may have thought himself none the wiser when he made off with a container of fake red flowers and money destined for the Canadian legion, but a video camera caught him red-handed. Apparently, he also left a trail of poppies in his wake. The police, and the papes, are on the case. Read the entire story [Toronto Sun] »
Back in October, we made note of the murder of a millionaire jeweller. The juicier details of the case involve Michael Costa, who police suspected might be involved with the murder, and his brother Daniel, a Toronto cop charged with perjury for allegedly misleading police regarding his brother’s whereabouts. Now, the plot thickens. The Toronto Star reported on Monday that the murder victim, Alexander Kucovic, led a double life: the Yorkville jeweller was also a west coast gangster, and a participant in the witness protection program. Oh, and he was a “suspected hit man and police snitch,” too. We figured the Star’s tenacity on the police beat would deliver the salacious details of this case, and so far they haven’t disappointed. We just hope they keep it up—we haven’t been this intrigued by a witness protection program commotion since Sister Act. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »
The Toronto Star’s latest police scandal reporting sounds like something out of a Martin Scorsese movie: the paper reports that Toronto cop Daniel Costa is facing perjury charges after he misled the police about the location of his brother, who was wanted for questioning regarding the murder of a millionaire jeweller. Shortly after the “execution-style” murder of Alexander Kucovic, who apparently “looked the part of one of the buff, tattooed characters in Jersey Shore,” police began to suspect Costa’s brother Michael, who may now be in Italy, might be involved. For his part, Daniel told investigators, under oath, that he didn’t know where his brother was, but prosecutors are alleging the opposite. Given the Star’s tenacious commitment to dogging the cop shop, we’re pretty sure there will be more on this story to come. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »
The Toronto Star continues its steadfast devotion to stalking the police force’s every move
(Image: Dave Conner)
In its ongoing effort to burn all bridges with various police forces around the GTA, the Toronto Star is reporting that a man accused of serious drug charges is also a nine-year veteran of the Peel police. Unlike the paper’s G20 coverage, this is more proof of the paper’s ability to dredge up juicy stories than its proficiency at doing the cops’ work for them—the officer would have been facing charges whether the Star ran the story or not—but it’s also yet another example of the paper’s dogged commitment to taking law enforcement to task each and every time it slips up.
Read the rest of this entry »
Activist, journalist and blogger Dan Kellar was arrested last week after he named and published a picture of a man he believed to be an undercover police officer infiltrating activist groups. Kellar told his readers in a blog post on peaceculture.org to “spit in [the alleged informant’s] footsteps and scoff at his existence” (yikes!). The Toronto Media Co-op is reporting that Kellar’s charges include criminal defamation and counselling his readers to commit assault, among others. Kellar is also a member of an anti-war group that saw several of its members arrested before the G20 summit. The blog post has since been deleted—but Google Cache seems to have snagged it. Remember Officer Bubbles, anyone? Read the entire story [Toronto Media Co-op] »
It looks like Toronto has its very own John Dillinger. We would have considered it bigger news that one man has robbed 15 banks since mid-May, but apparently we’re just hearing about it now. According to the National Post, the mystery man uses the cunning tactic of having “no pattern to it whatsoever” and is “poorly disguised” (the paper alleged his appearance in recent stick-ups resembles that of an “Arab oil tycoon on summer vacation”); yet the police are flummoxed. We suggest the force calls up Ryan Gosling. We’re pretty sure he could sort this one out. Read the entire story [National Post] »
Yesterday’s arrest means Parkdale can breathe a little easier—but the treatment of the mentally ill remains an issue
After a disturbing series of assaults that targeted residents with mental illness—some of whom were elderly—in the city’s west end, it looks like the cops got their man. The Toronto Police Service announced yesterday that it had arrested Ricardo Morrison, charging the 32-year-old with two counts of assault and naming him as a “person of interest” in the murder case of 62-year-old George Wass.
While Parkdale didn’t become a fear-gripped ghost town in the last month, the attacks have certainly been on people’s minds. The issue surfaced during interviews with the riding’s election candidates, local residents organized marches, and some people in the community spoke out against the discrimination and neglect that victims of mental illness have to face. In a number of interviews with reporters after the arrest, locals described a palpable sense of relief—but they also weren’t entirely put at ease.
“I’m relieved, but if he’s only responsible for mine and not the others, then that’s not good,” Dan Chiarelli, 45, the most recent victim, said Tuesday.
He was shocked to learn the man accused of attacking him is his neighbour.
“It’s scary,” Chiarelli said. “I don’t even know him.”
We hope police have the right person—and also that the awareness of the challenges confronting those with mental illness won’t fade with the headlines.
• Suspect in Parkdale attacks often complained about neighbors [Toronto Star]
• Parkdale residents relieved after arrest [Toronto Sun]
• Charges laid in assaults on mentally ill in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood [Globe and Mail]
“Cancer faker” story comes to an appropriately weird close
Screen shot from a Facebook group page for Demanding Ashley Anne Kirilow Be Held Accountable (Image: Facebook)
Last year, Toronto’s press was all over the bizarre story of Ashley Anne Kirilow, the young woman from Burlington who shaved her head and eyebrows to fake the appearance of someone undergoing intense chemotherapy, and who managed to bilk around $12,000 from well-wishers. That story came to a close yesterday as Kirilow pleaded guilty to the last counts against her in court. The conditions of her sentence are, appropriately enough, as “interesting” as the crime itself.
Read the rest of this entry »
Toronto Police issue least-breaking news ever: Empress Hotel fire was arson
The police investigate the first and Yonge and Gould Streets (Image: Danielle Scott)
When the Empress Hotel—better known to most Ryerson students as “the old Salad King building”—burned down last month, the circumstances were sketchy enough that we suspected that some kind of shenanigans were to blame. And, according to the Toronto Police, we were right. Yay us.
Read the rest of this entry »
The son also stumbles: Edgar Bronfman Jr. not going to jail after all (he’s just been slapped with $6.7-million fine)
Clarissa Bronfman and Edgar Bronfman Jr. attend the 41st annual Party in the Garden at New York’s MoMA in 2009 (Image: Jamie McCarthy/WireImages/Getty)
Sometimes it’s tough out there for a scion of a Canadian dynasty. Not that Edgar Bronfman Jr. is in danger of missing his rent this month, but he probably would have preferred not to be hit with a $6.7-million fine last Friday. The charges all stem from Bronfman’s time with Vivendi Universal—an era that wasn’t a hit for either Bronfman’s reputation or Vivendi’s bank accounts. (Hint: they had to sell Universal to put the books back in the black.) Last week, a French court made a surprise ruling and convicted Bronfman on charges of insider trading.
Read the rest of this entry »
Convicted shoplifter banned from Chinatown and Kensington Market
The Lucky Moose in Chinatown (Image: Colin Rose)
Helping yourself to a five-finger discount has never been so sticky: Anthony Bennett, a 52-year-old with a history of repeated shoplifting, has been banned from both Toronto’s Chinatown and Kensington Market neighbourhoods. Again (he was already observing a temporary ban). You may remember Bennett as both the perpetrator and victim in a high-profile citizen’s arrest case from 2009: Bennett stole some plants from the Lucky Moose grocery store, only to be later chased down by the shop’s owner, David Chen, tied up and thrown in the back of a van, vigilante style. (Chen was acquitted of assault and forcible confinement charges last October.)
Read the rest of this entry »
Toronto public school board catches $88,500 fraud without a huge scandal
Terry Baytor (Image: Facebook)
A we-assume-formerly respected principal, teacher and baseball coach from Martingrove Collegiate in Etobicoke has been charged with theft and fraud. Terry Baytor, whose mustachioed mug has since moved from the public board to a cushy private school gig, apparently pocketed $72,000 from an account that was supposed to be for student fundraising. Of that, he paid himself $16,000.
Read the rest of this entry »
134 tons of pot set ablaze by Mexican government, Cheetos sales spike downwind
Burning giant piles of drugs isn’t exactly new in the history of media relations, but we can’t think of anything else quite on this scale: the Mexican government invited national and international press from the capital to Tijuana where, after a gun battle with drug traffickers, the Mexican army seized 134 tons of marijuana. The press was invited to watch as the army got really high set the ganja ablaze.
Read the rest of this entry »
Follow Toronto Life on Twitter, Facebook and via RSS