7 takeaways from the stunning new Project South allegations - Toronto Star

New information was released about the Toronto police corruption allegations following a court application by the Star and other media outlets.

Toronto Police Service Chief Myron Demkiw speaks during a press conference announcing the Project South results in early February.

New information related to the Project South investigation was released Wednesday and it includes shocking allegations of police corruption and criminality by several Toronto officers.

Released to media organizations by court order, the new details are contained in a document known as an information-to-obtain, or ITO, filed by police in January in order to obtain search warrants for key suspects.

The 274-page document, some of which remains under publication ban, provides fresh insight into the months-long probe led by York Regional Police and shows how one of the biggest police corruption scandals in Toronto history grew from an investigation of an attempted murder of a jail official.

The new information highlights both the severity of the alleged misbehaviour — selling confidential information to accused criminals and drug dealing between officers — but also how casually the officers allegedly carried out the offences.

It also shows how the more Project South investigators dug, the more they found.

None of the allegations from the ITO have been proven or tested in court. The information includes evidence gathered by police and presented to a judge in order to be granted search and arrest warrants for the suspects charged in February.

The probe netted a total of 28 people, including seven Toronto police officers and one retired constable, but investigators had even more officers and civilians under surveillance. Several who have not been charged were subject to search warrants.

Seven Toronto police officers and one retired constable have been charged in the massive Project South investigation. 

The ITO includes many more details than were previously known of the tactics Project South investigators used to gather evidence.

In addition to physical surveillance, they also wiretapped suspects’ phones, hid recording devices in their vehicles, recorded outgoing jailhouse phone calls, and on at least two occasions carried out undercover operations.

Hundreds of officers from three different police services, including Toronto and the Ontario Provincial Police, contributed to the investigation. Correctional services staff and a team of federal and provincial prosecutors were also involved.