Ruthowsky tossed from drug unit for mishandling evidence, police corruption trial hears

For days, Craig Ruthowsky has been painting a picture of himself in court as a hard working police officer who was tireless in his pursuit of justice — but he was also turfed from Hamilton police's drug squad back in 2003 for mishandling evidence.

Ruthowsky returned to the witness box for a sixth day in a Toronto courtroom Tuesday, as the trial into his misconduct allegations continues.

The 44-year-old is accused of selling police secrets and protection for $20,000 monthly payments from a cadre of drug dealers.

Ruthowsky, a 17-year-veteran of Hamilton police, has pleaded not guilty in Superior Court in Toronto to charges of bribery, attempting to obstruct justice, trafficking cocaine, criminal breach of trust, and conspiring to traffic marijuana.

Ruthowsky first answered questions from his lawyer last week about his time in the drug squad. He said the work wasn't exciting enough for him, because there was a big push on rooting out marijuana grow ops in the unit at the time.

You fabricated these notes that you threw into your case files.- John Pollard, assistant Crown Attorney

"My stuff — I like cocaine and drugs. I like following gang members and doing surveillance on those types of groups," he previously testified.

On Tuesday, assistant Crown attorney John Pollard presented a very different scenario. He said Ruthowsky was just three months into a three-year position in the unit when he was asked to leave because he mishandled evidence.

Ruthowsky began to respond, saying it had something to do with a document he threw in the garbage, when his defence lawyer, Greg Lafontaine, objected. 

The jury was sent out, and when they returned, the Crown moved on to a different area of questioning.

'You fabricated these notes'

Pollard also pressed Ruthowsky about his note taking. He alleged that Ruthowsky added notes scribbled on loose leaf paper into his personal case files after his suspension, to back up his testimony in court.

"You fabricated these notes that you threw into your case files," Pollard said.

"Absolutely not," Ruthowsky responded.

"I was being full, frank and fair when I made those notes and put them into my case files." 

Sgt. Troy Ashbaugh of Hamilton police previously testified that he reviewed seven of Ruthowsky's police notebooks and three of his confidential informant notebooks.

Ashbaugh said he found nothing in the confidential informant notebooks that could be attributed to the Crown's key witness in the case — the drug dealer who allegedly set up payment, and was paying off, Ruthowsky. He cannot be named because of a publication ban.

Ruthowsky, for his part, told the jury that he kept information about his interactions with the dealer in his "case files" — which were not seized by Hamilton police at the time of his suspension.

Instead, Ruthowsky testified, he was told to take those files home with him. About 130 case files and close to 200 search warrants have been sitting in his basement in Ancaster ever since, he said — which also means he has had access to them.

At one point Tuesday morning, Pollard asked Ruthowsky if there was "anything he wouldn't do" to make sure he could keep the dealer as an informant.

"Of course there was," Ruthowsky said.

"Anything overtly criminal, anything with criminal intent."

Getting to the bottom of 'perceived benefit'

Pollard also questioned Ruthowsky Tuesday about what he has referred to as "perceived benefit."

The Crown's drug-dealing key witness previously testified that his $20,000 monthly payments to Ruthowsky meant he and his associates could roam free and sell drugs in Hamilton without having to look over their shoulders.

Ruthowsky, by contrast, has said that's simply a case of "perceived benefit." An informant might think they're totally off the hook for any criminal acts, Ruthowsky said, but that's not actually the case.

On Tuesday, he told the jury that if a dealer provides information on other drug dealers, police would likely be too busy chasing them to look at the informant's conduct.

"The second the information stops or the second we're not busy … they could possibly get arrested," Ruthowsky said.

The Crown suggested this sounds like Ruthowsky was giving his informants a "licence to offend."

"It's more to do with if you provide us with information, we're going to be busy with something else," Ruthowsky said.

"We're basically not investigating them because we're so busy investigating other drug dealers."

adam.carter@cbc.ca