Pubdate: Fri, 01 Apr 2005
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.canoe.com/NewsStand/TorontoSun/home.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Alan Cairns, and Sam Pazzano
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?236 (Corruption - Outside U.S.)

LAWYER SUING POLICE

Lawsuit Alleges Fantino, Bromell Had Secret Deal To End RCMP Probe
Into Drug Cops

Former Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino and his cop union
counterpart, Craig Bromell, struck a deal to "wrongfully" convict one
or more drug cops for "political purpose" to end an RCMP-led
corruption probe, it is alleged in court documents. Last night both
Fantino and Bromell vehemently denied there was any behind-the-scenes
deal.

The alleged pact between Fantino and Bromell -- initially cited in a
$12-million civil lawsuit that eight drug cops filed against Fantino
and 22 others two years ago -- is raised anew in a lawsuit filed by
Toronto lawyer Morris Manning.

Manning, who filed the initial drug squad suit in January, 2003, now
says he was forced off the cop case at a potential cost to him of $6
million in lost earnings when the police union coerced the drug
officers to overlook the alleged Fantino-Bromell deal or be denied
legal funding.

Manning also alleges that an affidavit filed on behalf of cop union
lawyer Gary Clewley, in an unrelated civil action, states Clewley
"attended a number of meetings between Mr. Bromell and Mr. Fantino" at
which the drug squad's claims of an alleged deal were
"discussed."

The alleged pact occurred at the height of an RCMP-led probe into
allegations of drug squad corruption.

"There is absolutely no deal involving this. Nobody approached me and
I've approached no one. Including Fantino," Bromell told the Toronto
Sun last night.

Fantino, now the province's security czar, said, "the notion of a deal
is absolutely untruthful."

Manning's lawsuit names the union's legal plan overseer, Walter
Jackson, and police union lawyers Tim Danson and Andrew McKay as
defendants, along with the eight drug cops.

Fantino and Bromell are not named as defendants. None of the
allegations in the lawsuits have been proven in court.

In the initial lawsuit, drug cops Staff-Sgt. John Schertzer, Jerry
Cieslik, Steve Correia, Greg Forestall, Sean McGuinness, Joseph
Miched, Ray Pollard and Jon Reid denied wrongdoing.

"The drug squad officers professed their innocence and claimed to be
victims of a Fantino public relations campaign ... aggrandizing ...
Fantino's image at the expense ... (of) honest police officers,"
Manning alleges.

Danson said he is "disappointed" in Manning, but refused further
comment.

Manning and McKay could not be reached.

Manning claims the drug cops agreed to pay him the greater amount of
either hours billed by himself and two other lawyers or 50% of any
award. The fees were $400 to $500 an hour.

Manning stated the lawyers worried about becoming targets of "abuses"
and faced the risk of "personal" phone taps.

Manning says the eight cops jointly owe him $626,345 on the Fantino
suit and Forestall owes him $35,308 for separate libel actions against
two Toronto newspapers.

It is alleged by Manning that union officials told the drug cops they
would get funds for criminal and civil actions and "collateral
benefits" from Fantino and others if they "agreed to compromise" the
civil action by removing a reference to the alleged deal.

Manning said the clause was "vital" to the claims of Fantino's
"abuses" and of being "victims" of corrupt Toronto cops.

Various criminal charges against Schertzer, Correia, Pollard and
Miched were laid by the RCMP-led task force on Jan. 7, 2004, and are
still before the courts. Reid and Forestall were named as unindicted
co-conspirators.
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