Pubdate: Tue, 01 May 2012 Source: National Post (Canada) Copyright: 2012 Canwest Publishing Inc. Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286 Author: Megan O'Toole NOTES NOT FAKED, OFFICER TELLS COURT Judge orders jury to acquit police officers on five of 14 counts. A significant chunk of the Crown's case against five former Toronto Police drug squad officers fell away Monday as a Superior Court judge ordered the jury to acquit them on five of 14 counts. The judge's ruling came on the same day John Schertzer, the former leader of Team Three of the central field command drug squad, took the stand to defend himself publicly for the first time. Along with four of his former colleagues from Team Three - Steven Correia, Nebojsa Maodus, Joseph Miched and Raymond Pollard - Mr. Schertzer stands accused of a wide-ranging conspiracy that involved beating and robbing drug dealers in the late 1990s. The Crown has charged all five men with conspiring to attempt to obstruct justice by falsifying police records or giving false testimony, while several are further charged with theft, extortion and assault. As the defence case opened Monday, Justice Gladys Pardu instructed the jury to find the accused not guilty on five counts related to two of the five investigations that the court began probing in January. "What then remains of this prosecution?" defence lawyer John Rosen, a celebrated defender of accused murderers, asked in his opening address to the jury. Mr. Rosen suggested the case was now reduced to a few "simple questions" on whether certain incidents actually happened as the witnesses claimed. "In the end, [Mr. Schertzer's] evidence will confirm the innocence of himself and these other four men," Mr. Rosen asserted before calling his client to the stand. The counts on which Judge Pardu ordered acquittals involve the cases of cocaine dealer Larry Vacon, who said police searched his apartment illegally and stole more than $1,000 in cash, only to backtrack on the stand; and heroin dealer Kai Sum Yeung, who said police robbed him of more than $1,500 in cash. The remaining three cases involve marijuana dealer Christopher Quigley, who said the drug squad subjected him to a "violent shakedown"; cocaine dealer Aida Fagundo, who said police assaulted her and stole $10,000 in cash and a $20,000 pair of diamond earrings; and Ho Bing Pang, whose residence was allegedly subjected to an illegal search. In his remarks to the jury, Mr. Rosen invoked the words of former U.S. president Richard Nixon that drug abuse was "public enemy No. 1." "These five men, whom you have been selected to judge, were mere foot soldiers in the war on drugs," Mr. Rosen said. He began his examination of Mr. Schertzer with a rapidfire series of questions, asking his client to state whether he had assaulted or robbed Mr. Quigley, entered the Pang residence without a warrant, stole money from Mr. Yeung and Ms. Fagundo, or conspired to fabricate notes to hide the various offences. "No sir," Mr. Schertzer, dressed in a crisp suit, answered to each question in turn. Mr. Schertzer, 54, retired from the Toronto force and now owner of a restaurant in downtown Toronto, spent much of the day explaining drug squad procedures for taking notes and dealing with confidential informants. He also answered questions about the Fagundo case, which dates back to the fall of 1997. A lower-level drug dealer, Andy Ioakim, alleges that police stole drugs and money from his home, then coerced him into setting up a massive cocaine deal with Ms. Fagundo. Mr. Schertzer told a different story Monday, saying Mr. Ioakim offered up Ms. Fagundo in a bid for leniency after officers arrested him for possession. "He didn' t want to be charged. He didn't want to go to court," Mr. Schertzer testified, noting all the drugs seized from Mr. Ioakim were duly reported. "Did you take any money out of that property?" Mr. Rosen asked. "No sir," Mr. Schertzer replied. His testimony continues Tuesday. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt