Pubdate: Thu, 28 Jun 2012
Source: Windsor Star (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 The Windsor Star
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/501
Author: Megan O'Toole, The National Post; With Files From Kristie Pearce
Page: A6

MAODUS, T.O. OFFICERS GUILTY OF OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE

Five former members of an elite Toronto drug squad - including Windsor
native Ned Maodus - were acquitted Wednesday by a Superior Court jury
on the most serious charges they faced, including counts of
conspiracy, assault, extortion and theft eight years after they were
charged.

But the former officers left the downtown courthouse grim-faced after
being found guilty on a narrow subset of charges related to a
warrantless search.

The jury deliberated for nine days on the fates of Maodus, John
Schertzer, Steven Correia, Joseph Miched and Raymond Pollard, who were
accused of a wide-ranging "conspiracy of silence" aimed at concealing
robberies and assaults on local drug dealers.

"It's obvious from the time that they took considering their verdict
that there was a lot of doubt in this case, as I always knew there
was," Schertzer's lawyer, John Rosen, said outside court.

"We're very pleased that the jury saw that the main complainants were
incredible; the Crown never had a case," Mr. Rosen said. "(But)
they're feeling very disappointed as I am, because we really felt that
this trial would be a complete vindication of all the negative things
that have been said about them over the last 15 years."

Maodus, 49, was found guilty of attempt to obstruct justice and
perjury. He was acquitted of assault causing bodily harm, extortion
and conspiracy to attempt to obstruct justice.

Pollard and Correia, the only defendant who is still a police officer,
were also convicted of perjury.

In 2007, after being convicted of assault and pointing a firearm,
Maodus resigned from the Toronto police.

The former officers have indicated they may appeal their conviction
after the November sentencing hearing.

Crown attorney Milan Rupic declined to comment on whether he viewed
the prosecution as a success, noting in a brief address to reporters:
"This was a very long case. It was a complex case (and) the community
owes those jurors a debt of gratitude."

Wednesday's verdict has been a long time coming. The trial itself has
spanned six months, but the allegations date back to the late 1990s,
when the five officers worked on Team Three of the Toronto Police
Service central field command drug squad.

An RCMP-led probe of the squad's work commenced in 2001, after
complaints from defence lawyers that police had stolen cash and
jewelry from their clients. Charges were laid three years later, but
stayed by a judge in 2008 amid "glacial delays" in bringing the matter
to trial; the charges were subsequently revived on appeal.
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