Project South corruption probe narrows to three key officers amid crumbling charges

Toronto's biggest police corruption case is shrinking as charges against peripheral officers are dropped or downgraded. Three officers remain at the centre of the investigation.

Project South narrows: three officers at the core as lesser charges collapse

Toronto Sun Crime reports that Project South — described as the largest corruption scandal in Toronto Police Service (TPS) history — is losing momentum as the list of serious accused dwindles and a growing number of charges are called into question.

The investigation centred on alleged ties between rogue officers, organized crime figures and other criminal actors. When it was announced last February, it struck the city and its police service with considerable force. Now, sources familiar with the probe suggest the wheels may be coming off.

The main three

According to Toronto Sun Crime, virtually every significant legal development in the case now revolves around three officers: Const. Timothy Barnhart, Sgt. Robert Black and Sgt. Carl Grellette. A fourth, Const. Saurabjit Bedi, faces numerous charges including cocaine trafficking and corruption and is described as a close associate of Barnhart who allegedly expressed a desire to join in on the others' schemes — captured, according to investigators, on wiretap recordings.

All other officers have been severed from the Project South file.

"The others have already been severed from Project South, so that leaves just the three. But it also appears that the wheels are falling off the investigation," a source told the Sun.

Origins of the probe

Project South was triggered by an alleged murder plot targeting a senior manager at the Toronto South Detention Centre, reportedly orchestrated by individuals connected to jailhouse gangs. From there, the scope of the investigation expanded rapidly.

Investigators alleged that certain officers were pulling information from police databases and selling personal records and home addresses to criminals for $500 per query. One source pushed back on the severity of that finding: "I can make more money doing paid duty."

Charges questioned

The same source, described as familiar with the investigation, argued that a number of the resulting charges are disproportionate. One officer, for example, faces a theft charge related to police uniforms — a detail the source found difficult to take seriously given that TPS officers receive six new shirts annually and typically have old uniforms and equipment at home.

"In the data breach, most of that was also nickel-and-dime stuff, serious, but it has nothing to do with Project South," the source said. "Some of this is overkill. A lot of this stuff has been trumped up."

Reinforcing that view, all auto theft charges connected to the case have since been dropped entirely.

Barnhart: the alleged ringleader

The source nonetheless drew a firm distinction between peripheral figures and the alleged core. Of the three central officers, Barnhart is described as the only one who was reportedly generating significant criminal revenue — allegedly "making out like a bandit."

Newly unsealed Information-to-Obtain (ITO) documents paint a picture of Barnhart as an ambitious but erratic figure with a serious cocaine addiction. On wiretap recordings, he is said to have discussed plans to open illegal cannabis dispensaries, a network of massage parlours with illegal services, and a scheme to pack cannabis into GPS-tracked luggage for smuggling through Toronto Pearson International Airport to international destinations.

"He wanted them in 12 and 32 divisions so they could be protected by Barnhart and others," the source said. "None of this ever got off the ground."

The source also questioned why investigators did not allow the schemes to progress further before intervening, arguing it would have provided clearer evidence and helped distinguish core offenders from incidental ones.

Peripheral officers: "just stupid"

For those outside the main trio, the source was blunt: "Aside from the big three, the other cops were just stupid. They were caught on wires doing stupid shit with other people. Most of these guys are small fry."

The distinction being drawn — between officers who were corrupt and those who were merely reckless or naive — may have implications for how the remaining cases are prosecuted and ultimately judged.

One officer caught in the investigation's wider net, Const. Elias Mouawad, is scheduled to plead guilty to running an unauthorized query on a licence plate and passing that information to a friend. The friend is alleged to have connections to organized crime, though that element of the case may also be subject to revision.

What comes next

Despite the narrowing scope, the consequences for those at the centre of Project South are expected to be severe. Barnhart, 55, whose court documents detail a long-standing cocaine addiction, faces charges that, if he is convicted, are widely expected to result in a custodial sentence. Black and Grellette face similar exposure.

Some of the officers at the margins of the case are also likely to lose their jobs — not because of any direct involvement in the alleged schemes, the source suggested, but largely because of their association with Barnhart.

Whether the investigation as originally conceived delivers on its promise of exposing deep systemic corruption, or whether it ultimately resolves as a case built around one troubled officer and a handful of poor decisions by others, remains to be determined in court.

Source: Toronto Sun Crime