A one-time drug dealer testified today that he paid $20 000, cash every month to Hamilton detective constable Craig Ruthowsky and in exchange, he and his friends could sell drugs without worrying about arrest. The officer faces charges that include bribery, trafficking and obstruction of justice.Today the judge allowed the public release of conversations, caught by Toronto police wire tap during Project Pharaoh in 2015.
The former drug dealer says he met Ruthowsky in early 2011, after he was arrested leaving his house. The dealer says he agreed to turn over guns and in exchange would remain out of jail with a promise to appear in court. Afterwards Ruthowsky met with the dealer at a Tim Hortons parking lot to give back spare car keys that had been seized. The dealer says he felt comfortable making an offer because he heard Ruthowsky had, had an arrangement with another dealer and because he figured $20 000 had been stolen by police during his arrest, he had $30 000, but only $10 000 was listed on court documents.
He says he told Ruthowsky, “I wanted the same arrangement as my friend before. He asked if I knew the price. I said, yeah.”
The price was $20 000 cash, every thirty days. Within weeks the dealer said he made the first payment and he says the money was well spent.
“I was pretty much allowed to sell drugs,” the dealer told the court. “I would get pulled over by the police, I would hand the phone out the window and Craig would talk to them.”
In fact, the dealer and his associates realized they could sell a lot more drugs with police protection and they substantially expanded their business. He says Ruthowsky helped him and his friends avoid arrest several times, but Ruthowsky wanted information in return.
The dealer and his friends had a marijuana grow operation at a former mushroom farm in Stoney Creek. They thought they were getting ripped off by their supplier, so they asked Ruthowsky if he could go in and get the drugs for them. The officer allegedly agreed to give the dealer half the marijuana and not to arrest any of his friends. The dealer says he’d never been invited to a drug bust before, it was like a movie. If anyone asked he was supposed to say he was RCMP. Four years later, the dealer was still calling Ruthowsky for help.
Court is not sitting Friday so the dealer, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, is expected to continue his testimony on Monday. He likely faces several days of cross examination by Craig Ruthowsky’s lawyer.