A look back at Toronto police corruption scandal

A major operation titled ‘Project South’ was completed late on February 4, leading to the arrest of seven active-duty TPS officers and one retiree from the TPS. Alongside the officers, a slew of civilians were arrested in connection with what York Regional Police call a wide-ranging criminal network spanning the Greater Toronto Area.

With TPS at the centre of the scandal, the project was undertaken by Peel Regional Police. The investigation found that multiple TPS officers were allegedly deeply tied to an organized crime syndicate in the GTA, and specifically connected to Brian DaCosta, a major figure spanning across multiple organized crime groups.

Project South began in June 2025 after Peel Regional Police were tipped off that multiple TPS officers were accessing and relaying private information to members of organized crime. The information was later used to commit acts of violence against civilians. Peel Regional Police officers managed to thwart the attempted murder, and Project South was assigned a task force.

Project South uncovered that multiple officers leaked private information to organized crime groups, and have now charged seven officers with a litany of crimes, including bribery, obstruction of justice, drug trafficking, theft of property, and breach of trust. 19 civilians were charged along with the eight people connected to TPS.

In essence, Project South began as a murder investigation and ended up uncovering the largest TPS corruption scandal of the 21^st century.

The seven active-duty officers charged in Project South: five constables and two sergeants. The retired officer who was arrested is the father of Const. John Madeley. Const. Timothy Barnhardt was listed as the ‘genesis’ of the corruption probe. According to Peel Regional Police, Barnhardt headed the release of confidential information to criminals, facilitating targeted shootings.

Barnhardt was also accused of taking bribes to support illegal cannabis dispensaries and being involved in cocaine trafficking. Of the seven active officers charged, Barnhardt has the longest list of alleged offences. He was denied bail on February 6 and will reappear in court on March 19.

One of the most interesting stories within Project South is the father-son duo of Const. John Madeley (Jr.) and his father, retired Const. John Madeley (Sr.). Both Madeley’s were arrested in the sting, with John JR being charged and accused of unlawfully accessing and distributing confidential information, and his father being brought up on illegal gaming and betting charges tied to organized crime. He’s accused of unlawfully accessing and distributing confidential information, as well as ten other charges, including breach of trust by a public officer and possession of a prohibited weapon. He has been released from custody on bail.

Sgt. Carl Grellette was charged with taking bribes to support illegal cannabis dispensaries, conspiracy to obstruct justice and breach of trust by a public officer. Sgt. Saurabjit Bedi was also rung up on the same bribery charges, but was also charged with trafficking cocaine.

Const. Derek McCormick has been accused of stealing property that was taken by police, instead of logging it. The alleged thefts include government-issued identification, bank cards and passports, all of which were distributed to organized crime for illegal use.

McCormick faces six charges in total. Const. Elias Mouawad, the youngest member of the group, has also been charged with releasing confidential information to support illicit activities. Mouawad has the shortest list out of the eight TPS members charged, with only two charges: breach of trust by a public officer and unauthorized use of a computer. Mouawad is also the only TPS member charged in connection with Project South whose salary was less than $ 100,000 CAD.

Of course, the question remains: why would six officers earning more than $150,000 a year sacrifice their careers and the public’s safety to make a quick buck? While the TPS has a long history of officers siding with crime syndicates over Torontonians, this is the most dramatic example in the last 25 years.

Toronto Police Services’ history with corruption and organized crime started in the 1950’s, with an investigation informally known as ‘The Parker Commission’. In 1955, after multiple journalists insisted that the Toronto Police vice squad had been accepting bribes in exchange for protecting illegal gambling, prostitution, and other organized vice operations being run by organized crime syndicates.

In 1957, after two years of investigations, the Ontario Government found that Systemic corruption existed in the Toronto Police vice squad. At least four officers were dismissed, and the investigation resulted in a shifting of the organization as a whole, with Toronto Police Department being replaced by Metropolitan Toronto Police (now Toronto Police Service).

In 2020, an investigation found Const. Ronald Joseph had stolen multiple police radios and provided them to tow truck companies connected to organized crime. The radios were used to learn of accidents, and ‘snake’ potential jobs from competitors. Joseph was charged and released from TPS, but the charges were eventually dropped. Police found that organized crime syndicates were using tow operators and associated businesses to carry out fraudulent billing and staged crashes. Multiple TPS officers were suspended without pay, but later reinstated, sparking a larger conversation about TPS’s process of internal accountability.

It’s all well and good that the Peel Regional Police have stepped in and conducted an operation exposing TPS’s corruption, but charges are only the first step. The officers accountable must be held to the same standard, if not a higher one than civilians.

These officers failed in their duty to protect Torontonians by allegedly aiding and abetting violent gangsters and should face the consequences that TPS has failed to dole out in the past.

TPS Chief Myron Demkiw claimed on February 6 that he has not been asked to resign and has no plans to do so in the future. While it’s entirely possible that Demkiw didn’t know about the corruption, somebody did. Toronto Police Service has an 80-year history with organized crime, and with none of the officers arrested occupying leadership roles, the book should remain open on Project South.