A cocaine dealer who allegedly initiated a “pay for protection” scheme with a Hamilton police officer testified Wednesday the detective constable was someone he could rely on in a pinch. Wednesday was the first time jurors in a downtown Toronto courtroom set eyes on the Hamilton-based dealer. “Criminal stuff, drug trafficking, whatever,” the dealer replied. The Crown also played for the jury a conversation between Ruthowsky and the dealer that was captured in a 2015 Toronto police wiretap project. The dealer called Ruthowsky to ask him if the police could have taken two kilos of cocaine from a car parked at Sherway Gardens in Toronto’s west end.

Source: thestar March 21, 2018 22:18 UTC