Ruthowsky's sentencing delayed, pay continues for corrupt cop

The sentencing of corrupt Hamilton cop Craig Ruthowsky was delayed Friday so the judge can weigh a defence motion to suspend the proceedings — which means Ruthowsky keeps getting paid, even though he's been convicted of several crimes.

The hearing marked the first time Ruthowsky, 44, has appeared in court since a jury found him guilty on charges of bribery, obstruction of justice, breach of trust and cocaine trafficking in Superior Court in Toronto late last month.

A sentencing hearing was expected Friday, but was pushed back by a stay in proceedings motion brought forward by Ruthowsky's lawyers. That's a motion seeking an order preventing — either temporarily or permanently — any further action on a prosecution.

The crux of the defence's argument on the motion is Ruthowsky had an unfair trial because a lead investigator on his case, Hamiton police Staff Sgt. Ben Thibodeau, is married to a woman he once dated.

Ruthowsky's lawyer, Greg Lafontaine, said that means Thibodeau had an "inherent conflict of interest" in investigating the case.

"As a result of that conflict of interest … he would have an axe to grind with my client," Lafontaine said.

It's ancient history your honour. It's 15  years ago.- John Pollard, assistant Crown attorney

He also said in court that Thibodeau didn't approach his duties with the "detachment and objectiveness and the absence of bias that one would expect from an officer."

Assistant Crown attorney John Pollard, however, wasn't buying that argument. He said Thibodeau didn't think his link with Ruthowsky was something he would need to disclose. 

"It's ancient history your honour," Pollard said, in his arguments. "It's 15 years ago."

Continuing to cash a paycheque 

Pollard said Ruthowsky's application basically asserts that Thibodeau was "too thorough" when working on the case.

"If he did a poor job, the inference would be that he did officer Ruthowsky a favour," he said.

Pollard also said the defence's assertion that Thibodeau has some sort of jealously toward Ruthowsky because he's married to a woman he once dated "speaks more to the applicant than it does Sgt. Thibodeau."

At that, members of Ruthowsky's family openly scoffed in the courtroom.

Justice Robert Clark said he needed time to consider the motion, so court will resume on Monday morning for his ruling.

If the judge dismisses it, another date will be set for a sentencing hearing. 

In the meantime, Ruthowsky will continue to collect his paycheque from Hamilton police.

The trigger that would allow police to stop paying him is a sentence with a jail term — something the Crown has said it will be pushing for.

But until that happens, under the current Police Services Act legislation, Hamilton police have to keep paying him.

'Unnaceptable to taxpayers'

Ruthowsky was actually suspended back in June of 2012, but he's been collecting cheques from the public purse ever since.

During three of those years, Ruthowsky even popped up on The Sunshine List, which tracks the province's highest paid public sector earners. He made over $104,000 last year, over $107,000 in 2015, and over $109,000 in 2012.

There certainly seems to be an appetite to stop Ruthowsky's pay. Coun. Lloyd Ferguson, who heads up the city's police board, called Ruthowsky the "poster child of suspension without pay" in a previous interview, and said his payouts were "unacceptable to taxpayers."

Police act legislation also dictates that the decision to suspend a cop without pay can be upheld even if a conviction or sentence is under appeal, which is an important distinction, if Ruthowsky decides to appeal his sentence.

Cases like Ruthowsky's where an officer is paid for over half a decade while on suspension could soon be a thing of the past. Ontario is making sweeping changes to its policing laws, including strengthening oversight of the system and making it possible to suspend officers without pay.

The changes, contained in legislation introduced last November, would include the first update to the Police Services Act in more than 25 years.

The new legislation proposes to allow police services to suspend officers without pay in certain circumstances — a power chiefs have been requesting for a decade.

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