A Hamilton police officer who was arrested in a 2015 gang raid has been sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison.
Former guns and gangs Det. Const. Craig Ruthowsky, 44, was convicted of taking more than $250,000 in bribes from drug dealers. In the sentencing, Justice Robert Clark said Ruthowsky was “motivated by sheer unbridled greed” and called the officer “a man profoundly flawed in character.”
Ruthowsky was arrested in June 2015 as a part of “Project Pharoah,” a months-long investigation into a Toronto-based gang that had ties to the Peel, Halton, Bradford, Durham, York, Niagara and St. Catharine’s areas. At the time, police said that members of the gang had been involved in 44 recorded incidents of violence in and around the Rexdale area. This included robberies, shootings, homicides, and drug trafficking.
After a nine-month investigation, a joint task force executed 50 search warrants between Barrie and Hamilton. Police seized a large quantity of drugs, guns and cash.
During the investigation, Ruthowsky’s voice was heard on a wiretap talking to drug dealers, offering advice after police seized a large quantity of cocaine.
A drug dealer testified in court, saying he paid Ruthowsky $20,000 a month for protection from prosecution.
“I was pretty much allowed to sell drugs,” he said. “I would get pulled over by the cops and hand the phone over. Craig would talk to them.”
The dealer also said that Ruthowsky would warn him if police were investigating him.
“I would get to know about search warrants, people informing on me. I had a grow-up, a stash house he knew about,” he said.
The drug dealer’s identity has been protected by the court.
In April, a jury found Ruthowsky guilty of bribery, obstruction of justice, breach of trust, and cocaine trafficking.
