Dealer says he and Hamilton cop on trial became friends

TORONTO — A Hamilton drug dealer testified Monday that he paid suspended Det.-Const. Craig Ruthowsky between $10,000 and $20,000 to find out the name of the substance he was using to cut his cocaine.

At the time, the dealer said, he was paying $10,000 a kilo for the white, crystal powder but figured he could get it much cheaper if he knew what it was called.

The dealer cannot be identified due to a court-ordered publication ban.

“I told him (Ruthowsky) I really needed it and if he could find it I would make it worth his while,” the witness told a Superior Court jury.

Court has been told Ruthowsky took it to a private lab to have it tested. The powder was a chemical called phenacetin.

“I’m pretty sure he texted me the results,” the witness said.

Once Ruthowsky told him the name, the dealer testified, he could buy the substance for $5,000, yielding bigger profits.

Ruthowsky has pleaded not guilty to corruption-related offences including bribery of officers, breach of trust and trafficking. The Crown alleges the suspended Hamilton officer fed drug traffickers sensitive information and favours in return for cash payments, and that he was paid $20,000 a month by drug dealers in a pay-for-protection scheme.

At the start of the now threeweek-old trial, Hamilton police officer James Paterson testified Ruthowsky told him he took the cutting agent to the chemical lab in order to convince the witness he was a “dirty cop,” better positioning him to extract information leading to more drug seizures and arrests.

On Monday, the dealer elaborated on his relationship with Ruthowsky, suggesting it turned into a friendship.

They spoke almost daily, trading information about the streets, the dealer said, and described several examples of how Ruthowsky intervened on his behalf when he was in trouble.

For example, the dealer recalled being in a hotel room in Mississauga with a stripper when two Peel Region police officers rushed in and found a bag of pills in a toaster.

“They told me they would take me to jail, and I told them to at least let me make a call to an officer in Hamilton,” he said. “I did get a hold of him (Ruthowsky), and the police didn’t charge me they let me go.”

The witness testified that Ruthowsky told him he would even lie in court to protect him.

“He told me would take the stand and lie for me,” the dealer testified.

He told jurors that on one occasion, Ruthowsky offered up an old Hamilton police station to stash his drugs. The witness told Crown attorney John Pollard he declined because “at the end of the day he’s still a police officer.”

The dealer testified Ruthowsky volunteered to arrest one of his cocaine buying customers, and “they” would give the dealer a half kilo in return.

“He told me there were lots of cops who would do that, not just him,” the witness testified.

The witness said he gave Ruthowsky $20,000 in cash about 10 times.

The trial continues.