Toronto cop’s planned side hustles included erotic massage parlours and illegal pot shops, documents allege - Toronto Star

Const. Timothy Barnhardt’s alleged plan to launch a network of black-market businesses are among the explosive allegations revealed in court filings.

Conversations outlined in the newly released police documents paint an unsettling picture of co-ordinated police corruption, as several officers were allegedly willing to take bribes to protect a criminal enterprise.

Illegal cannabis dispensaries. Erotic massage parlours. Promises of cash for cops willing to look the other way and put the squeeze on competitors.

Toronto police Const. Timothy Barnhardt’s alleged plan to launch a network of black-market businesses are among the explosive allegations contained in a court document Project South investigators filed to obtain search warrants in the sprawling corruption probe.

“The evidence demonstrates that the conspiracy is ongoing, organized and expanding, with clear roles, revenue expectations and continued reliance on corruption protection,” investigators wrote in a court document filed in January.

The court document, known as an “information to obtain” or ITO, includes portions of conversations Barnhardt allegedly had with an accused drug trafficker and fellow officers recruited into the scheme, many of them covertly recorded on microphones investigators hid inside his Jeep Wrangler and Audi Q5.