What the jury didn't hear at the Craig Ruthowsky cop corruption trial

The jury at the corruption trial of Hamiltoncop Craig Ruthowskynever heard keydetails about two other police officers who were part of the evidence.

One of thoseofficers,Ian Matthews,was held up as a kind of gold standard of unconventional policing who still got results but the jury didn't know he alsoshot himself as he was under investigation for an inappropriate sexual relationship with a source.

The other, Robert Hansen, is a corrupt cop who was still able to give testimonythrough a police interrogation video. The jury never learned that Hansenwasconvictedina gun planting scheme, and is now subject to a massive lawsuit.

Thosedetails werekept from the jury, court heard, largelyto not cause any sort of "guilt by association" in Ruthowsky's case. Now, those 12 jurors are deliberating on a verdict, so CBC News is able to report aspects of the case not heard at trial.

In this trial, the 44-year-old is accused of selling police secrets and protection for monthly payments of $20,000 from a crewof drug dealers. He was arrested after being caught on police wiretaps as part of a massive Toronto police guns and gangs investigation called "Project Pharaoh."

The17-year-veteran of Hamilton policehas pleaded not guilty in Superior Court in Toronto to charges of bribery, attempting to obstruct justice, trafficking cocaine, criminal breach of trust, and conspiring to traffic marijuana.

Here's a deeper look at what the jury didn't hearat his trial.

Trial witness was jailed for 'vigilantejustice'

It was a combination of Crown evidence and quick asides byRuthowsky'sdefence team that brought Matthews and Hanseninto the trial's evidence.

Hansen's inclusion was the most substantial. He gave evidence about Ruthowskysort of. The jury saw a two-hourvideo that was shot back in 2016, when Hansen was interviewed by an OPP officer, about what he knew about Ruthowsky's case.

Hansen was in street clothes in the video, and in court, the lawyers and the judge kept referring to him as an officer,but he's not anymore.

Hansen was sentenced to five years behind bars in June of 2016, for what Superior Court Justice Catriona Braid called "vigilante justice."

He also worked closely with Ruthowsky in Hamilton police's guns and gangs unit. While testifying, Ruthowskyreferred to his former colleague as "Bobby Hansen," andsaid he did some work on Hansen's swimming pool.

Ruthowskyalsosaid Hansen was a "good cop."

In May of 2012, Hansen texted someone he thought would plant a gun at a suspected drug trafficker's house:

Hansen: "He could use some jail time. Do u you have any ideas how to get him?"

Source: "You keep him away from my girl by locking him up if you can do that I'll set him up for you"

"I'll let you guys get him with a thing"

Hansen: "This will get him put away for several years"

"I will help u fuck these guys up"

When the source expressed reluctance a few days later, Hansen encouraged him to persevere, and even talked about other "set ups" in the future.

Hansen: "It would help tons. Especially that heat."

Hansen appealed his sentence and lost. The target of the gun-planting scheme, Darren Mork, is suing Hamilton police, Hansen and former chief Glenn De Caire for $1.5 million.

As Hansen worked in the guns and gangs unit over the same period as Ruthowsky, the Crown, defence and judge were all worried about the jury hearing anything about what he'd done, because of "guilt by association." Another issue, court heard when the jury was out of the room, was that Ruthowsky's lawyer, Greg Lafontaine, had also defended Hansen.

Lafontaine said that Hansen's family had been "routinely" calling his office over the last few months, concerned about his safety in jail. People presumably other inmates had heard that he was a police officer, and was about to testify against someone.

"Not a minute goes by without a death threat," Lafontaine said.

Usually a witness appears in person, but here, the court elected to just show the video of his interview with the OPP.

"The question I have to grapple with, is how to instruct this jury so they're not misled," Justice Robert Clark said when the jury was out.

In the end, he just ended up telling them, "There's good reasons the witness is not here."

Officer who shot himself mentioned several times at trial

The other mentionof a Hamilton copwith a checkeredbackgroundcame through the defence, during cross-examinations.

Routinely, when other cops were in the witness box, Lafontaine would present to them the idea that Ruthowsky had "unorthodox methods," but got results. Many of the witnesses agreed.

On more than one occasion, Lafontaine brought up other police officers as comparisons to help prove his point. One of them was Ian Matthews, who Lafontaine also said "worked outside the box," but was revered among his peers.

"He was somebody who was a hard worker, who was creative, who would think outside the box?" Lafontaine asked Sgt. Ryan Moore of Hamilton police.

"That was my impression of him," Moore responded, and later agreeing that Matthews was "highly respected."

The defence only said that Matthews had "passed away," but the details are much more complicated than that. The 25-year veteran of the force shot himself inside Hamilton police headquarters back in 2013. At the time, he was being investigated for an inappropriate sexual relationship with a source in a notorious arson that destroyed the city's Hindu temple.

Office of the Independent Police Review Director reports about the investigation into the matter concluded the relationship between the woman and Matthews included "drugs, sex and money."

Then-police chief Glenn De Cairetold the OIPRD that, absent an explanation from Matthews, he would have been charged under the Police Services Act had he not killed himself.

Ruthowsky himself brought Matthews up in his testimony.He was talking abouttesta he'd had done on a known drug dealer's cocaine cutting agent not to help out the dealer, but to make a run at an associate of his, who he saidis one of Ontario's biggest cocaine kingpins.

Ruthowskysaid the only officerhe talked about the planwith wasMatthews who was a Staff Sergeant in the homicide unit at the time. Ruthowskytestified Matthews told him to "keep it on the down low" because there had "been breaches" in Hamilton police of late, linked to organized crime.

Ruthowsky facing 16 other charges

The jury also didn't know that the charges on which they are deliberating arejust a sliver of the allegations against Ruthowsky.

0:35Ruthowsky caught on wiretap

In this police wiretap, Hamilton police officer Craig Ruthowsky is heard giving advice to a drug dealer.

Last August, Ruthowsky was hit with 16 new charges, includingbribery, breach of trust, perjury, cocaine trafficking and weapons trafficking.

Thosecharges come from a Hamilton police investigation separate from this trial, into events that took place between 2009 and 2012.

Thecharges are:

• Bribery
• Two counts of breach of trust
• Two counts of obstructing justice
• Public mischief
• Weapons trafficking
• Fraud under $5,000
• Two counts of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence
• Trafficking marijuana
• Perjury
• Robbery
• Two counts of trafficking cocaine

The preliminary hearing for thosecharges is slated to start in October.

adam.carter@cbc.ca