Corrupt Hamilton police officer Craig Ruthowsky sentenced to 12 years

A Hamilton police officer who was found guilty in a pay-for-protection scheme with a crew of Hamilton drug dealershas been sentenced to 12 years in a federal penitentiary.

Justice Robert Clark sentencedCraigRuthowsky in Superior Court in Toronto on Tuesday. The sentence includes six months credit for time served.

• Hamilton police suspend corrupt cop Craig Ruthowsky without pay, start firing process

Ruthowsky was also ordered to pay a $250,000 fine the amount Clark said Ruthowskytook in bribes. If Ruthowsky doesn't pay that fine within a year, three more years will be tacked onto his sentence.

Ruthowskywasfound guilty late last monthon charges of bribery, obstruction of justice, breach of trust and cocaine trafficking. A jury found that he was helping the criminals he was supposed to be investigating in exchange for cash.

Ruthowsky's family hugged each other and sobbed in court as the sentence came down. As the 44-year-oldwas being led away in handcuffs, he turned to his family and said, "I love you guys."

The judgecalledthe disgraced officerthe "author of his own misfortune" and "aman of profoundly flawed character."

"The conduct for which [Ruthowsky]must now answer was motivated by sheer, unbridled greed," Clark said.

Ruthowsky was arrested after being caught on police wiretaps as part of a massive Toronto police guns and gangs investigation called Project Pharaoh.

He is appealing thesentence. A bail hearing will be heard at the court of appeal Thursday.

'Arrogant'Ruthowskyfeels 'supreme entitlement,' judge says

Clark repeatedlyglared at Ruthowsky from acrossthe courtroom while giving his judgment.

Every time the judgementionedthe amount of money thatRuthowskyhad accepted as a bribe, or his conduct in the witness box while testifying, Clark stared him down, hammering his words home.

The judge calledRuthowsky"arrogant," andsaid he felt a "supreme entitlement to do what he was doing." He saidRuthowskyhas shown no remorse.

"He has absolutely no insight into the profoundly wrongful nature of his actions," Clark said.

At one point, the judge evencalled into question the actions ofRuthowsky's wife, who is also a Hamilton police officer.

On one intercepted wiretap call with a drug dealer heard during the trial, Ruthowskymentions that his wife is in the car, which Clark said raises questions about "exactly how much his wife knew about her husband's illicit activities."

Members of Ruthowsky's family gasped as he said this. His mother yelled that her son "didn't take a cent" as she left the courthouse.

Sentencing allows police to cut off Ruthowsky'spay

The sentencing marks the final step in a lengthy and intricatetrial that lasted much longer than expected. Sentencing was delayed twice firstby a failed defence motion for a stay of proceedings because Ruthowskyonce dated an investigating officer's wife, and again last week because the judge didn't thinksentencing submissions from eitherthe Crown orthe defence were harshenough.

All the time sentencing was being pushed back, Ruthowsky continued getting paid.He was first suspended in June2012,but he hadbeen collecting pay from the public purse ever since.

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

The trigger thatallows police to stop paying him is asentence with a jail term. Until that happened, under the current Police Services Act, Hamilton police hadto keep paying him.

Hamilton announced Wednesday that Ruthowsky has been suspended without pay effective May 30.

This is far from the end of Ruthowsky'scriminal proceedings.Last August, Ruthowsky washit 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.

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

adam.carter@cbc.ca

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