A retired Toronto police constable has been handed a 10-month conditional sentence in connection with Project South, a shocking investigation into organized crime and corruption involving several police officers and civilians.
Derek McCormick, 57, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of theft under $5,000, for stealing a cell phone, and one count of breach of trust.
Aside from his sentence, he has been ordered to pay a $100 victim surcharge.
McCormick was initially arrested back in January and charged with six offences.
Documents from the Ontario Court of Justice indicate that the other four charges he was facing – one count of obstruction of justice and three additional counts of theft under $5,000 – have been dropped.
McCormick is one of eight current or retired members of Toronto Police Service allegedly involved in a complex conspiracy that resulted in the attempted murder of a senior Ontario corrections officer at a home in York Region.
Earlier this year, officials said the officers under investigation allegedly unlawfully accessed a police database, performed searches that produced confidential information, and in one case, leaked that information to a member of organized crime for the purpose of carrying out the killing. They added that the addresses returned by the unlawful queries were later the locations of criminal incidents, including an extortion, commercial robberies, and shootings.
Nineteen other people from across the Greater Toronto Area have also been accused in this investigation. They are facing several serious charges, including murder and trug trafficking.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Phil Tsekouras
