The cases against all but one of the Toronto police officers charged in the police corruption and organized crime investigation dubbed Project South are expected to proceed directly to trial in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice.
Crown lawyers have decided to proceed by direct indictment in those cases and in the cases against six civilians charged in the probe, according to a spokesperson from the Ministry of the Attorney General.
Seven Toronto police officers and a retired constable have been charged in Project South. All but one of their cases will proceed with a direct indictment, including those of Const. Timothy Barnhardt, Sgt. Robert Black, Sgt. Carl Grellette, Const. Saurabjit Bedi, Const. Elias Mouawad, Const. John Madeley Jr., and retired Const. John Madeley Sr.
That means the cases will skip a preliminary inquiry, typically used in criminal cases to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed with a trial.
The 13 accused impacted by the Crown’s decision will first appear in the higher court on July 22.
Of the officers charged, only Const. Derek McCormick’s case remains in the Ontario Court of Justice. He’ll next appear in court on July 14.
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Criminal defence lawyer Calvin Barry, who is representing one of the officers charged in the probe, told CBC News a direct indictment is likely to benefit the public in that the trial will happen sooner, but he doesn’t think his client’s individual charges are serious enough to warrant the move.
“This was a strategic move by the prosecutor, which I had done when I was a Crown many times to get things moving along,” said Barry, who is representing Const. John Madeley Jr.
“The public wants to see things adjudicated on their merits and not these delays and having to wait years and years before it becomes yesterday’s news.”
The charges against the officers, who are all suspended without pay, include breach of trust, obstruction of justice, drug trafficking and conspiracy to accept bribes.
None of the charges have been tested in court.
Project South began in June 2025 when York Regional Police thwarted an alleged plot to kill a senior corrections officer at Toronto South Detention Centre.
While investigating that alleged conspiracy, York police discovered that Const. Barnhardt had allegedly shared confidential information about the senior correctional officer with a civilian, Brian Da Costa. Police have then accused Da Costa of providing that information to others charged in the alleged murder plot.
The allegations against Barnhardt, who police described as the “genesis” of the investigation, include trafficking police uniforms, supporting illegal cannabis dispensaries by accepting bribes in exchange for protecting against police investigation, and releasing confidential information to criminals, which police say helped facilitate targeted shootings.
Both Barnhardt and Da Costa remain in custody.
The charges against Da Costa, Elwyn Satanowsky, and four other civilians will also proceed by direct indictment. Da Costa is facing 16 charges, including bribing a peace officer, trafficking drugs and police uniforms, and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Satanowsky is accused of arranging several shootings connected with Project South and indirectly accessing a Toronto police computer system. He was denied bail in March.
None of the charges against any of the accused in this investigation have been tested in court.
On Tuesday, the Crown stayed the charge against Philip Lecos, one of the 20 civilians charged in Project South.
The 49-year-old from King City, Ont., operates a used car dealership and repair shop in Toronto and was charged with possession of a motor vehicle obtained by a crime in February.
CBC News previously reported on a connection between Lecos and Barnhardt. The police officer and his wife were leasing a 2018 Audi Q5 from Lecos Auto Sales, according to an Ontario lien record.
Lecos’s lawyer John Christie confirmed the charge was stayed against his client.
“This vehicle was a vehicle that was dropped off for service, it was not a vehicle that was for sale and Lecos Auto had no ownership interest in the vehicle,” said Christie in a phone call Wednesday.
“They were repairing it and had no reason to check if it was a true VIN number. It looks like the Crown has accepted that.”
