Drug dealer testifies that he paid Hamilton cop Craig Ruthowsky for information & protection

Hamilton police officer Craig Ruthowsky offered to lie under oath in a court of law to protect his drug dealer friend, a court heard today. The dealer’s identity is protected by a publication ban as he testifies from the witness box at the police corruption trial.

The drug dealer says he was not an informant for Hamilton police officer Craig Ruthowsky. He says he paid the officer $20 000 a month for protection, so he could sell drugs without worrying about arrest. Text messages revealed in court explain what sort of protection he was getting.

June 7, 2012, Ruthowsky wrote: “The courts called me today… they were investigating ur boy for his cell phone use in the court building…. one of his court appointed conditions is to give me his number… they wanted me to give a statement saying he had not done that so they cud arrest him. So I gave a statement saying that I did have it… can’t lie right.”

The dealer answered: “Hey buddy, thanks for that.”

“I will never call him but send me his cell number so if i get challenged at work I can produce it and not get charged for lying,” Ruthowsky explained

The dealer said he stopped paying Ruthowsky when he found out the officer had been suspended from the force in 2012 but he said Ruthowsky kept helping him, because the officer told him he did not have much love for the police department.

Ruthowsky’s lawyer began his cross examination of the dealer today and seemed to be very skeptical that the dealer was actually paying $20 000 a month to Ruthowsky, that amount was supposed to protect four people, but the officer only knew the identities of two of them. It didn’t matter, the dealer said, his suppliers thought it was money well spent.

The cross examination continues tomorrow.