FANTINO VOWS TO GET THE ANSWER

4 cops face criminal charges

WITH FOUR of his officers charged, Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino vowed to discover how an alleged shakedown scheme could have gone on without being discovered in the city's biggest police division.  "My goal is that we find out what happened," Fantino said yesterday, after the officers, including the head of the police union and the son of a former chief, turned themselves in.

Fantino said he would look at whether supervision at 52 Division was adequate and why other officers didn't speak up if they were aware of any irregular activity.

"Any wrongdoing ought to be reported, without exception," Fantino said.

"I think this is the worst day, the worst kind of situation that any police chief faces," Fantino said.

26 CRIMINAL CHARGES

Consts.  William McCormack, Rick McIntosh, George Kouroudis and Jodie Watson face a total of 26 criminal charges after an RCMP-led probe into police corruption.

Fantino said the people of Toronto trust that the force is doing all it can to root out wrongdoers.

"I'm not here to make apologies to anyone," Fantino said.

"We didn't squirm.  We didn't turn our backs on any of these issues," he said.

"We admit we're part of the human race and we do it openly."

The bulk of the charges against McCormack, the eldest son of former chief William McCormack, and McIntosh deal with allegations they demanded cash from bar owners in exchange for tipoffs of police inspections.

McCormack is also accused of accepting cash to ignore Liquor Licence Act violations, and to reduce or remove charges against the bars.

McCormack and Watson, his common-law wife, are jointly charged with possession of an unlicensed gun.

The four officers turned themselves in at 32 Division.

McIntosh -- who stepped down as president of the Toronto Police Association after allegedly being spotted at a mob-run gambling house -- made a brief statement.

NOTHING ON CHIEF'S RADAR

"I can categorically state that the Toronto Police Association is not involved in any way in these allegations," McIntosh said.

While the RCMP investigation is ongoing, Fantino said he wasn't aware of allegations against any other officers.  "I don't have anything else on my radar screen," he said.

The charges are separate from two other ongoing cases involving Toronto officers.

In one case, six members of a Toronto drug squad were charged with criminal offences in January.

In another unrelated case, four Toronto Police officers from one division were charged last week under the Ontario Police Services Act.

One of those charged is Const.  Mike McCormack, another son of the former police chief and member of the union's board.