On a day in late January, Toronto detective Antonio D’Onofrio took his place in a Newmarket courtroom.
asserted
D’Onofrio → take → courtroom
He was one of hundreds who’d worked on the months-long investigation now known as Project South, a case that began as a probe into an armed home invasion targeting a manager at a Toronto jail but had since ballooned into one of the largest investigations of criminal corruption in the Toronto Police Service’s history.
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that → work → history
D’Onofrio, an officer with Toronto police’s professional standards unit, was seeking a justice of the peace’s sign-off to execute a series of raids that would see several of his fellow officers arrested.
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several → seek → officers
In support of his request, D’Onofrio presented what’s known as an information-to-obtain, or “ITO,” containing hundreds pages of allegations that read as if they were ripped from an HBO crime drama: bribery, secret rendezvous between officers and drug dealers, hired guns using leaked confidential police information and more.
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they → present → information
The ITO is based on what investigators believed at the time the document was filed.
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document → base → time
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
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None → test → court
On Wednesday, a judge released large portions of the ITO after the Star and other media outlets fought in court for its release.
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Star → release → release
The documents are littered with evidence of months of police surveillance, led by York Regional Police investigators, as part of the expansive probe.
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documents → litter → probe
From unravelling a spool of suspicious, off-duty police database queries to installing covert microphones and tracking devices in personal vehicles and police property, to deploying undercover operatives in a jail cell, this is the story of how Project South unfolded.
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South → unravel → cell
A suspicious computer search
It was investigators with York police’s holdup squad who were first tasked with probing the June 18 attack on the jail manager’s home.
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who → task → home
The manager, whose identity remains protected under a publication ban, told investigators he believed he was targeted because of his enforcement efforts in the jail.
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he → protect → jail
First, investigators needed to determine how the assailants had obtained his address.
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assailants → need → address
They turned to the Ministry of Transportation database to see if there were any suspicious searches relating to the manager.
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They → turn → manager
There, investigators allegedly found Const. Timothy Barnhardt, a veteran officer working out of 12 Division, had searched the licence plate of the jail official a little over three weeks prior.
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Barnhardt → find → official
He was the only police officer, according to the report, to have searched the plate without a “legitimate investigative reason.
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He → accord → reason
Newly released Project South records detail what investigators allege was an “organized, multi-level drug trafficking operation.”
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investigators → release → ?
Newly released Project South records detail what investigators allege was an “organized, multi-level drug trafficking operation.”
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investigators → release → ?
Barnhardt’s lawyer, Jason Dos Santos, declined to respond to detailed questions sent by the Star.
“We will defend these allegations in a courtroom where facts — not headlines — decide the outcome,” Dos Santos wrote in an emailed statement.
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Santos → decline → statement
New leads come as Toronto police shared info
Once York investigators set their sights on Barnhardt, they tapped Toronto police’s Professional Standards Unit (PRS), which probes internal misconduct within the force.
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which → come → force
PRS confirmed Barnhardt was off-duty the night he allegedly searched the jail manager’s plate.
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he → confirm → plate
As investigators dug deeper, they allegedly found the officer had done 17 database searches over a six month span while off-duty, several of which were followed by acts of violence.
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several → dig → violence
On Sept. 7, Barnhardt ran a check involving a residence in Vaughan, according to the ITO.
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Barnhardt → run → ITO
Three days later, officers in York watched as a lone gunman arrived at that same address and fired 13 rounds through the front door.
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gunman → watch → door
In another off-duty check, Barnhardt allegedly searched the driver’s license of a witness in an ongoing homicide case who investigators later determined had provided a statement regarding a possible motive.
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investigators → search → motive
Listening in on private phone calls
Surveillance efforts by York revealed ties between Barnhardt and a network of allegedly criminal associates, according to the documents.
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efforts → listen → documents
Among those associates was Brian Da Costa, who police describe as a “known drug trafficker” with ties to organized crime.
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police → describe → crime
Lawyers for Da Costa declined to answer questions from the Star.
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Lawyers → decline → Star
A thwarted assassination attempt of a jail official helped break open one of the biggest police corruption scandals in the city’s history.
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attempt → thwart → history
A thwarted assassination attempt of a jail official helped break open one of the biggest police corruption scandals in the city’s history.
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attempt → thwart → history
In late July, investigators watched as Barnhardt and Da Costa met up at a North York car dealership, where Da Costa allegedly handed a piece of paper and what was believed to be a driver’s license to Barnhardt.
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what → watch → Barnhardt
Police allege many of Barnhardt’s dubious database searches were done at the request of Da Costa, “who paid Barnhardt for the service.
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who → allege → service
Weeks later, investigators presented the evidence they’d gathered so far to a judge in Newmarket and were granted authorization to intercept the private communications of Barnhardt and Da Costa.
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they → present → Barnhardt
The wiretaps proved successful; over the month of September in 2025, investigators listened in and observed as they alleged Barnhardt conducted more illegal queries, conspired to launch a protection racket for illicit dispensaries and massage parlours, and trafficked drugs to civilians and his fellow officers.
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Barnhardt → prove → civilians
Midway through October, investigators were granted approval to expand their number of targets.
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investigators → grant → targets
That included Gurpreet Singh, an inmate at the Toronto South Detention Centre who police believed was behind the attack on the jail manager.
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police → include → manager
Singh, 32, is awaiting extradition to the U.S. on charges that he was an alleged drug trafficker on behalf of Canadian Olympian-turned-alleged-drug lord Ryan Wedding.
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he → await → Olympian
Singh’s lawyer in the U.S. case, Brian Greenspan, emphasized in a statement to the Star in June that his client had not been charged as part of Project South and does not face any charges in Canada.
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client → emphasize → Canada
“Your proposed standard cautionary note that the allegations in the omnibus information to obtain have not ‘been tested in court; is grossly insufficient and misleading as Mr. Singh has not been charged with any offence months after the execution of the warrants.
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Singh → propose → warrants
In addition to tapped phones and recording devices planted in vehicles, investigators kept tabs on several targets, including Barnhardt, Da Costa, and Toronto police Sgt. Rob Black, by affixing tracking devices to their vehicles.
Tracking devices were also installed in a police cap that investigators were concerned Barnhardt intended to sell to Da Costa.
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Barnhardt → tap → Costa
Communications between Barnhardt and Da Costa intercepted by investigators allegedly showed Barnhardt “supplied Toronto Police Service uniform items, including pants, jackets, hats, and a forage cap,” to Da Costa, “in exchange for cash,” the ITO said.
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ITO → intercept → cash
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
