Charges withdrawn against towing operator set to testify against Ontario police

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An Ontario judge has withdrawn criminal charges against a prominent towing-company owner and reality TV star, who is, in turn, expected to testify against two police officers in their coming corruption trials.

Sutheshkumar Sithambarpillay (also known as Steve Pillay) of Steve’s Towing – a business that was featured on the Discovery Canada reality show, Heavy Rescue: 401 – was charged alongside four Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers in 2021, as part of a large-scale investigation into corruption within the Greater Toronto Area towing industry.

On Thursday, Mr. Sithambarpillay’s charges – for aiding and abetting breach of trust and secret commissions – were withdrawn by Ontario Court Justice Carol Brewer, at the request of prosecutors.

After he was charged, Mr. Sithambarpillay provided “detailed sworn statements, providing further evidence regarding his involvement and that of some of other charged officers. He is expected to be a witness at the trials of the two remaining officers,” assistant Crown attorney Daniel Mapa said.

Had the matter proceeded to trial, he said “it would have taken significant time and resources in an already overburdened system. Given that fact, and his post-charge co-operation, the Crown has opted to withdraw these charges against the accused.”

Mr. Mapa stressed that “this leniency should not be interpreted as a sign that the crown believes the accused’s actions were without blame. However, in light of all the circumstances, the crown is of the view that withdrawing these charges is the appropriate disposition in the circumstances.”

Mr. Sithambarpillay’s lawyer, Kally Ho, said in court that her client “has maintained his innocence throughout this prosecution, and has made no admissions of responsibility, whether criminally or civilly.”

A Globe and Mail investigation into the GTA’s tow-truck turf wars in February, 2020, revealed that more than 50 trucks had been burned and at least four men with ties to the GTA industry had been killed, as drivers competed for territory in the lucrative and fraud-rife industry.

Subsequent police investigations led to charges against several tow-truck drivers, as well as officers with the Toronto Police Service, the Ottawa Police Service and the OPP, who were allegedly giving preferential treatment to some drivers – in some cases for personal profit.

Two of the OPP officers charged alongside Mr. Sithambarpillay – Inspector Steven Grosjean and Constable Bindo Showan – separately pleaded guilty to breach of trust last year. Charges against two others – Constables Mohammed (Ali) Hussain and Simon Bridle – remain before the courts. They are charged with secret commissions and breach of trust. Constable Bridle is additionally charged with obtaining sexual services for consideration.

Two additional OPP officers were also charged and arrested for breach of trust last November: Sergeant Terrence Reefer, 59, and Constable Roberto Visconti, both with the OPP’s Mississauga detachment. Constable Visconti, 36, is additionally charged with obstructing a peace officer.

According to the agreed statement of facts entered into court when Constable Showan pleaded guilty, he came onto the radar of investigators after a wiretap on Mr. Sithambarpillay’s phone captured communications with several OPP officers, including Constable Showan.

Investigators were looking into tows within the GTA connected to stunt-driving offences (speeding more than 50 kilometres an hour over the speed limit), which, according to the agreed facts, require seven-day vehicle impoundments and “can often yield upwards of $2,000 per vehicle to the tow company.”

The investigation – which also involved physical surveillance – showed that Constable Showan and Mr. Sithambarpillay were in regular phone contact to ensure that Mr. Sithambarpillay’s tow trucks were positioned to beat other companies to jobs.

Between Oct. 15, 2019, and July 27, 2020, the facts note, “Mr. Pillay’s tow companies profited approximately $289,000.75 solely off the stunt-driving vehicle seizures conducted by Constable Showan.”

The facts also note that Constable Showan’s enforcement history found that, after he joined the 407 Detachment in 2016, the majority of his stunt-driving tows were conducted by either Steve’s Towing or CCC Towing, a sister company also owned by Mr. Sithambarpillay – resulting “in at least $500,000 in towing business to Mr. Pillay.”

Mr. Grosjean (who retired shortly before his guilty plea, after 20 months of paid suspension) first met Mr. Sithambarpillay in 2006, when he was working as a sergeant in the Highway Safety Division out of the 407 Detachment. They would cross paths regularly over the years, according to the agreed facts entered in his guilty plea, and eventually became friends.

Between March and July, 2020, the facts state, then-inspector Grosjean called Mr. Sithambarpillay “on a number of occasions to advise him of the locations of motor vehicles in the Greater Toronto Area that appeared to require a tow, or to let him know when a specific police officer was doing enforcement work and also that officer’s location on the highway.”

While there was no evidence Mr. Sithambarpillay actually towed any vehicles as a result of Mr. Grosjean’s tips, the facts say it gave him a potentially lucrative advantage.