And these pleas could change the dynamic of an upcoming trial where Toronto police Const. Ronald Joseph is accused of being a key part of the scheme that sparked allegedly bogus insurance claims of at least $144,000, according to a tally read out in Toronto Superior Court.
"It was a big project. They invested a lot of time, undercover police and wiretaps and search warrants," Barry said. In another case, Lima and Joseph claimed a stolen Mercedes had been in a hit-and-run. According to the facts in the plea, an engineering report found inconsistencies in the crash, including no paint transfer and differences in the height of the damage between the cars, concluding the whole thing was staged.
On Wednesday, Darrin Cameron pleaded guilty to one count in the scheme, where he provided a BMW to Lima for a fraudulent insurance claim. The court heard a surveillance camera caught Lima causing more damage with a hammer. The fraud charges are only some of several criminal allegations against Joseph. He is accused of cloning a police radio to get tow trucks to highway crashes faster, and getting kickbacks for tips that can be worth thousands of dollars each.