Santy Comes Early

The Toronto Pleece Service  continue to give the RCMP a run for the money in terms of what pleece services are all about. The Mounties may have them 'tapped' in the strides department, but the true-blues are far better-paid.

 Both on and off the job. A recent story in the Toronto Star outlined the little salary enhancement the pleece service has in its off-time: earning up to three times their regular salary for showing up in uniform to guard movie shoots, weddings and construction sites. And all this time I thought they did traffic control for funeral processions out of respect and not for the $75 an hour they're paid.

Some good news for the brotherhood this week when long-pending charges against some members of the force accused of shake-downs were dropped by the crown prosecutor. Why, after 5 years, were the charges dropped? Well because some investigating officer 'muffed the case' and compromised his informant, don't ya know. As well as causing a lot of that 5 year delay, that 'senior investigator' saved a lot of somebodies' bacon.

This, another case in the many that add-up to the notion that you CAN pay some cops too much money. Last month there was the wrap-up of another marathon investigation - the Creba case - that saw most of the shooters accused of 'accidentally' killing a young girl during a Christmas shopping gunfight, released for lack of evidence after 5 years in the lock-up on pleece charges. Betcha the ex-pleece in the former case have their law suits settled first, eh?

Four months ago another group of 'angels with tarnished wings' were set free after another corruption investigation, but the Crown is appealing that one. So those fellows are still 'living in the hell of  degradation and lack of self worth' described by the fellows who 'took the fall' and resigned from the force they loved so well - albeit after they were accused of taking thousands in extra 'donations' to the pleece 'Santy fund' from restaurants, some run by real crooks. But that's a matter for their wrongful dismissal lawsuits.

For a bunch of guys who start blubbering regularly that 'nobody really likes' them, the gang behind the barricades, bunkers and guarded parking lots don't do a lot that is likable - beating bums, muffing cases and stealing on and off the job. It may be a tough job but it doesn't require a shitty outlook on life to do it. Enough of ,  'Oh, Maw! They've turned me into an asshole! Oh, poor me!'

So we'll  wish all such pleece officers, everywhere, the best that Santy brings - be it a new car, some needed furniture or just the cash to catch up on credit card debt. And hope that the real Daddy Christmas has a large 'Mr. Henke' to leave under their tree.  Bah, freaking humbug!