Three generations of men, each named John Madeley, assembled as the youngest took the final step to join the family legacy.
asserted
youngest → name → legacy
It was 2022, and Madeley Jr. was being sworn-in as an officer with the Toronto Police Service, like his father and his father before him.
asserted
Jr. → swear → him
“It’s the proudest day of my life,” John Sr. beamed to a news camera, his son to his left, his father sitting to his right in a wheelchair.
asserted
father → ’ → wheelchair
But the Madeley family name, in which policing has run so deep, has been marred following the arrests of two of its members for their alleged involvement in the sprawling police corruption case known as Project South.
asserted
policing → run → South
The middle John, a 55-year-old commonly referred to by colleagues as “Mad Dog,” was arrested in January for the alleged improper use of a police database.
asserted
John → refer → database
He was accused of working with an alleged loan shark on behalf of an organized crime group responsible for illegal gambling.
asserted
He → accuse → gambling
A few weeks later, Madeley Jr. was arrested and charged with unlawful computer searches and breach of trust.
asserted
Jr. → arrest → trust
In court documents, Project South investigators allege Mad Dog had “enlisted his son … to conduct improper database queries and subsequent disclosure of that confidential information.”
asserted
Dog → allege → information
Recently released court records shed new light on the alleged involvement of the father-and-son duo in an unfolding scandal that has rocked the reputation of the Toronto Police Service.
asserted
that → release → Service
The records, known as an information-to-obtain or “ITO,” were filed in court in January by investigators seeking warrants.
asserted
records → know → warrants
Large portions of the records were made public in September following a successful court application by the Toronto Star and a coalition of media outlets.
asserted
portions → make → outlets
The ITO reflects what investigators believed about their targets at the time it was filed.
asserted
it → reflect → time
None of the allegations in that document have been proven or tested in court.
asserted
None → prove → court
According to investigators, text messages show Madeley Jr. and his father discussing improper computer queries on four different occasions after Madeley Sr. had retired from the service in April 2025 under a cloud of controversy.
uncertain
. → accord → controversy
The ITO does not link any of these searches with those allegedly done by Const. Timothy Barnhardt, who is accused of taking bribes in exchange for leaking addresses and other information, which police say was used to facilitate violent crimes including the attempted assassination of a jail official.
uncertain
police → link → official
In one secretly recorded conversation, Barnhardt is allegedly overheard saying: “There’s no cops like Mad Dog and me, there’s none.
uncertain
Barnhardt → record → Dog
They’re f——ing gone.”
asserted
They → go → ?
The Star sought comment from lawyers for the Madeleys for this story.
asserted
Star → seek → story
Sandy Khehra, who represents Madeley Sr., has previously said he will not comment on the case as it is before the courts.
asserted
it → represent → courts
Calvin Barry, representing Madeley Jr., declined to comment.
asserted
Barry → represent → Jr.
Barry, who spent 16 years as a senior Crown prosecutor before becoming a defence lawyer, has crossed paths with all three John Madeleys throughout his career.
“It’s a good family,” said Barry, and a “little bit sad” how things have developed.
asserted
things → spend → career
Searches allegedly done for used car salesman
Evidence obtained from Madeley Sr.’s seized mobile phone revealed he “knowingly accessed and directed others” to access confidential police and Ministry of Transportation databases for “personal gain and on behalf of associates,” police allege in the search warrant document.
uncertain
police → do → document
This continued into retirement with Madeley Sr. using his police connections, including his own son, to obtain confidential information, police allege.
asserted
police → continue → information
Newly released Project South records detail what investigators allege was an “organized, multi-level drug trafficking operation.”
asserted
investigators → release → ?
Newly released Project South records detail what investigators allege was an “organized, multi-level drug trafficking operation.”
asserted
investigators → release → ?
“Often these queries have been done at the request of their civilian associate Phil Lecos,” the ITO states.
asserted
ITO → do → associate
Lecos operates Lecos Auto Sales in North York, where Project South surveillance teams watched main suspects gather in July 2025.
asserted
suspects → operate → July
Lecos was among those initially arrested in Project South and charged with possession of property obtained by crime after police said they found a stolen Ford F150 at the dealership with an adulterated vehicle identification number.
However, the charge was withdrawn, and auto sales regulatory issues Lecos was facing have also been resolved.
asserted
Lecos → arrest → number
A lawyer for Lecos previously told the Star that the truck in question had been brought to the dealership for repairs by its purported owner, and a work order signed by the customer was provided to investigators.
asserted
order → tell → investigators
John Christie, another of Lecos’s lawyers who was representing him on the now withdrawn criminal charge, said in a phone interview that the “Crown in their wisdom found there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction.”
asserted
Crown → represent → conviction
As for his client’s relationship with Madeley Sr., Christie said there was not a “criminal aspect to it.”
asserted
Christie → say → it
A history of misconduct
Madeley Sr.’s 29-year career with Toronto police was peppered with misconduct.
asserted
career → pepper → misconduct
In 2011, he was docked a combined 27 days of pay at the Toronto Police Service disciplinary tribunal over an off-duty 2008 drinking and driving incident and a 2009 child abuse investigation in which he interviewed a 9-year-old girl without proper training to do so, and failed to report the abuse allegation to children’s aid.
asserted
he → dock → aid
Upon sentencing, a police adjudicator noted Madeley Sr. was well regarded by supervisors.
asserted
. → note → supervisors
Madeley Sr. was the chief Toronto Police Association steward at 12 Division at the time, and also sat on the station’s health and safety committee.
asserted
. → sit → committee
An inspector told the tribunal Madeley Sr. was “outgoing and positive,” despite the misconduct cases, and that Madeley Sr. warned other officers to avoid such trouble.
asserted
. → tell → trouble
The inspector expressed hopes that Madeley Sr. would return to work soon as a “coach officer.”
asserted
. → express → officer
In 2015, a Star investigation identified Madeley Sr. as one of hundreds of Ontario police officers who have used their work positions for personal gain.
asserted
who → identify → gain
The story detailed a 2012 incident in which Madeley, late for a police association meeting, was docked a couple days’ pay for speeding through the city in his police cruiser.
asserted
Madeley → detail → cruiser
In one, he was alleged to have lost a work iPhone.
asserted
he → allege → iPhone
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
