As the credibility of the undercover officer crumbled so did the case against Rob Ford (open Rob Ford's policard)’s friend Alexander “Sandro” Lisi and his co-accused Jamshid Bahrami.

“He has powerful police brass counting on him. He knows that to fail to deliver Lisi, if not bigger game, would not play well considering the massive resources deployed in this matter. He wants a career on the force,” Ontario Court Justice Ramez Khawly told the court in a verdict rife with literary flourishes. “Did he try to place the best possible spin where the evidence would not take him . . . Or is it more troubling? Did he purposely set out to deceive the court?”

After listing seven instances in which the officer’s testimony fell short of credible, Khawly firmly rejected the evidence of Det. Ross Fernandes, who no longer works undercover.

It had a “persistent pattern of deception,” he said. “The long and short of it is that on all material points, I simply cannot rely on his evidence. I will leave it at that.”

Shortly afterwards, Khawly acquitted Lisi and Bahrami of all charges, including marijuana trafficking, possession of the proceeds of crime and minor drug possession.

“I think (the judge) found as a fact there was misrepresentation of the evidence, or spin to the point that he simply could not rely on the evidence,” said Bahrami’s lawyer Jacob Stilman. “It was more a question of extreme spin and agenda-laden evidence rather than deliberate falsification.”

Khawly said that the officer’s evidence about first engaging Bahrami, the owner of an Etobicoke dry-cleaning shop, in a drug-related conversation was “too pat, too predictable, too convenient.”

The officer had left rolling papers in a shirt he dropped off to be cleaned and that sparked a chat with Bahrami about marijuana. Then, he testified, Bahrami asked “if he could help” the officer, who responded he’d like a “QP” or quarter-pound of marijuana.

Bahrami said he could get it for the officer the following day and gave him his contact information, the office testified.

“Now let’s pause and reflect on this. Does that make any sense? I guess it does if I am gullible or enjoy far-fetched screenplays,” said Khawly.

Khawly also expressed bewilderment at Fernandes steadfastly refusing to admit Lisi, not Bahrami, was the real target of the investigation.

This despite his own knowledge of Lisi’s connection to the mayor at the time through the media and Bahrami himself sharing that Lisi was “Rob Ford’s guy” and relating the story of the apparent video of the mayor smoking crack cocaine.

In slamming the testimony of a police officer who was also the key witness in the case, Khawly joins four other judges whose rulings in the past few weeks described an officer’s testimony as not credible.

In any cases where police officers are found to have lied, a protocol was established in 2012 where provincial Crown prosecutors are expected to report the decision to their superiors who decide whether the case should be referred to the police. However, the Ministry of the Attorney General does not provide details on which cases are referred.

The Public Prosecution Service, which handles drug cases, did not respond to a request for comment. They have previously told the Star that they could not confirm whether they employ a referral policy similar to provincial Crowns.

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“Judges are more likely these days to acknowledge when a police officer is being dishonest in court then they have been in the past,” says defence lawyer Daniel Brown. “There appears to be a judicial trend to, rather than brush dishonesty in police officers under the rug, to call them out on that behaviour because it is the only way to ensure there is some kind of change.”

For this case, Toronto police spokesperson Mark Pugash said they would wait to see if the decision is appealed before deciding how to proceed.

Bahrami’s lawyer Stilman says this was a clear case of entrapment for Bahrami who the judge described as sounding like a “trapped animal who simply has no exit” in his recorded conversations with the officer.

“To suggest that Bahrami was a supplier who saw Sean (the alias of the undercover officer) as a client does not stand up. He was basically brow beaten and told what to do,” Khawly said.

Bahrami, who was overjoyed by the verdict told reporters that the day “is a little bit brighter today.”

Standing outside Old City Hall, he said: “I just want to move on with my life. I hope my customers will come back to me.”