Article content continued

The American suspects sought to stand trial in Toronto are alleged to have employed the “black bloc” tactic that sees protesters cloak themselves in dark clothing to conceal their identity as they wreak havoc among peaceful demonstrators.

Det.-Sgt. Giroux says he has evidence tracking the accused as they discard their clothing “like they are shedding their skin” and melt back into the crowd.

“I believe there were a number of Americans who came here that weekend. I suspect not all of them came for the sole purpose of committing criminal offences, but these five did,” said Det.-Sgt. Giroux, who led a G20 investigative team.

In the aftermath of the vandalism, the unit watched hundreds of hours of videotape and looked at thousands of photographs, some submitted by the public, in an attempt to track down the culprits. They enlisted the help of the FBI and U.S. Marshals to find and keep tabs on the individuals as the files made their way through diplomatic and legal channels.

One of the accused, Joel Bitar, is alleged by police to be the masked man striking a financial district window with a pickaxe. Police released a photo of the incident back in 2010 in the hopes of identifying the “worst of the worst offenders.”

Mr. Bitar was arrested earlier this month by U.S. authorities in New York City on behalf of Toronto police. He faces 26 charges, from mischief over $5,000 to assaulting a police officer, and has since posted bail on a $500,000 bond. An electronic monitoring bracelet confines him to his home. Philip Weinstein, his New York lawyer, said his client will be fighting his extradition, but would not comment any further on the case. Det.-Sgt. Giroux alleges Mr. Bitar inflicted $400,000 worth of property damage.