Andrew Duffy

Police didn't tell crown of Junger deal, probe told

Joseph Defilippis of the federal department of justice said he was surprised to find out about the Jan. 19, 1990, agreement that guaranteed a drug possession charge would be withdrawn in return for Junger's resignation.

Only crown attorneys can decide whether a criminal charge should proceed to trial, he said.

Defilippis made a recommendation to withdraw the drug charge against Junger after a Feb. 5 meeting last year with Detective Sergeant Neil Shannon, of Metro's internal affairs unit.

The meeting came more than two weeks after Shannon had signed the resignation agreement with Junger.

Defilippis, who was aware Junger intended to resign, said he sought and received assurances from Shannon that Junger had not been promised any deals on his drug charge.

The two-page resignation agreement "would seem to conflict with what I was told at that meeting with Detective Shannon," Defilippis testified.

Brian Greenspan, lawyer for Chief William McCormack, said the agreement is a "statement of facts." It does not tie Junger's resignation to the withdrawal of the drug charge, he said.

The police laid a hashish possession charge against Junger on Dec. 5, 1989, following a raid on a residence he shared with Roma Langford, at the time a highly paid 26-year-old call girl.

Langford told police about Junger's involvement with drugs and a sex-for-money escort service. She also alleged that two other male police officers worked for the escort agency after hours, providing straight and gay sex for clients. Metro police have denied other officers were involved.

According to testimony heard yesterday, Junger, when informed that Langford had turned him in, said: "Isn't that something? Here I've gone and protected her and she set me up."

Junger resigned for the force last year on March 1, one day after the drug possession charge was formally withdrawn.

The police commission inquiry is looking into the Junger affair and the operation of Metro's internal affairs unit, which investigates serious allegations of police wrongdoing.

Defilippis said yesterday the drug charge against Junger was withdrawn because of conflicting statements made by Langford, whose testimony was considered essential.

Langford had originally told police that the hashish belonged to Junger. She later recanted her evidence in conversations with Shannon and Junger's lawyer, Ken Byers, saying the drugs belonged to someone else.

But lawyer Marlys Edwardh said Langford was again living with Junger -- and was pregnant with his child -- at the time she recanted her evidence. She suggested her client may have been pressured into changing her story.

Defilippis, however, said he had no evidence to indicate Langford was pressured.

In other testimony yesterday, Staff Sergeant James Shail said that based on the evidence presented to him by internal affairs he could not recommend prostitution-related charges be laid against Junger.

But Shail -- a senior morality squad officer -- admitted internal affairs didn't give him any information about Junger's financial involvement with the escort service.

Proving a financial link between Junger and Langford would have been vital to building a criminal case, he said.

It was Shail's impression that "with internal affairs, they tell you what they want you to know, and what they don't tell you is not your business."

The Metro police officer who was preparing Police Act charges against Junger said he too, was kept in the dark.

Staff Inspector Al Griffiths, head of the force's trials preparation unit, said he was never told about the resignation agreement.

Had he not resigned, Junger would have faced serious Police Act charges -- including discreditable conduct, Griffiths said.