Canadian police have revealed that investigators from a specialist bureau of the York Regional Police (YRP) have arrested and charged a former Toronto police officer and another man for their alleged roles in an illegal online gambling ring.
The YRP announced on Wednesday that its Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau had arrested ex-Toronto Police Services (TPS) officer John Madeley, 55, after a Tuesday raid on his home in Barrie.
According to the YRP, between January 2024 and October 2025 Madeley and Thomas Phippard, 47, allegedly worked with an organized crime ring to allow “access to gaming websites where victims placed bets on credit.”
cash “sometimes in exaggerated amounts” was demanded
The police press release stated that cash “sometimes in exaggerated amounts” was demanded if victims lost their bets. Madeley and Phippard “used threats and violence to intimidate victims in order to collect payment,” stated the YRP.
Phippard (aka Frank the Tank) was arrested a day before Madeley, who retired in 2005 after 28 years of service with the TPS at the police constable level.
Phippard was charged with three counts of extortion and one count “of utter threats.”
Madeley’s multiple charges include one count apiece of breach of trust, possession of a firearm at an unauthorized place, and possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000. He is also facing four counts of unauthorized use of a computer and two counts of possession of a banned device.
