Corrupt ex-WPS officer’s colleague pleads guilty to breach of trust, theft charges

Two years after swearing an oath to protect and serve, a Winnipeg police officer found himself in a Winnipeg courtroom, struggling to admit he stole cash and other items planted during an “integrity test.”

Matthew Kadyniuk, 34, appeared before Court of King’s Bench Justice Kenneth Champagne Friday morning on charges of breach of trust and theft under $5,000. He is one of four officers charged in November 2024 as part of an internal Winnipeg Police Service investigation, dubbed Project Fibre.

Asked how he wished to plead, Kadyniuk quietly responded “guilty” on both counts.

“I can tell this is a serious moment in your life. When the clerk read out the charges to you, you had a hard time saying, ‘guilty,’” Champagne told Kadyniuk after accepting his plea.

“I’m confident you understand that the ultimate sentence is going to be the one that I impose. I’m going to listen very, very carefully to what the lawyers have to say. You appreciate this is a very serious matter.”

The junior officer, who told court he has been suspended without pay from the Winnipeg Police Service, remains free as he awaits sentencing at a later date.

Court heard Crown prosecutors could ask for a sentence of up to two years less a day, to be served in the community. Defence lawyer Josh Weinstein is recommending a suspended sentence.

Kadyniuk’s admission of guilt comes days after his co-accused, former constable Elston Bostock, pleaded guilty to his own slew of offences spanning years.

Bostock, a 22-year veteran of the force, became the target of an “extensive” internal probe after WPS received multiple reports that he had been associating with people involved in illicit activity and giving them police information, Crown attorney Adam Gingera said, reading from an agreed statement of facts.

That investigation led the WPS professional standards unit to set up a sting operation on Oct. 17, 2024. Investigators wired a police cruiser with audio recorders and cameras before calling Kadyniuk and Bostock to a staged vehicle break-in outside a Super 8 Motel on Niakwa Road.

There, they unknowingly met with an undercover RCMP officer who pretended he had just confronted a man attempting to break into a vehicle and ripped the suspect’s backpack off of him as he fled.

Investigators watched remotely as Kadyniuk took the bag from the undercover officer and placed it inside the trunk of the cruiser. Once back inside the car, Kadyniuk told his partner he wanted to go through the contents of the bag.

Kadyniuk drove a few blocks away and parked the vehicle so the men could access the trunk.

Bostock stole cash from the bag, splitting some with his partner. Kadyniuk took cigarettes. Afterward, the pair met up with two other officers to eat breakfast at a restaurant. They paid the bill using some of the money from the backpack, the statement of facts said.

Kadyniuk then drove to his home, where he took a knife and bear spray from the trunk and brought them inside. He returned to the vehicle and drove away with Bostock.

Throughout the morning, the officers became increasingly suspicious that the incident had, in fact, been a staged test and “continuously discussed whether the call had been legitimate.”

Kadyniuk returned to his home to retrieve the bear spray and knife. Those were placed back in the bag along with the cigarettes.

He also handed Bostock some money, and they talked about how they’d only spent $20 — unbeknownst to them, investigators had already recovered that cash from the restaurant as part of the investigation.

When their shift ended, they brought the bag to the WPS East District station and placed it into Bostock’s locker.

Investigators later seized the bag from the locker, and found several items missing, including cash, a high-visibility vest, a toothbrush, lighters and a sealed package of marijuana that had been covertly marked.

Police arrested Bostock and Kadyniuk on Nov. 6. Investigators recovered the marijuana from a drawer in Bostock’s home, court heard.

Bostock pleaded guilty to five counts of breach of trust and one count each of attempting to obstruct justice, obstructing a police officer, theft under $5,000 and disseminating confidential information in November. He is expected to be sentenced next week.

Police charged two other officers as a result of Project Fibre. Their matters remain before the courts.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.

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