The articles described an undisclosed commercial connection between the company's top executive, John Aquino, and a senior hospital executive, Vas Georgiou, who the paper said had admitted in 2011 to creating false invoices used in a kickback scheme at York University. Zurich, however, contends this was far more sinister. .td-block-title-wrap .td-wrapper-pulldown-filter .td-pulldown-filter-display-option:hover, Mr. Aquino exchanged e-mails with Bondfields chief financial officer, Domenic Dipede, who also kept track of Mr. Aquinos personal investments. Workplace safety and health will continue to evolve, and the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) will continue to connect you with industry expertise, a network of like-minded peers and the latest innovations. Condrain Company (1983) Ltd. has been charged with six counts of criminal negligence causing death in relation to a crash Ontario Construction News staff writer color: #38a6c1; "item": { var tds_snap_menu="smart_snap_always"; .td-weather-week:before, Your email address will not be published. Charges against John Aquino also include break-and-enter, uttering threats .td_block_template_12 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, var tds_theme_color_site_wide="#38a6c1"; Bondfield's office in Vaughan. The company had just eked out a passing grade. function tdBlock() { The Globe quoted Steven Aquinos testimony in a letter to Mr. Marafioti, but he did not address it in his response. .td_block_wrap .td-subcat-item a.td-cur-simple-item { The records Zurich has pried out of Bondfields computer servers also call into question the efforts or lack thereof of Infrastructure Ontario, the provinces procurement arm, to unravel the relationship between the two men. And it issued him a stern warning: He was forbidden from using confidential information he had obtained during the procurement and from providing services to any company working on the hospital. .td_block_template_11 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, Using the word we loosely did not infer that I was on his team and I wanted him to win and not the others, he said. "; Michael Keen, who is now vice-president of facilities at St. Michaels, but at the time was one of the evaluators, was also questioned by Zurichs lawyers. .page .td_quote_box, var td_email_user_incorrect="Email or username incorrect! var htmlTag = document.getElementsByTagName("html")[0]; Infrastructure Ontario signs hang on the construction hoarding outside St. Michael's in 2018. In the e-mail exchanges shown at top, a Bondfield staffer tells Mr. Aquino he has found turf for the backyard at Mr. Georgious Toronto home, at bottom right in satellite view, with the house at street view at bottom left. .td-theme-wrap .sf-menu ul .current-category-ancestor > a, We will be ok. Asked by Zurichs lawyers what he was doing with Mr. Georgiou so late at night, Mr. Aquino replied, Maybe having a cigar.. The project was a public-private partnership, which meant Bondfield paid for all of the construction through a credit facility funded by a syndicate of banks, led by the Bank of Montreal. John Aquino talks on the phone in his SUV last April outside Bondfield's office in Vaughan. "@id": "https://www.ontarioconstructionnews.com/category/aroundprovince/", This letter will help both my and your lawsuit with the newspaper.. But sensitive and confidential bidding information continued to flow Mr. Aquinos way. A special committee of the board of Infrastructure Ontario went so far as to conclude that the St. reported that the Bondfield Group had a cash flow concern. Is it fair to say you were doing this as a favour to him because of his role and influence at Infrastructure Ontario? Mr. Lerner asked. font-weight:normal; Mr. Aquino said that, when it came to Potentia, Vas didnt get a penny from me. Mr. Aquino declined to answer any questions about why he didnt disclose the two of them having ownership stakes before bidding on the St. Michaels project. Only Infrastructure Ontario knew those figures, and even he hadnt been told at that point, he said. In April, 2012, about seven months before Mr. Georgiou started negotiations to join St. Michaels, Mr. Aquino e-mailed one of his subordinates: Call vas. .widgettitle, .td_block_template_9 .td-related-title:after { .td_outlined_btn { var td_ajax_url="https:\/\/www.ontarioconstructionnews.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?td_theme_name=Newspaper&v=12.2"; Mr. Ciccolini had fundraised for former federal Conservative cabinet minister Julian Fantino, and Masters brokered some of the surety bond contracts that Zurich is now saddled with as a result of Bondfields collapse. .tdm-btn-style1 { That is why clients turn to us to solve their most complex legal problems. htmlTag.className += ' td-md-is-chrome'; Both Mr. Georgiou and Mr. Aquino were involved with a startup bottled water company, GP8 Sportwater. For his part, Mr. Georgiou denied, in his examination, having any interest whatsoever in the buildings. 3. In a statement to The Globe this week, a spokesperson for Osler said the firm had no knowledge of the e-mail deletions. He resumed using his Bondfield e-mail address, bccldevelopment@bondfield.com, which had not come to light when he was fired, and was given a new BlackBerry by Mr. Aquino. A spreadsheet of all of Mr. Aquinos assets, found on Bondfields servers, included a notation next to the company that owned the buildings: Owe Vas $500,000., Under questioning by Zurichs lawyers, Mr. Aquino said he had gifted about $50,000 worth of shares in the company to Mr. Georgiou in 2012, before he was hired by St. Michaels. But the issues with him were much more extensive than $65,000 in false invoices. var td_magnific_popup_translation_ajax_tError="The content from %url% could not be loaded. this.block_type = 1; //block type id (1-234 etc) Zurich alleges the unsealed evidence shows: Mr. Georgiou funnelled confidential information to Bondfield throughout the bidding process. .td_module_wrap:hover .entry-title a, The unsealed records show that Mr. Aquino was getting support from another close contact: Mr. Georgiou. .td_outlined_btn:hover { After The Globe published a story on Sept. 24, 2015, outlining how Mr. Georgiou had been working on Mr. Aquinos commercial buildings at the same time he was evaluating bidders for the project, Mr. OBrien sprang into action. The evaluators gave the company a design score of 70.74 per cent only a hair above the 70-per-cent threshold for disqualification. Evidence filed in court by Zurich includes Mr. Aquinos handwritten notes, which show he sought advice from Mr. MacNaughton. Several sources with knowledge of Mr. Georgious interventions at the RFQ and RFP stages interventions that benefited Bondfield who spoke with The Globe said they were simply never approached by the investigators. Ukraine Interior Minister Killed In Helicopter Crash, Greta v. Polizei, Worlds Oldest Person Dies, Didi reopens to new users after $1.2-B fine, Jordan, Latvia and Israel shake up diplomatic corps after Shadow Diplomats investigation ICIJ. When The Globe asked St. Michaels why it hired someone to oversee a $300-million procurement who had been embroiled in a fraud on a public university, the hospital had a simple answer: No one, including officials from Infrastructure Ontario, told it anything about this. .single-product .product .summary .cart .button:hover, .td-page-title, John Aquino has stepped down and been replaced by his brother Steve Aquino, formerly vice-president of operations. .td-next-prev-wrap a:hover, Thanks again for cigar it was good to see you and you have charged my batteries.. JOHN AQUINO, MARCO CARUSO, GIUSEPPE ANASTASIO a.k.a. Even after Mr. Georgiou was fired by St. Michaels in 2015, he continued to use his influence to help Bondfield. The only problem that September day was that Bondfields go-to IT official, Benny Weinstock, was off for Rosh Hashanah and was prohibited, religiously, from working until the two-day celebration ended at sundown. The Surety Association of Canada has called it the largest construction collapse in the countrys history. A police investigation, which is being led by a provincial law enforcement initiative known as the Serious Fraud Office, is targeting Sam Marafioti, a Sunnybrook executive who oversaw construction and planning until his recent resignation from the hospital. #bbpress-forums .bbp-forums-list li a:hover, .td_block_template_3 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, After publishing its first piece, The Globe learned that, at the same time Mr. Georgiou had been evaluating bids for the St. Michaels project, he had also been working on the side for companies owned by Mr. Aquino. Ontario Construction News is the province's first digital daily construction trade newspaper that complies with Ontario Construction Act regulations for publishing notices and certificates. Lets see what other lawyers think of the strength of your case, he wrote. The Globe published a story on Sept. 15, 2015 about Mr. Georgious role in the fraud. Bondfield also launched a public relations campaign with clients, suppliers and subcontractors to assure them nothing improper had taken place with the St. Michaels procurement. font-size:25px; googletag.enableServices(); Infrastructure Ontario launched an investigation of his dealings with Vas Georgiou.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail. The answer was yes. But when a team of evaluators first scored the bidders, they put Bondfield in fourth place a ranking that, if allowed to stand, would eliminate the company from the race. That ruling has been appealed and a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal has yet to be released. I think that is wrong. Pension documents provided by St. Michaels to Zurich show that Mr. Georgiou received his salary from Nov. 12, 2015 to May 12, 2017 payments totalling $477,000. htmlTag.className += ' td-md-is-firefox'; The company wouldnt receive anything from taxpayers until it hit its first milestone the completion of the patient-care tower. Save the date for our 62nd annual Conference and Expo. John Aquino is also being investigated by the SFO for his role in alleged corruption at St. Michaels. He has not been charged with a criminal offence, and he did not respond to a request for comment. #bbpress-forums li.bbp-header .bbp-reply-content span a:hover, John Matheson, general counsel of StrategyCorp., said in an interview he cannot talk about the firms business with current or former clients. The new leak was announced Jan. 9, seven Ontario Construction News staff writer .tdm_block_pricing.tds_pricing2_block.tdm-pricing-featured .tdm-pricing-header, In the end, both agencies agreed to hire a third-party engineering consultant to review Bondfields bid. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. John Aquino was born on 20 April 1948 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. "@type": "BreadcrumbList", Receive a free update of the latest Ontario Construction News each morning -- Cancel anytime! Bondfield was burning through cash. These are often referred to as SLAPP suits (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation). googletag.defineSlot('/1003600/728x90ocnews', [728, 90], 'div-gpt-ad-1663612288383-0').addService(googletag.pubads()); As for how that information filtered down to Mr. Aquino, Mr. Georgiou told Zurichs lawyers he had no explanation. The Canadian Home Builders Association (CHBA) released its2022 Municipal Benchmarking Study last week, examining how local development processes, approvals, and Ontario Construction News staff writer "@id": "https://www.ontarioconstructionnews.com/york-regional-police-charge-former-bondfield-ceo-john-aquino-with-assault-uttering-threats-globe-and-mail/", .td-search-form-widget .wpb_button:hover, .td-search-close span:hover i { Her extensive experience as a . #td-mobile-nav .td-register-section a:hover, var tdb_modal_confirm="Save"; -moz-box-shadow: 0 4px 26px #38a6c1; .td_default_btn, //td_block class - each ajax block uses a object of this class for requests .td-subcat-filter .td-subcat-dropdown:hover .td-subcat-more, That same 2013 e-mail also raises questions about who was ultimately paying for the work on Mr. Georgious home. At all times, Osler acted professionally and ethically in advancing its clients interests in this litigation, Ms. Stein-Korte said. The open court principle is protected by the constitutionally-entrenched right of freedom of expression. Again, like I said, I dont even necessarily believe that it was true.. Law firms that specialize in white-collar investigations often turn to the courts to compel the production of documents. We need to finish a few things at his place. Other e-mails from 2013, 2014 and 2015 show Bondfield staff asked Mr. Aquino for instructions about how to record work done at Vas house or Vass house.. Steve Aquino now is the CEO of Corebuild Construction Ltd., based in North York. delete tdLocalCache.data[resource_id]; He didnt pay because he was a friend and a client, he said. }, } Photos: Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail, Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, i-cubed, USDA FSA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo, and the GIS User Community. .block-title > a, a, A bousta, or busta, is an Italian slang term often used to describe cash in an envelope. Asked what Mr. Georgiou was supposed to do for the remaining $450,000, Mr. Aquino said he could earn it by giving him assistance, advice, you know, like a like a finders fee.. Copyright Of The Record 2020 All rights reserved. But on Sept. 15, 2015, he was up against an ancient and immovable force: the Jewish high holidays. Those bonds are insurance-like contracts that were supposed to act as a safety net for the project, and required Zurich to foot the bill in the event Bondfield faltered. Your time is valuable. Resides in Burbank, CA. Both Infrastructure Ontario and Unity Health Toronto, the network of hospitals that includes St. Michaels, said in separate statements that they are co-operating with the police. googletag.enableServices(); Domenic Dipede, Bondfield controller at the time, corresponds with a Potentia shareholder about Mr. Aquino and Mr. Georgiou investing in the solar company. if ( navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Edge") > -1 ) { .post .td_quote_box, var td_email_incorrect="Email incorrect! body .td_top_authors .td-active .td-authors-name a, Bondfield's financing for St. Michael's project meant it wouldn't receive any taxpayer support from the public-private partnership until after the patient-care tower was finished. Known for movies Blow Out (1981) as Detective Mackey Diner (1982) as Tank .and justice for all. PCL had received a glowing design score of 86.22 per cent, but the high price tag it proposed $538-million ruled the company out entirely. font-weight:500; The City of Hamilton estimates 59 million litres of sanitary sewage flowed into the Hamilton Harbour over 26 years from Ontario Construction News staff writer } background: -o-linear-gradient(top, rgba(0,0,0,0.8) 0%, rgba(0,0,0,0.7) 100%); In another e-mail, Mr. Aquino notes he is with Mr. Georgiou late one evening as a Bondfield employee prepares the companys submission for the hospital project. Two of those buildings, on Gervais Drive in midtown Toronto, housed multiple commercial tenants. Contact us: insights@ontarioconstructionnews.com, 2023 26750547 Ontario Ltd., Ontario Construction News, 1554 Carling Ave. Suite 57, Ottawa, ON K1Z 7M4 (888) 627-8717 ext 114. Directory of Profiled Business People: John Aquino Apple, Gabriela - Arabic, Call > Aquino, Jeremiah - Aquino, Kaua > Aquino, Johannes - Aquino, John christopher > Aquino, John 1-25 of 296 Contacts But the two men went back even further. E-mails recovered by Zurich show Mr. Aquino took comfort that Mr. Georgiou was in place for the RFQ. body .td_top_authors .td_mod_wrap:hover .td-author-comments-count, In a 2017 e-mail, he urged Mr. Aquino to get something for Michael Mendonca, the hospitals vice-president of the redevelopment, and who was recruited to the hospital by Mr. Georgiou. Bondfield's information was based on rumors and the unfounded assumption that France and Spain would undertake combined operations in the West Indies in 1780. a.vc_btn-black.vc_btn_outlined:hover {
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