john aquino bondfield

Mr. Aquino sits in his SUV at the Bondfield office last October. var tdb_modal_confirm="Save"; .td-page-title, .td-pulldown-syle-2 .td-subcat-dropdown ul:after, Steven Aquino replied that, yes, his brother told him he had paid Mr. Marafioti in connection with Bondfield's work at Sunnybrook. .td-block-title-wrap .td-wrapper-pulldown-filter .td-pulldown-filter-link:hover, An Ontario Superior Court judge found that those funds were illegitimately transferred to subcontractors for services that were never delivered. .tds-title2 .tdm-title-line:after, } var tds_more_articles_on_post_time_to_wait=""; 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. Domenic Dipede, Bondfield controller at the time, corresponds with a Potentia shareholder about Mr. Aquino and Mr. Georgiou investing in the solar company. "; This included landscaping his yard, demolishing his driveway, carpentry inside his residence and working on his gazebo. } #td-mobile-nav .td-menu-login-section a:hover, John Aquino, Bondfields former president, is a target of the SFO probe as well. Zurich alleges the unsealed evidence shows: Mr. Georgiou funnelled confidential information to Bondfield throughout the bidding process. var td_email_user_incorrect="Email or username incorrect! The panel of judges found that the construction companys suit did not have the classic characteristics improper motives, claims of phantom harm, and bullying tactics of a SLAPP suit. As the deadline for the final bids crept closer, Mr. Aquino and Mr. Georgiou continued to exchange messages on the secret BlackBerry and Mr. Georgious bondfield.com e-mail account. After Mr. Georgiou joined the hospital, the first hurdle Bondfield had to clear was the Request for Qualifications, or RFQ. .td_block_template_6 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, The monitor and . Charges against John Aquino also include break-and-enter, uttering threats That is why clients turn to us to solve their most complex legal problems. } In an e-mailed statement to The Globe and Mail he said he could not provide a detailed comment while the matter was under investigation. That phase is designed to narrow the potential bidders down to a shortlist of the three top candidates. The new leak was announced Jan. 9, seven Ontario Construction News staff writer Law firms that specialize in white-collar investigations often turn to the courts to compel the production of documents. "item": { { background-color: rgba(56, 166, 193, 0.7); } VICE-PRESIDENT & SECRETARY Learn More David Petrie VP OPERATIONS Learn More Kevin Hicks, CPA, CMA CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Learn More Ajith Lokuge, B.Sc. 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. This article was published more than 1 year ago. .single-product .product .summary .cart .button:hover, John Aquino, formerly of Bonfield Construction, formerly in Concord, has been charged criminally by York Regional Police. "; .tdm_block_pricing .tdm-pricing-feature i, } Mr. Georgiou had a heated argument with Mr. Toigo, which one witness described as a raised voice discussion.. The Globe submitted more than 1,700 records. 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. Why on earth would Mr. Mendonca, you and Mr. Aquino, for any legitimate purpose, need to be discussing St. Mikes at all?. The company had just eked out a passing grade. var td_pass_empty="Pass empty! John Aquino, an unregistered lobbyist, breached 140-10 and 140-41A by sending a letter on behalf of Bondfield Construction Company Limited ("Bondfield") about the Tender to a City staff lawyer on September 30, 2013, when these communications were not permitted by the City's procurement policies and the procurement document. background-color: #38a6c1; If the insurance giant is successful, it raises questions about who will ultimately pay for the redevelopment, which is 3 years behind schedule and has left the hospital with an unfinished project in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. htmlTag.className += ' ie11'; 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. Mr. Aquino sits in his SUV at the Bondfield office last October. St. Michaels Hospital, founded in 1892 with a mission of treating Torontos poor and vulnerable, long ago outgrew the space it occupies. Save the date for our 62nd annual Conference and Expo. In the email to OCN, Pattendden wrote that Aquino has been charged with two counts of Assault with a Weapon, a single Break and Enter count, and four counts of Uttering Threats. 235. background: -ms-linear-gradient(top, rgba(0,0,0,0.8) 0%, rgba(0,0,0,0.7) 100%); John Aquino, the former chief executive officer of Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd., was a domineering boss who was used to getting his way. CFO at Bondfield Construction Company Limited Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. } John Aquino is also being investigated by the SFO for his role in alleged corruption at St. Michaels. .vc_tta-container .vc_tta-color-grey.vc_tta-tabs-position-top.vc_tta-style-classic .vc_tta-tabs-container .vc_tta-tab:hover > a, .widget_calendar tfoot a:hover, The answer was yes. .wpb_default, .archive .widget_archive .current a, font-family:"Work Sans"; body .td-trending-now-title, "@id": "https://www.ontarioconstructionnews.com/", .widgettitle, Includes Address (6) Phone (7) Email (2) See Results. Justice Dietrich ruled that $22-million must be paid back to the monitor for Bondfield. } .td_outlined_btn, }); a.vc_btn-black.vc_btn_square_outlined:hover, So much of what Runnymede Healthcare Centre does would simply not be possible without the helping hands and open hearts of the hospital's generous donors. On May 18, 2014 three days before the deadline Mr. Georgiou advised Mr. Aquino to keep certain costs out of Bondfields proposed price, explaining that he could always fight later when we are No. He said all four members of Mr. Georgious committee directed his team to rescore the bidders. Mr. Marafioti led the hospitals capital redevelopment program, but in its statement to The Globe, Sunnybrook said Mr. Marafioti was not part of the team that evaluated bidders. } .td_block_template_15 .td-block-title:before, tdLocalCache.remove(resource_id); 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.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. EllisDon celebrates a major milestone with the grand opening of the Ken and Marilyn Thomson Patient Care Centre at Michael Ontario Construction News staff writer For his part, Mr. Georgiou denied, in his examination, having any interest whatsoever in the buildings. .sf-menu > .current-category-ancestor > a:after, //td_block class - each ajax block uses a object of this class for requests .td-next-prev-wrap a:hover, Ms. Divell, the Unity Health spokeswoman, declined to comment on the payments to Mr. Georgiou. Experience CFO Bondfield Construction Company Limited . "; if ( navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Edge") > -1 ) { Andy Pattenden confirmed in an email to Ontario Construction News (OCN) on Monday. this.post_count = 0; //from wp .td-mobile-content .current-menu-item > a, border-color: #38a6c1; var tds_more_articles_on_post_pages_distance_from_top=0; We know courts, and courts know and trust us. div.wpforms-container .wpforms-form div.wpforms-submit-container button[type=submit], .td_outlined_btn:hover { John Matheson, general counsel of StrategyCorp., said in an interview he cannot talk about the firms business with current or former clients. Zurich, however, contends this was far more sinister. If they take a large loss funding construction, that is the risk of doing this type of business. Under John Aquinos leadership, the contractor secured several high-profile government contracts, worth a total of more than $1-billion, to redevelop major Ontario landmarks and vital pieces of infrastructure, the newspaper reported. EllisDons Middle East and North Africa (MENA) teams SeaWorld Abu Dhabi project has been awarded the Building Transformation Innovation Spotlight Ontario Construction News staff writer var htmlTag = document.getElementsByTagName("html")[0]; He has not been charged with a criminal offence, and he did not respond to a request for comment. .td-theme-wrap .sf-menu ul .sfHover > a, var td_ajax_url="https:\/\/www.ontarioconstructionnews.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?td_theme_name=Newspaper&v=12.2"; Now, St. Michaels just needed someone to manage the project. He has brought few Letters, he mentions the entire Capture of the fourth regiment who upon the expedition of Col. Maitland pushing into the Country their retreat was cut off and obliged to lay down their Arms officers and Soldiers not one escaping.1 He gives also accounts of the Arrival of several . } The newspaper reported police allege that when Steven Aquino informed John Aquino he was being terminated from his position, John Aquino threw hot coffee on his brother. border-color: #38a6c1 !important; This article was published more than 1 year ago. .td-block-title-wrap .td-wrapper-pulldown-filter .td-pulldown-filter-display-option:hover, .td-category-title-holder .td-page-title { .td_block_template_9 .td-block-title:after, That ruling has been appealed and a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal has yet to be released. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Learn More Ralph Aquino CHAIRMAN Learn More Maria Bot, BSc. } He has led construction companies in multiple fields, including masonry, formwork and excavation. In the end, both agencies agreed to hire a third-party engineering consultant to review Bondfields bid. Canadian singing legend, Andy Kim and his nine-piece band headlined the gala, providing the . But on Sept. 15, 2015, he was up against an ancient. 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. When he was asked about a 2013 e-mail from Mr. Aquino, which showed Bondfield replaced eight dead trees on Mr. Georgious property, Mr. Georgiou replied, I paid for those trees. He explained that he paid Mr. Aquino in cash and sports tickets. 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. if ( /(iPad|iPhone|iPod)/g.test(navigator.userAgent) ) { data: {}, 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. CLEARWAY HAULAGE, MMC GENERAL . Required fields are marked *. "@type": "BreadcrumbList", .td-rating-bar-wrap div, #bbpress-forums button:hover, Bondfield, represented by the team at Osler, filed a notice of libel and later launched a $125-million defamation lawsuit against The Globe, its publisher and three Globe reporters. "@type": "WebSite", font-size:12px; .td-weather-information:before, .td_round_btn, For its part, Bondfield produced 56 records. .td_default_btn, Even after Mr. Georgiou was fired by St. Michaels in 2015, he continued to use his influence to help Bondfield. htmlTag.className += ' td-md-is-safari'; .logged-in-as a:hover, Funding will go By Susanna McLeod They own the globe and maybe we can get story crushed.. background-color: #38a6c1; JOHN AQUINO colin.alves@colliers.com 416.626.1700 x 515 416.667.8422 Colliers International Bondfield Construction Company Member Type: Industrial Specialist Member Type: Associate Member. Mr. Marafioti has not been charged with any criminal offences. .td_module_wrap:hover .entry-title a, On June 18, 2018, Zurich advised that it would be winding down the Bondfield Group. .widgettitle:after, On Oct. 15, 2018, Mr. Aquino was fired by his younger brother, Steven Aquino, who had supplanted him as CEO in the months leading up to his termination., Ontario contractors massive surety default largest in Canadian history says broker. On Sept. 25, the company disseminated a statement, calling The Globes reporting false allegations. The Ontario General Contractors Association, which Mr. Aquino had recently chaired at the time, reprinted Bondfields statement, and encouraged its members to refrain from commenting on the allegations in the media. Once installed at Bondfields headquarters north of Toronto, Zurich found evidence that Mr. Aquino and Mr. Georgiou had been improperly exchanging information throughout the St. Michaels bidding process. Your time is valuable. Mr. Aquino was an owner of the company, and shortly after Mr. Georgious arrival at St. Michaels, the hospital installed two GP8 water vending machines. this.td_filter_value = ''; //current live filter value border-color: #38a6c1; background: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(0,0,0,0.8) 0%, rgba(0,0,0,0.7) 100%); Bondfield has been a major player in Ontario construction industry for years, booking hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue a year. 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. We are yet without any Arrivals from any part of America, from Carolina as an embargo is in force for the exporting of Rice,1 it is not extraordinary, but from all the other Provinces some Vessels may be expected as there are . .tdm_block_pricing.tds_pricing2_block.tdm-pricing-featured .tdm-pricing-header, Vas Georgiou, top, and John Aquino, bottom. The problem was that neither company, both of which were owned by Mr. Georgious family, had actually performed any work. var tds_logo_on_sticky=""; *rv\:11\./) ) { this.is_ajax_running = false; var td_retype_pass_incorrect="Retyped Pass incorrect! Ontario Construction News staff writer On Nov. 12, 2015, St. Michaels fired Mr. Georgiou for cause. He also co-chaired, with John Aquino, an annual fundraising gala for Runnymede Health Centre, a small hospital in Torontos west end that was redeveloped by Bondfield in 2007. 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 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. Bondfield's office in Vaughan. The mass deletion of those estimated 5,000 e-mails, however, did not capture every mention of Mr. Georgiou. border-color: #38a6c1 transparent transparent transparent !important; In the meantime, our focus will remain on what has been our priority for more than 130 years and what matters even more right now caring for those who need us most during this unprecedented pandemic, she said. .td-footer-wrapper .td-post-category, The story, which detailed how Mr. Georgiou had been implicated in a fraud at a public university, was damning, and would soon spell the end of Mr. Georgious time at the hospital. #bbpress-forums #bbp-single-user-details #bbp-user-navigation li.current a, } St. Michael's Hospital in 2015, the year that Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd. won a contract to manage a major redevelopment there. He has not been charged with a criminal offence, and he did not respond to a request for comment. Osler declined to say how much it was paid by Bondfield. On March 19, The Globe successfully argued to Ontario Superior Court Justice Cory Gilmore that the records uncovered by Zurich should be released to the public. Our structure has evolved into a single-ownership business, but the Aquino family remains at its head. var td_get_template_directory_uri="https:\/\/www.ontarioconstructionnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/td-composer\/legacy\/common"; Vas Georgiou had been the chief administrative officer of Infrastructure Ontario, the agency responsible for all of the provinces major public-sector building projects, and before that, a senior executive at another Toronto hospital, St. Josephs Health Centre. JOHN AQUINO, MARCO CARUSO, GIUSEPPE ANASTASIO a.k.a. v. Ernst & Young Inc., in its capacity as Court-Appointed Monitor of Bondfield Construction Company Limited, et al ., 2022 ONCA 202 file opened 2022-06-03 (40166) Edmund Mark Hooper v. Suzanne Iwanow, (Qubec) file opened 2022-06-03 (40167) Hassan Bougrine v. "@type": "WebPage", So I think I gave him a panettone, and some wine, maybe a cognac bottle, thats about it. .td_wrapper_video_playlist .td_video_currently_playing:after { var tdb_modal_confirm_alt="Yes"; } CLF supplies labourers to GTA job sites for general cleanup work on a temporary or long-term basis. I do know, however, that my conduct in relation to Sunnybrook and its best interests was appropriate throughout, he said in the e-mail. })(); They asked him if John Aquino had ever told him about any payments he had made to anyone involved in projects Bondfield was bidding on or had secured. var td_ad_background_click_link=""; The Globe is not naming these sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the procurement. .dropcap3, delete tdLocalCache.data[resource_id]; TLDR: Zurich has ceased to fund construction. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. .comment-reply-link:hover, body .td_top_authors .td-active .td-author-comments-count, Aquino, a former Ontario General Contractors Association chair, has been charged with two counts of assault with a weapon; break and enter; and four counts of uttering threats. The evaluators gave the company a design score of 70.74 per cent only a hair above the 70-per-cent threshold for disqualification. } Mr. Aquino also wanted to know if his name showed up in any public records connected with a commercial building in Toronto. The court documents contain no other references to StrategyCorp in the days leading up to Bondfields lawsuit against The Globe. Infrastructure Ontario launched an investigation of his dealings with Vas Georgiou.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail. Seven days later, Mr. Marafioti resigned, ending a three-decade career at Sunnybrook, which is home to Canadas largest trauma centre. The alleged kickbacks were discovered by Zurich after it launched a lawsuit last year against Mr. Georgiou, Mr. Aquino and Unity Health Toronto the hospital network that includes St. Michaels arguing the two men orchestrated a bid-rigging scheme to ensure Bondfield won the contract. .tdm-btn-style2 { .td_block_template_11 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, Special to Ontario Construction News John Aquino, et al. function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} .header-search-wrap .td-drop-down-search:after, The report touted the number of hours it spent interviewing witnesses (144) and the number of documents it reviewed (3,785) and made several sweeping conclusions. Winning the St. Michaels contract would elevate the company into the big leagues with rivals EllisDon and PCL Construction. 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. .td-author-name a:hover, var td_ad_background_click_target=""; In a statement to The Globe this week, a spokesperson for Osler said the firm had no knowledge of the e-mail deletions. this.td_current_page = 1; // But Mr. Aquino knew Bondfields computer servers held evidence of something worse. .td-subcat-filter .td-subcat-dropdown a:hover, .tds-button1, 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 The unsealed documents were filed by Zurich Insurance Co. Ltd., which issued surety bonds on the project. In response to e-mailed questions from The Globe, Linda Robinson, the then-chair of Infrastructure Ontarios board and a former partner at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, said: I am not going to comment on matters that were reviewed at great length and in painstaking detail by the legal and accounting firms five years ago., Michael Lindsay, the new CEO of Infrastructure Ontario, said in an e-mailed statement that, because the agency selects winners by consensus as part of a committee, it is virtually impossible for individuals to influence the outcome., As for the investigators failure to uncover the secret e-mails between Mr. Aquino and Mr. Georgiou, or the evidence of the home renovations and other alleged benefits, Mr. Lindsay chalked that up to the limitations of private investigators. Court records showed that while he was a senior official at the procurement agency, he also controlled two construction companies that had issued invoices, totalling $65,000, to York for maintenance work. 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. By late 2012, the Ontario government had approved a major redevelopment, including a brand new 17-floor patient-care tower. Receive a free update of the latest Ontario Construction News each morning -- Cancel anytime! Mr. Marafioti was first hired at Sunnybrook in 1989. Fax: 905-458-6020. 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 The Globe and Mail discovered that information on their own, and I wont confirm it.. return tdLocalCache.data.hasOwnProperty(resource_id) && tdLocalCache.data[resource_id] !== null; Mr. Aquino wanted to know: Were any clues about his ties to Mr. Georgiou contained in public records? color: #38a6c1; The Globe filed a motion in court to have Bondfields lawsuit dismissed under the Protection of Public Participation Act an Ontario law passed to quash meritless lawsuits that are launched not to seek an actual remedy, but to intimidate and suppress speech that is in the public interest. Again, like I said, I dont even necessarily believe that it was true.. gtag('config', 'UA-126742684-1'); filter: progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.gradient( startColorstr='rgba(0,0,0,0.8)', endColorstr='rgba(0,0,0,0.7)', GradientType=0 ); Aquino, 48, was arrested and charged on Sept. 23, York Regional Police (YRP) Staff Sgt. But on Sept. 15, 2015, he was up against an ancient and immovable force: the Jewish high holidays. 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. No one person could materially influence or direct the outcome of the procurement process, he has argued in court filings. The two men also believed, the e-mails show, they still had a key asset safely in place within the hospital. .mce-content-body blockquote p, Neither disclosed these conflicts of interest in declarations they were required to fill out at the start of the St. Michaels procurement. htmlTag.className += ' td-md-is-ios'; border-color: transparent transparent #38a6c1 transparent; During his examination, he was asked by Zurich lawyer Brian Kolenda: Sir, you had been fired from the hospital some 18 months prior to this. Earlier, while John Aquino was in charge, Bondfield sued the Globe and Mail for libel after the newspaper initially reported on possible problems with the St. Michaels Hospital contract in 2015. .td-header-wrap .black-menu .sf-menu > .current-category-ancestor > a, Mr. Georgiou replied: I wanted to make sure that the project was a success, regardless of my departure from St. Mikes. He said there was nothing untoward about his continued involvement. .page .td_quote_box, Next post This is the most recent story. (Mr. Georgiou was also suing St. Michaels for wrongful dismissal. When Mr. Georgiou was examined under oath, his lawyers declined to allow him to answer any questions about the work Bondfield performed with one exception. Six days later, he e-mailed Mr. Aquino again: After further thought you may want to rag the puck for a bit and slow things down against the Globe. But instead of accepting the scores, the steering committee sent the evaluators back to re-evaluate. body .td_block_list_menu li.current-menu-item > a, var td_magnific_popup_translation_tCounter="%curr% of %total%"; background-color: #38a6c1; Aquino, who was the directing mind of Bondfield, arranged for a false invoicing scheme by which various suppliers rendered invoices to, and were paid by, Bondfield, but provided no actual services. Mr. MacNaughton could not be reached for comment. On Dec. 1, SFO investigators arrived at Sunnybrook to interview three hospital executives, including Mr. Marafioti, about its procurement policies. > .tds-button5:hover i, this.id = ''; if( -1 !== navigator.userAgent.indexOf('IEMobile') ){ #bbpress-forums .bbp-body .super-sticky li.bbp-topic-title .bbp-topic-permalink, On July 27, Mr. Georgiou reached out to Mr. Aquino: More importantly we need to connect on Mike and the BS going on down there and what we do to keep him., The next day, Mr. Aquino replied: I am worried about Smooth., Mr. Mendonca declined to answer a list of questions from The Globe about why he continued to engage with Mr. Georgiou after he was fired. .td-load-more-wrap a:hover, .td-mobile-content .current-category-ancestor > a, htmlTag.className += ' td-md-is-chrome'; get: function (resource_id) { The result was a $125-million libel lawsuit from the construction company. htmlTag.className += ' td-md-is-firefox'; .td-close-video-fixed { Whatever pressure Mr. Aquino was contemplating, nothing came of it. .td-block-title-wrap .td-wrapper-pulldown-filter .td-pulldown-filter-item .td-cur-simple-item, Your time is valuable. Throughout the RFQ stage of the procurement the phase that Bondfield barely survived, if not for the rescoring of the submissions Mr. Georgiou was co-ordinating with Bondfield, readying two buildings, owned in part by Mr. Aquino, for new commercial tenants. .tdm-btn-style2:before { "; The bulk of that work was awarded during the hospitals redevelopment in the mid-2000s, when Bondfield expanded the emergency department and worked on several research labs. The next Globe story, published on Sept. 24, 2015, detailed this conflict of interest, and Mr. Georgious failure to disclose his ties to Mr. Aquino before the procurement. Bondfield's office in Vaughan. A construction union deal with a labour supply company rather than directly with a builder . this.ajax_pagination_infinite_stop = ''; //show load more at page x "item": { Mr. Aquino told Mr. Georgiou: Your (sic) going to get a bousta if can make this deal.. The Bondfield statement prompted at least one supporter to reach out and offer whatever assistance he could. .page-nav:first-child > div, .block-title > label, } But a month before St. Michaels even announced Mr. Georgious appointment publicly in January, 2013, celebrations had begun in Bondfields head office. Over the years, Bondfield has been awarded a number of contracts at Sunnybrook, which the hospital estimates were worth a total of $129-million. .tds-button6 .tdm-btn-text, Join to connect Bondfield Construction Company Limited. 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. The company was in big trouble. } .tdm_block_column_content:hover .tdm-col-content-title-url .tdm-title, var td_magnific_popup_translation_image_tError="The image #%curr% could not be loaded. body .td_block_list_menu li.current-category-ancestor > a { As Vice President of Project Development, Alessandra is involved in the earliest stages of projects, from preliminary costing to planning of the construction efforts. Lawyers for Mr. Aquino and Mr. Georgiou said it would be inappropriate for them to comment while the matter is before the courts. While most publishers achieve their role through a sales/business development career, Mark developed his business skills after succeeding as a journalist, and he continues to enjoy actively writing, editing and contributing to the publication. .tdm_block_list .tdm-list-item i, Previously, John was an Executive Vice President & Workers' Compensatio n Practice Leader at Benfield Group Ltd (extinct and also held positions at Aon, Patriot National, WTW, Sedgwick. function tdBlock() { Since that time, he has served in multiple roles, including overseeing construction and working as the hospitals chief information officer. #bbpress-forums .bbp-pagination .current, .td-instagram-user a, Under questioning by Zurichs lawyer, Matthew Lerner, Mr. Aquino acknowledged Bondfield performed all of this work free of charge. .tdm-btn-style3:hover { a.vc_btn-black.vc_btn_outlined:hover { .sf-menu > .sfHover > a:after, He's an professional, known for Blow Out (1981), Diner (1982) and and justice for everyone. .td-post-small-box a:hover, On Dec. 18, 2012, Bondfields John Aquino, one of the companys owners, received an e-mail from a colleague, vas is in!. "name": "Home" "; .block-title > span, At all times, Osler acted professionally and ethically in advancing its clients interests in this litigation, Ms. Stein-Korte said. For its part, Zurich said, through its lawyer, that it disagreed with that assertion. But the two men went back even further. Zurich also alleges that other records show the two men were co-owners of another business Potentia Solar Inc. Potentia, which landed a $1.2-billion contract in 2011 to outfit Toronto public schools with solar panels, was owned by people close to both men. That morning, The Globe and Mail had published the first of a series of stories about Mr. Aquinos friend, Vas Georgiou, the second-in-command at Torontos St. Michaels Hospital. .td-right-smart-list:hover, Zurich is suing Mr. Aquino and Mr. Georgiou, as well as Unity Health Toronto, the hospital network that includes St. Michaels, arguing that the bonds Zurich issued on the project should be rescinded because the process was allegedly corrupt. A 2018 satellite image of Mr. Georgious yard, examined by The Globe and taken at a time of year when everyone elses lawn is drab and grey, shows a patch of bright green turf next to his pool and gazebo. The Globe quoted Steven Aquinos testimony in a letter to Mr. Marafioti, but he did not address it in his response. 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. } set: function (resource_id, cachedData) { var td_magnific_popup_translation_ajax_tError="The content from %url% could not be loaded. .td_block_template_9 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, .td_block_template_4 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, htmlTag.className += ' ie10'; Both Mr. Georgiou and Mr. Aquino were involved with a startup bottled water company, GP8 Sportwater. .archive .widget_archive .current, .td-search-close span:hover i { .td_block_template_16 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, I did not invest, he said. Alessandra Aquino, B. ENG, MBA, Vice President of Project Development. 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. Late at night on Sept. 9, 2015, and into the early morning hours the next day, Mr. Aquino fired off several e-mails to Mr. Dipede: Who owns shares of GP8. Click here to leave a comment! Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. 32 followers 30 connections. When Mr. Dipede replied that, indeed, Mr. Aquinos name was in the public filings associated with the building, Mr. Aquino responded: So this reporter could find out., At 2 a.m. on Sept. 10, Mr. Aquino sent instructions to Mr. Dipede and Mr. Aquinos younger brother, Steve: We need to hire the best libel lawyer to go against The Globe. John Aquino also mused about leaning on an associate, who he believed had a relationship with a member of the Thomson family the owners of Woodbridge Co. Ltd., which owns The Globe and Mail. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; .td-menu-background:before, .td_block_text_with_title blockquote p, As well, the Globe and Mail reports that on June 12, 2018, John Aquino threatened to kill an employee who was doing work on his home. As well, on Oct. 12, 2018, three days before he was fired, John Aquino threatened to kill an adult male regarding e-mails that he didnt like, the Globe and Mail wrote, referencing police sources. Not only was Mr. Georgiou friends with Mr. Aquino, the two men were working together on multiple business ventures a pair of commercial buildings in midtown Toronto, as well as a bottled water company, GP8 Sportwater. .dropcap2, } As the founder of Bondfield Construction, Ralph built a construction company from one employee to reach Canada's top 10 constructors. .td-load-more-wrap a:hover, The open court principle is protected by the constitutionally-entrenched right of freedom of expression. As for how that information filtered down to Mr. Aquino, Mr. Georgiou told Zurichs lawyers he had no explanation. In the middle of all of this, after a 10-month investigation, a special committee of Infrastructure Ontarios board issued the results of its investigation into Mr. Georgiou and Mr. Aquino. Derrick Toigo, then a senior vice-president with Infrastructure Ontario, refused to approve Bondfields bid. Architect Ontario Construction News staff writer Aquicon has grown exponentially since those early days, and now serves an array of sectors including recreation centres, multi-storey residential facilities, operation centres and post-secondary institutions. background: -o-linear-gradient(top, rgba(0,0,0,0.8) 0%, rgba(0,0,0,0.7) 100%); That was not the only e-mail in which Mr. Georgiou used the word we to describe Bondfield. "item": { .wpb_tabs .wpb_tabs_nav, .td_block_template_12 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, In 2014 in the middle of the St. Michaels procurement Bondfields then controller, Domenic Dipede, exchanged e-mails with another Potentia shareholder, Ted Manziaris, about Mr. Aquino and Mr. Georgiou investing. York Regional Police have laid seven criminal charges against former Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd. chief executive officer John Aquino. Mr. Aquino was a part owner of the company that owned the building and, during the same period of time Mr. Georgiou was evaluating bidders interested in redeveloping the hospital, Mr. Georgiou had been co-ordinating construction work at the building. But without Mr. Toigos support, the contract couldnt be awarded. E-mails recovered by Zurich show Mr. Aquino took comfort that Mr. Georgiou was in place for the RFQ. "name": "Around the province" The paper, which has been following developments with the major Vaughan, Ont.-based contractor closely, noted none of the allegations have been proven in court. .td-theme-wrap .sf-menu ul .current-category-ancestor > a, .td_wrapper_video_playlist .td_video_controls_playlist_wrapper, Bordeaux 3 Octr 1778. return tdLocalCache.data[resource_id]; Sign up today. Now, thousands of unsealed e-mails and transcripts show alleged kickbacks between former executives over the hospital expansion project. For the preceding two years, Mr. Aquino and Mr. Georgiou had been exchanging secret e-mails on a BlackBerry provided by Mr. Aquino e-mails about Bondfields successful pursuit of a $300-million contract to redevelop the hospital. Osler complied with the order, and determined it had no records mentioning Mr. Georgious secret e-mail address, the firms spokesperson, Judy Stein-Korte, said in the statement. (1979). The hospital believed it had just the man for the job an executive with a background in health care and construction. But in an e-mailed statement, he said he conducted himself in a completely ethical and professional manner in all aspects.. 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.. 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. body .td_block_list_menu li.current-menu-ancestor > a, .td_block_template_1 .td-related-title, }); if ( user_agent.indexOf("android") > -1 ) { remove: function (resource_id) { Yet, on May 30, just nine days after submitting his bid, Mr. Aquino e-mailed his brother and father to let them know Bondfield had the lowest price: We are low on St. Mikes.. In an e-mailed statement, a spokesperson for Metrolinx, the provincial agency that oversees GO Transit, said it learned about this allocation because of The Globes inquiries. By the end of this exercise, more than 5,000 messages were wiped from the companys system, forensic examiners would later determine. John Di Aquino, 64. body .td_top_authors .td_mod_wrap:hover .td-author-post-count, This litigation is about corruption in a publicly funded procurement process.. In addition to running Bondfield, Mr. Aquino owned interests in numerous side ventures, including several residential housing developments and commercial buildings. Most startling was that it alleges former Ontario General Contractors Association chair John Aquino, a 33 per cent shareholder in the privately-held business founded by his father Ralph 50 years ago, took $5.2 million. ( function () { .post .td_quote_box, a.vc_btn-black:hover, } However, in his e-mailed statement to The Globe he said he never received cash or any other undisclosed payments from Mr. Aquino or anyone else., The reason cash payments were being raised in Mr. Aquinos examination, was because of an e-mail he sent to Mr. Georgiou in 2017. He didnt pay because he was a friend and a client, he said. 2442931 ONTARIO INC., BONDFIELD CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LIMITED, JOHN AQUINO, VASOS GEORGIOU and UNITY HEALTH TORONTO Defendants/Moving Party ORDER THIS MOTION, made by the Defendant, Unity Health Toronto, in writing, for an Order validating and substituting service on the Defendant, John Aquino, to this action, But Bondfield appealed, and in 2019 the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed the lower courts decision. You can receive a daily update of certificates and notices published in Ontario Construction News, sent around 7:30 a.m. each morning. "; We'll see you in San Antonio! }, Mr. Mendonca, who also came to the hospital from Infrastructure Ontario, was to report to Mr. Georgiou and help oversee the project. 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. But the issues with him were much more extensive than $65,000 in false invoices. } 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. Prosecutors filed detention orders against the accused in Rome and in Reggio Calabria, the capital of the southern Italian region where the 'Ndrangheta, the proper name of the Mafia there, was. var td_pass_pattern_incorrect="Invalid Pass Pattern! googletag.cmd.push(function() { You will receive an email to confirm your subscription, just to be sure this is your email address. .td_block_template_1 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, A bousta, or busta, is an Italian slang term often used to describe cash in an envelope. As far as your story goes, I wont provide any information on the victims, in order to protect them, Pattenden wrote to OCN. They also sometimes obtain a courts permission to execute civil search warrants on residences and businesses what is known as an Anton Piller order. As for why Mr. Georgiou continued to involve himself in the project, and assert his influence with Mr. Mendonca, Mr. Georgiou insists he received no financial compensation for doing so. Mr. Aquino rallied allies in the construction industry and a prominent Conservative fundraiser. .page-nav .current, Speak Bay Street not Calabrese.. var td_email_user_empty="Email or username empty! .td-header-wrap .black-menu .sf-menu > .current-menu-ancestor > a, .sf-menu > .current-menu-item > a:after, window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; Bondfield, meanwhile, launched a $125-million libel lawsuit against The Globe. Pressed by Zurichs lawyers, though, Mr. Georgiou said thats not at all what Mr. Aquino meant. That was a conflict of interest neither man disclosed. The shipper promised his family a castle in the mid-1800s, and he was determined to follow through. var tdLocalCache = {}; "position": 3, .page-nav:first-child > div, Zurich determined that the two men communicated secretly throughout the hospital bidding process. ,{ .td-search-form-widget .wpb_button:hover, ul.sf-menu > .menu-item > a { var td_user_incorrect="Username incorrect! .bbp_widget_login .button:hover, John Aquino was the directing mind of Bondfield Construction Company Limited (BCCL), a construction company that operated in and around Toronto, as well as its affiliate, Forma-Con. 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 .tds-button6:after, Zurich is seeking a court order to rescind the surety bonds it issued. 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. A Roman Catholic religious order founded the hospital on Bond Street in the 1890s.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail. Police allege that was assault with a weapon. The Bondfield group is the general contractor on a number of large scale infrastructure and other construction projects in Ontario. #bbpress-forums .bbp-forum-freshness a:hover, Six days before The Globe published its first story, word was out that reporters were beginning to ask questions about Mr. Aquinos ties to Mr. Georgiou. Another e-mail from June 10, 2015 after the St. Michaels contract was awarded to Bondfield shows that a Bondfield landscaper wanted to know how he should pay for $4,000 worth of artificial turf Mr. Georgiou wanted for his backyard. Zurich, citing this alleged corruption, is seeking a court order rescinding the bonds it issued on the St. Michaels contract. Mr. Marafioti was not a party to that litigation and was not offered an opportunity to respond to Steven Aquinos testimony. (1979) as Deputy Sheriff font-size:25px; Tel: 905-458-1313 ext. background: -webkit-gradient(left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%, rgba(0,0,0,0.8)), color-stop(100%, rgba(0,0,0,0.7))); After the bids were submitted, the details of each were supposed to be confidential. } In 2017, more subcontractors walked off the job because of lack of payment. It is the first major test of the capabilities of the SFO, which was created in 2018 in response to criticism that law enforcement has struggled to properly investigate and prosecute complex white-collar crime. March 22, 2022 John Aquino, the former president of a major and now bankrupt Ontario construction contractor, plans to appeal a provincial court ruling that puts him and his associates on the. Osler operates a Risk Management and Crisis Response team, and Bondfield retained one of its team members, Kevin OBrien. In its summary of key findings, the special committee declared that the procurement was not compromised. font-size:13px; In an e-mail, a spokesperson for the hospital said it is co-operating fully with the investigation and has retained a law firm to investigate. color: #38a6c1 !important; tdLocalCache.data[resource_id] = cachedData; Do not get upset or angry, he wrote. .page-nav .current, He said he had never personally profited from the scheme, but acknowledged distributing part of the proceeds, in cash, to a friend who had asked him to issue the invoices. font-weight:500; The Globe and Mail reported that the complainants include two Bondfield officials who allege Aquino threatened to kill them in the months before he was fired in 2018, and one employee who alleged Aquino returned to a Bondfield storage facility in April of this year and assaulted him with a weapon. .tdm_block_pricing.tdm-pricing-featured:before, -webkit-box-shadow: 0 2px 16px #38a6c1; ), In August, 2016, Mr. Georgiou e-mailed Mr. Aquino, and in an apparent reference to litigation, said: It is time to play smart offense, enough stay at home defense., The next month, Mr. Georgiou sought a letter from Bondfield that would state neither he, nor any company associated with him, had received any compensation from Mr. Aquino or any companies associated with Mr. Aquino. this.atts = ''; }, .td_block_wrap .td-subcat-item a.td-cur-simple-item { In response to the revelations, the hospital and Infrastructure Ontario each hired teams of lawyers and forensic investigators, neither of which found evidence of the alleged kickbacks. Mr. Aquino was Bondfield's CEO when it won the St. Michael's contract in 2015.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail. .td_block_template_7 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, When questioned by Zurichs lawyers, Mr. Georgiou insists he didnt invest. John Aquino, the former chief executive officer of Bondfield, is seen in his SUV outside Bondfields office in Vaughan, Ont., on April 20, 2020.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail. Also known as John Diaquino, Born J Aquino. .td_shadow_btn, Bondfield, now insolvent, grew rapidly in the middle of the last decade. In the e-mail, Mr. Aquino directed a Bondfield staffer to charge the work on Mr. Georgious home to Pick Go. This is a reference to a parking garage Bondfield was building at the time at a Pickering, Ont., GO Transit station, Zurich alleges. Mr. Georgiou worked at Infrastructure Ontario from 2006 until he was dismissed in 2012, after he was implicated in a false invoice scheme at Torontos York University. .td_block_exchange .td-exchange-header:before, 0 0 805 All Time 0. Pressed to explain his choice of words by Zurichs lawyers, Mr. Georgiou said that, in the event Bondfield did indeed win, the hospital would be partners with Mr. Aquino. .tds-button2:before, On Jan. 29, 2013 just a few weeks after Mr. Georgiou started his new job at the hospital a Bondfield employee e-mailed Mr. Aquino to tell him he was working on the companys submission. The corruption investigation into Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd., once one of the largest builders of public sector projects in Ontario, has widened to include its contracts with a second Toronto hospital, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. htmlTag.className += ' ieEdge'; He and other Corebuild employees have not been accused of wrong-doing, and he and his colleagues have co-operated with police and financial investigations into the former Bondfield operations. 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.. He also retained a public affairs specialist, David MacNaughton, who just six months later would be named Canadas ambassador to the United States. 1.. .sf-menu ul .menu-item a { font-weight:500; Mr. Aquino recently completed his term as Chair of the OGCA, and demonstrated great leadership throughout the past year in supporting issues on behalf of all members, in many instances putting his company's interests on the line to support our members. .tds-button5:hover .tdm-btn-text, .td-search-query, Mr. Aquino was fired from Bondfield in 2018 by his younger brother Steven Aquino, who supplanted him as president. The notes say he discussed with Mr. MacNaughton whether he should proactively get out in front of the issues Globe reporters were probing, or wait until after the newspaper published an article. .vc_tta-container .vc_tta-color-grey.vc_tta-tabs-position-top.vc_tta-style-classic .vc_tta-tabs-container .vc_tta-tab.vc_active > a, how did larry burns of restoration garage make his money, jake stringer baby, infocision work from home interview, la placita nightlife, saginaw valley state university volleyball roster, dell optiplex 3060 amber light codes, family promise scandal, running races in europe 2023, radar object detection deep learning, fake hacker troll typer, heald college courses catalog, is ellen chenoweth related to kristin chenoweth, virginia circuit court opinions, ng model dynamic variable name, mark rivers developer,

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