This is a deeply troubling situation and we are taking this seriously, said Craig DuHamel, the hospitals vice-president of communications. It was granted creditor protection last spring. box-shadow: 0 4px 26px #38a6c1; Mr. Marafioti was first hired at Sunnybrook in 1989. "name": "Home" "; 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. .tdm_block_column_content:hover .tdm-col-content-title-url .tdm-title, 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. 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. "@type": "WebPage", if ( /(iPad|iPhone|iPod)/g.test(navigator.userAgent) ) { #bbpress-forums .bbp-forums-list li a:hover, .td-pulldown-syle-2 .td-subcat-dropdown:hover .td-subcat-more span, .header-search-wrap .td-drop-down-search .btn:hover, .td_block_template_5 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, Related To Catherine Aquino, Anthony Aquino, Antonio Aquino, Vincent Aquino, Jennie Aquino. His request was declined. The articles addressed the connection between the appellant and its president, John Aquino, with Vas Georgiou, a senior executive at St. Mike's who was on the committee that awarded the construction contract to the appellant. gtag('js', new Date()); 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. .td_wrapper_video_playlist .td_video_currently_playing:after { body .td_block_list_menu li.current-category-ancestor > a { .wpb_default, #bbpress-forums #bbp-single-user-details #bbp-user-navigation li.current a, 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. } if ( navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Edge") > -1 ) { But Zurich alleges other e-mails show Mr. Georgiou was indeed trying to obtain some kind of compensation for Mr. Mendonca. I need you at office immediately, Mr. Aquino wrote to Mr. Weinstock at 1:05 p.m. At 3:41 p.m., someone logged into Bondfields e-mail archiver and searched for all messages containing the term Vas Georgiou. Next, similar searches for keywords that might capture e-mails written by Mr. Georgiou were executed. That left only Bondfield, which bid $299-million 45-per-cent lower than PCL. 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. var tds_snap_menu="smart_snap_always"; Over the years, Bondfield has been awarded a number of contracts at Sunnybrook, which the hospital estimates were worth a total of $129-million. border-color: #38a6c1; The Globe and Mail reports that one of the criminal charges stems from the day John Aquino was fired. 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 { A pedestrian passes the St. Michael's Hospital emergency entrance this past fall. Bondfield, meanwhile, launched a $125-million libel lawsuit against The Globe. The two men also believed, the e-mails show, they still had a key asset safely in place within the hospital. If you would like to receive this service, just complete the information below. 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 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. ICARE Gala Co-Chairs, John Aquino, Bondfield Construction Company Ltd. (left) and Sam Ciccolini, SJC Investments Inc. (right) join Connie Dejak, President & CEO at the 2013 gala. The details of the mass deletion are contained in thousands of pages of court documents unsealed in March, at the request of The Globe, by Ontario Superior Court Justice Cory Gilmore. Zurich found scores of internal Bondfield documents with notations such as owe Vas $500,000 allegedly showing Mr. Georgiou received multiple benefits from Bondfield before, during and after the St. Michaels procurement. this.td_column_number = ''; They own the globe and maybe we can get story crushed.. "itemListElement": [ Four months later, in July, Mr. Georgiou and Mr. Aquino were again concerned about Mr. Mendonca jumping ship. John Aquino talks on the phone in his SUV last April outside Bondfield's office in Vaughan. .td_block_template_13 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, It must be recognized that neither the legal nor forensic accounting teams had the power to compel documents and testimony from unwilling parties.. exist: function (resource_id) { But the records were released in March after The Globe and Mail successfully fought a judges order that sealed them. .single-product .product .summary .cart .button:hover, On Dec. 18, 2012, Bondfield's John Aquino, one of the company's owners, received an e-mail from a colleague, "vas is in!" Mr. Aquino and his company had many reasons to cheer the news.. "item": { - Google Street View The former CEO of a once-major Vaughan development firm was arrested on a raft of criminal charges including assault with a weapon, break-and-enter and four counts of uttering threats. 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 return tdLocalCache.data.hasOwnProperty(resource_id) && tdLocalCache.data[resource_id] !== null; .td_block_template_1 .td-related-title, } var tds_theme_color_site_wide="#38a6c1"; Next post This is the most recent story. this.id = ''; .td-page-title, A Roman Catholic religious order founded the hospital on Bond Street in the 1890s.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail. Mr. Aquino sits in his SUV at the Bondfield office last October. "item": { Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. googletag.cmd.push(function() { .td_block_template_8 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, Under questioning by Zurichs lawyer, Matthew Lerner, Mr. Aquino acknowledged Bondfield performed all of this work free of charge. a.vc_btn-black:hover, John Aquino Attorney and Author Silver Spring, MD 659 others named John Aquino are on LinkedIn See others named John Aquino Add new skills with these courses Photoshop and Illustrator:. 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-theme-wrap .sf-menu ul .current-menu-item > a, Despite Bondfields failure to produce the e-mails, The Globe was successful in quashing the suit in Ontario Superior Court in 2018. Zurich, however, contends this was far more sinister. Bondfield collapsed in 2019, fired Mr. Aquino as CEO and sought court protection from creditors. Can we say I have no involvement?. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Aquino, 48, was arrested and charged on Sept. 23, York Regional Police (YRP) Staff Sgt. Mr. Aquino sits in his SUV at the Bondfield office last October. var td_retype_pass_incorrect="Retyped Pass incorrect! When The Globe published more stories, including a piece about both mens ties to GP8 Sportwater, Bondfield sued over those as well. .td-subfooter-menu li a:hover, .td_3D_btn, The firm was required to conduct a review of its own records when the court-appointed monitor for Bondfield which sought bankruptcy protection in 2019 obtained a judges order requiring anyone with evidence of the deletions to preserve those documents. 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. .tds-button6 i, #bbpress-forums .bbp-forum-freshness a:hover, And falter it did. .dropcap2, .td-header-wrap .black-menu .sf-menu > .current-menu-ancestor > a, a, .td_block_wrap .td-subcat-item a.td-cur-simple-item { See You Next Year. } You will receive an email to confirm your subscription, just to be sure this is your email address. I am with Vas. 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. (function(){ { More than 10,000 pages of recently unsealed court documents show that dealings between a senior Toronto hospital executive and a construction company chief executive officer were far more extensive than reported so far, and the pair went to great lengths to conceal them. .mce-content-body blockquote p, .tdm_block_list .tdm-list-item i, In 2015, not long after Bondfield broke ground at the hospital, brown envelopes containing identical letters appeared in the mailboxes of four Globe and Mail journalists. .td_outlined_btn, VICE-PRESIDENT & SECRETARY Learn More David Petrie VP OPERATIONS Learn More Kevin Hicks, CPA, CMA CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Learn More Ajith Lokuge, B.Sc. I think that is wrong. Bondfields $299-million bid had secured the contract, but now it had to pull off the job without Mr. Georgiou in a position of influence. That ruling has been appealed and a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal has yet to be released. Steve Aquino now is the CEO of Corebuild Construction Ltd., based in North York. 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. "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. This article was published more than 1 year ago. Vas Georgiou, top, and John Aquino, bottom. if ( user_agent.indexOf("android") > -1 ) { .page-nav:first-child > div, 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. When asked by Zurichs lawyers how he had such detailed information about a confidential meeting only a day after the argument, Mr. Aquino said he couldnt recall precisely who told him. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. } In March, Justice Bernadette Dietrich ruled that many of those payments, but not all, were transfers under value which means they were made for the purpose of defrauding or evading creditors. "position": 2, 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.. CLEARWAY HAULAGE, MMC GENERAL . Whatever pressure Mr. Aquino was contemplating, nothing came of it. Aquino was also charged with breaking and entering after allegedly entering the companys headquarters in April with the intent to steal documents, Pattenden said in an e-mailed statement to the newspaper, which reported that neither Aquino nor his lawyer have responded to requests for comment. (It has since been purchased by the Power Corp. family of companies and renamed Potentia Renewables). } But the issues with him were much more extensive than $65,000 in false invoices. *rv\:11\./) ) { That was a conflict of interest neither man disclosed. htmlTag.className += ' td-md-is-firefox'; 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. .td_block_template_6 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, .td_block_template_3 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, As far as your story goes, I wont provide any information on the victims, in order to protect them, Pattenden wrote to OCN. The unsealed records show that Mr. Aquino was getting support from another close contact: Mr. Georgiou. if( -1 !== navigator.userAgent.indexOf('IEMobile') ){ In making the award, the court concluded that "the looting of Bondfield by its CEO, John Aquino, and the other Bondfield Respondents to the tune of tens of millions of dollars rises to the level of reprehensible and scandalous behaviour that attracts the sanction of substantial indemnity costs." _____ Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. .td-block-title-wrap .td-wrapper-pulldown-filter .td-pulldown-filter-item .td-cur-simple-item, 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. Click here to leave a comment! -webkit-box-shadow: 0 2px 16px #38a6c1; He has not been charged with a criminal offence, and he did not respond to a request for comment. .td-scroll-up, The sprawling nature of the Bondfield probe also speaks to the companys significant role in Ontarios public sector, as well as the deep impact its 2019 insolvency left on the construction industry. Zurich alleges the unsealed evidence shows: Mr. Georgiou funnelled confidential information to Bondfield throughout the bidding process. .td-pulldown-syle-2 .td-subcat-dropdown ul:after, 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. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. SafetyCo Partners, a new national occupational health and safety company, aims to change the face of safety consulting in Canada Mark Buckshon has published regional construction news publications in Ontario since 1989. Osler operates a Risk Management and Crisis Response team, and Bondfield retained one of its team members, Kevin OBrien. On Nov. 12, 2015, St. Michaels fired Mr. Georgiou for cause. 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. On June 18, 2018, Zurich advised that it would be winding down the Bondfield Group. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. The Globe is not naming these sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the procurement. Manipulated invoices for the renovation and improvement of Ralph Aquino's G, residence approved by Steven Aquino and Ralph Aquino and paid for by Bondfield Construction Company Limited Photo of Steven Aquino, John Aquino, and Joe Anastasio, amongst others, at the H World of Concrete Exposition in January 2017 Her extensive experience as a . He was part of a steering committee of four senior officials who approved the shortlist of bidders, and another steering committee of four who ultimately recommended Bondfield win the contract decisions by consensus that, he says, eliminated any outsized influence he may have tried to wield. 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. This included landscaping his yard, demolishing his driveway, carpentry inside his residence and working on his gazebo. .td_block_template_9 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, Even after Mr. Georgiou was fired by St. Michaels in 2015, he continued to use his influence to help Bondfield. None of the allegations have been proved in court. var tdb_modal_cancel_alt="No"; .wpb_tabs li:hover a, The top two floors remain under construction, Ms. Divell said. The company wouldnt receive anything from taxpayers until it hit its first milestone the completion of the patient-care tower. Bondfield, now insolvent, grew rapidly in the middle of the last decade. 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. John Aquino, Bondfield's former president, is a target of the SFO probe as well. 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. Resides in Burbank, CA. Lived In North Hollywood CA, West Hollywood CA, Los Angeles CA, Boca Raton FL. And with Mr. Georgiou in a position of influence, Bondfield had a clear edge. He is an actor, known for Blow Out (1981), And Justice for All (1979) and Ryan's Hope (1975). 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. Michaels Hospital procurement was not compromised.. Your time is valuable. Other evidence uncovered by Zurich, the company alleges, shows that Mr. Aquino provided Mr. Georgiou with shares in businesses he owned. .td_block_template_17 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, 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. Experience CFO Bondfield Construction Company Limited . This is not entirely accurate. Born April 20, 1948 Add or change photo on IMDbPro Add to list Known for Blow Out 7.4 Detective Mackey 1981 And Justice for All 7.4 Deputy Sheriff 1979 Ryan's Hope 7.3 TV Series this.ajax_pagination_infinite_stop = ''; //show load more at page x Johnson Ta. 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. These included the renovation of Torontos Union Station, as well as restoring St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto and Cambridge Memorial Hospital in southwestern Ontario., But in 2018, the company imploded in what the Surety Association of Canada has called the most devastating collapse of a construction company in Canadian history. 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. In doing so, Aquino siphoned off tens of millions of dollars from Bondfield. .td-next-prev-wrap a:hover, Corebuild Construction LTD. Executive Team Members Steven Aquino, B.A.Sc. John Aquino opposed the motion on the basis that he was the subject of an ongoing investigation with respect to alleged improprieties in connection with his involvement at the Bondfield Group. color: #38a6c1 !important; .wpb_text_column blockquote p, .td-block-title-wrap .td-wrapper-pulldown-filter .td-pulldown-filter-display-option:hover i, Only Infrastructure Ontario knew those figures, and even he hadnt been told at that point, he said. For six years, The Globe investigated the relationship between Bondfield and Torontos St. Michaels Hospital. On Dec. 8, Mr. Georgiou e-mailed Mr. Aquino: I told smooth to do whatever he can do to help you and we will work things out. Then, two days before Christmas, Mr. Georgiou e-mailed Mr. Aquino with a cryptic request: Any chance to get something for Smooth today or tomorrow?, Mr. Aquino replied with a terse, two-word answer: Boxing Day. Mr. Georgiou replied: I will give him some more help tomorrow as he needs for xmas. Asked by Zurichs lawyers what help he provided to Mr. Mendonca, Mr. Aquino said he believed he gave him a panettone, the Italian sweet bread that is popular at Christmas. } Now, a recently established investigative agency of police officers and prosecutors, Ontarios Serious Fraud Office, has launched a sweeping probe into Mr. Aquino, Mr. Georgiou and the procurement. john-aquino-owner-bondfield-construction-company-ltd-and-co-founder-co-chair-of-the-icare-gala-with-wife-cinzia Johnson Ta 2015-07-08. if ( -1 !== navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Firefox') ) { The agency is investigating these troubling allegations, said spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins. .tdm-btn-style2 { Last week, The Globe published a story about the unsealed records evidence that was compiled by Zurich Insurance Company Ltd., the multinational company that issued more than $1-billion in construction surety bonds to Bondfield. York Regional Police have laid seven criminal charges against former Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd. chief executive officer John Aquino. } var td_get_template_directory_uri="https:\/\/www.ontarioconstructionnews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/td-composer\/legacy\/common";
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