} } .td-search-query, .mce-content-body blockquote p, 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. Former Bondfield CEO faces seven criminal charges including assault and uttering threats, St. Michaels Hospital says Zurich Insurance is obligated to pay to finish work on Bondfield project, Insurer says it isnt liable for finishing Bondfield renovation. get: function (resource_id) { 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. Fax: 905-458-6020. } "; border-color: #38a6c1 !important; .td-author-url a:hover, None of the allegations have been proved in court. cite a: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Toronto, the hospital network that includes St. Michaels, arguing that the bonds Zurich issued on the project should be rescinded because the process was allegedly corrupt.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. a.vc_btn-black.vc_btn_outlined: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 Construction (CC), which performed concrete forming. The monitor and . 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. .tds-button2:before, But on Sept. 15, 2015, he was up against an ancient and immovable force: the Jewish high holidays. var td_pass_empty="Pass empty! 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. Not long after, The Globe determined that, a year before Mr. Georgiou was hired at St. Michaels, he had been fired from Infrastructure Ontario after he was implicated in a fraud at Torontos York University. htmlTag.className += ' td-md-is-chrome'; Mr. Aquino was Bondfield's CEO when it won the St. Michael's contract in 2015.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail. Ontario Construction News staff writer } .td-footer-wrapper .widget_product_search input[type="submit"]:hover, 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. Now, thousands of unsealed e-mails and transcripts show alleged kickbacks between former executives over the hospital expansion project. .sf-menu > .current-menu-ancestor > a:after, #bbpress-forums #bbp-single-user-details #bbp-user-navigation li.current a, var tdb_modal_confirm="Save"; 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. Law firms that specialize in white-collar investigations often turn to the courts to compel the production of documents. 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. 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.. .td_block_template_15 .td-block-title:before, .author-box-wrap .td-author-social a:hover, Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. John Aquino talks on the phone in his SUV last April outside Bondfield's office in Vaughan. On Dec. 1, SFO investigators arrived at Sunnybrook to interview three hospital executives, including Mr. Marafioti, about its procurement policies. 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. Her extensive experience as a . Mr. Georgiou exploited his position to influence the direction of the evaluation, the company said in its pleadings. this.td_column_number = ''; Pressed by Zurichs lawyers, though, Mr. Georgiou said thats not at all what Mr. Aquino meant. EllisDons design was considered non-compliant and it was disqualified. 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. "@type": "WebSite", The company also recently redeveloped the offices of the Sunnybrook Foundation, which is not taxpayer funded. .block-title, "item": { .td-block-title-wrap .td-wrapper-pulldown-filter .td-pulldown-filter-item .td-cur-simple-item, Again, like I said, I dont even necessarily believe that it was true.. The multinational insurer alleges Mr. Georgiou received kickbacks, including free home renovations, and secretly obtained shares, worth at least $500,000, in companies owned by Mr. Aquino. "@id": "https://www.ontarioconstructionnews.com/category/aroundprovince/", a.vc_btn-black.vc_btn_square_outlined:hover, var tds_smart_sidebar="enabled"; .td-header-wrap .black-menu .sf-menu > .sfHover > a, .td-pulldown-syle-3 .td-subcat-dropdown:hover .td-subcat-more span, } "position": 1, *rv\:11\./) ) { Mr. Marafioti has not been charged with any criminal offences. background: rgba(0,0,0,0.8); .post .td_quote_box, .td-category-title-holder .td-page-title { .td_block_text_with_title blockquote p, But behind the scenes, e-mails show, he continued to act as an aide to Mr. Aquino a whisperer who could help him navigate the politics of the hospital. 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. John Matheson, general counsel of StrategyCorp., said in an interview he cannot talk about the firms business with current or former clients. htmlTag.className += ' td-md-is-ios'; #bbpress-forums .bbp-pagination .current, 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 . .td-read-more a, 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. On Dec. 18, 2012, Bondfields John Aquino, one of the companys owners, received an e-mail from a colleague, vas is in!. 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. this.td_user_action = ''; // load more or infinite loader (used by the animation) As for St. Michaels, the hospital settled its wrongful dismissal lawsuit with Mr. Georgiou. On July 23, 2014, the evaluators tasked with reviewing the design submissions of the bidders presented their scores to the steering committee of four senior officials, including Mr. Georgiou. The day after Bondfields win at the court of appeal, the company sought protection from creditors and that, in effect, ended the lawsuit. 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. color: #38a6c1; 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. But I didnt give any cash to Mike Mendonca., Mr. Mendonca declined to explain what Mr. Georgiou was referring to when he asked Mr. Aquino to get something for him. .td_wrapper_video_playlist .td_video_controls_playlist_wrapper, Needs to be unanimous. .td_block_template_5 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, Infrastructure Ontarios rules required the steering committee to be unanimous and his concerns meant the procurement could fail. .td-scroll-up, Save the date for our 62nd annual Conference and Expo. Zurich, which issued bonds for dozens of Bondfields public infrastructure contracts across the province, was forced to insert itself into the companys affairs. 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. .widgettitle:after, .tds-progress-bar3 .tdm-progress-bar:after { .tds-button2 i, John Aquino, owner, Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd., co-founder and co-chair of the ICARE gala . He has not been charged with a criminal offence, and he did not respond to a request for comment. The firm has no knowledge about the article that gave rise to the lawsuit, Mr. Matheson said. var tds_more_articles_on_post_enable=""; background: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(0,0,0,0.8) 0%, rgba(0,0,0,0.7) 100%); CFO at Bondfield Construction Company Limited Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Tel: 905-458-1313 ext. } var td_magnific_popup_translation_tCounter="%curr% of %total%"; } background-color: #38a6c1; 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. 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. 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. Your time is valuable. 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. The multifaceted police probe, which is now scrutinizing multiple hospital construction contracts as well as an alleged scheme to siphon $80-million out of Bondfield through the use of false invoices, is entering its third year. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Experience CFO Bondfield Construction Company Limited . We know courts, and courts know and trust us. 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. 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. 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. } .td-grid-style-4 .entry-title Zurich, citing this alleged corruption, is seeking a court order rescinding the bonds it issued on the St. Michaels contract. To end the impasse, Infrastructure Ontario and St. Michaels took unprecedented steps, with the CEOs of both agencies exchanging e-mails and involving their boards. 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. #bbpress-forums .bbp-topic-started-by a:hover, }, 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. Bondfield collapsed in 2019, fired Mr. Aquino as CEO and sought court protection from creditors. "; var tdBlockNonce="0e942a88e7"; I am with Vas. var htmlTag = document.getElementsByTagName("html")[0]; googletag.defineSlot('/1003600/ocn300x250', [300, 250], 'div-gpt-ad-1642433266467-0').addService(googletag.pubads()); .td_block_template_12 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, He didnt pay because he was a friend and a client, he said. .td_shadow_btn, Seven days later, Mr. Marafioti resigned, ending a three-decade career at Sunnybrook, which is home to Canadas largest trauma centre. .td-pulldown-syle-2 .td-subcat-dropdown ul:after, .wpb_tabs li.ui-tabs-active a, I did not invest, he said. .tds-button2 .tdm-btn-text, .td-theme-wrap .sf-menu ul .current-menu-item > a, } He said all four members of Mr. Georgious committee directed his team to rescore the bidders. .sf-menu ul .menu-item a { .td-search-close span:hover i { Mr. Anastasio was an associate of John Aquino, Bondfield's then-CEO, who the monitor has also alleged took part in the scheme. Learn how your comment data is processed. data: {}, Infrastructure Ontario signs hang on the construction hoarding outside St. Michael's in 2018. Mr. Georgiou intervened with hospital subordinates to ensure Bondfield squeaked onto the shortlist of preferred bidders, even though the company had initially received a ranking that disqualified it from bidding. .td-weather-week:before, On Feb. 14, 2017, the two men exchanged e-mails about a proposed casino development in Vancouver that one of Mr. Aquinos neighbours was involved in financing. 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. And falter it did. .page .td_quote_box, .td-next-prev-wrap a:hover, .tds-title2 .tdm-title-line:after, .td_block_template_3 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, .td-post-small-box a:hover, 0 0 805 All Time 0. font-weight:normal; "@id": "https://www.ontarioconstructionnews.com/", "item": { 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. if ( !!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident. color: #38a6c1 !important; var td_email_incorrect="Email incorrect! border-color: #38a6c1; .tdm_block_column_content:hover .tdm-col-content-title-url .tdm-title, 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. The Mareva was brought against John Aquino by Ernst & Young Inc., in its capacity as court-appointed monitor of Bondfield Construction Company Limited. Bondfield, meanwhile, launched a $125-million libel lawsuit against The Globe. .td-theme-wrap .sf-menu ul .current-menu-ancestor > a, Follow Greg McArthur on Twitter: @McarthurGregOpens in a new windowFollow Karen Howlett on Twitter: @kahowlettOpens in a new window. Only Infrastructure Ontario knew those figures, and even he hadnt been told at that point, he said. For our 62nd annual Conference and Expo our 62nd annual Conference and Expo at Sunnybrook interview. Td_Email_Incorrect= '' Email incorrect corruption, is seeking a court order rescinding the it. Alleged kickbacks between former executives over the hospital expansion project hoarding outside St. Michael 's in 2018,. To compel the production of documents was considered non-compliant and it was disqualified corruption, is seeking a order... 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