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But the court documents also offer a rare peek into another aspect of the Bondfield scandal: the many steps taken by Mr. Aquino to suppress the truth, destroy evidence and kill a story that threatened to derail a company. .td-theme-wrap .sf-menu ul .sfHover > a,
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), 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. Mr. Aquino did not specify when the work began, but suggested it started while Mr. Georgiou was a senior executive at Infrastructure Ontario the procurement agency that had awarded Bondfield several contracts, including multiple hospital projects and some of the facilities for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. 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. Lawyers for Mr. Aquino and Mr. Georgiou said it would be inappropriate for them to comment while the matter is before the courts. }
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The top two floors remain under construction, Ms. Divell said. Despite Bondfields failure to produce the e-mails, The Globe was successful in quashing the suit in Ontario Superior Court in 2018. 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. See You Next Year. Steven Aquino replied that, yes, his brother told him he had paid Mr. Marafioti in connection with Bondfields work at Sunnybrook. Mr. Marafioti was not a party to that litigation and was not offered an opportunity to respond to Steven Aquinos testimony. That ruling has been appealed and a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal has yet to be released. Do not get upset or angry, he wrote. Evidence filed in court by Zurich includes Mr. Aquinos handwritten notes, which show he sought advice from Mr. MacNaughton. }
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. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. background: linear-gradient(to bottom, rgba(0,0,0,0.8) 0%, rgba(0,0,0,0.7) 100%);
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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. background-color: #38a6c1;
However, he added he would have no reason to correct The Globes interpretation of Mr. Aquinos notes. Vas Georgiou, top, and John Aquino, bottom. var td_magnific_popup_translation_tCounter="%curr% of %total%"; 32 followers 30 connections. If not for this change in scores, Bondfield would not have been qualified.. a.vc_btn-black.vc_btn_outlined:hover {
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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. if ( /chrom(e|ium)/.test(navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase()) ) {
var tds_more_articles_on_post_enable=""; Now, thousands of unsealed e-mails and transcripts show alleged kickbacks between former executives over the hospital expansion project. 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 On Oct. 24, 2015, Mr. Aquino also tried, unsuccessfully, to get a Bondfield employee, who was married to a Toronto Star journalist, to persuade The Star to interview him in an effort to counter attack The Globe. John Aquino talks on the phone in his SUV last April outside Bondfield's office in Vaughan. body .td_top_authors .td-active .td-author-comments-count,
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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. .tds-button6 .tdm-btn-text,
The company also recently redeveloped the offices of the Sunnybrook Foundation, which is not taxpayer funded. 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. Only Infrastructure Ontario knew those figures, and even he hadnt been told at that point, he said. -webkit-box-shadow: 0 2px 16px #38a6c1;
Mr. Georgiou also was supplied with his own bondfield.com e-mail address. 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. Mr. Aquino and his company had many reasons to cheer the news. Your time is valuable. I am with Vas. By 2016, the project was already falling into disarray. He's an professional, known for Blow Out (1981), Diner (1982) and and justice for everyone.
Justice Dietrich ruled that $22-million must be paid back to the monitor for Bondfield. 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:. htmlTag.className += ' td-md-is-os-x';
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Michaels Hospital procurement was not compromised.. Mr. Aquino had also provided Mr. Georgiou with his own bondfield.com e-mail address. .td-post-category:hover,
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CFO at Bondfield Construction Company Limited Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. }
Special to Ontario Construction News
Its affiliate was in the concrete forming business. JOE ANA, THE ESTATE OF MICHAEL SOLANO, LUCIA COCCIA a.k.a. .td_outlined_btn,
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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. As part of the lawsuit, both The Globe and Bondfield were required to produce all documents relevant to the court case. Earlier, he worked as a journalist and sub-editor, including a stint on the Bulawayo Chronicle in 1979-80, during the transition from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. 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. .td-weather-week:before,
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At all times, Osler acted professionally and ethically in advancing its clients interests in this litigation, Ms. Stein-Korte said. Bondfield, a mid-sized, family-owned construction company, was making a push to join the ranks of Ontarios biggest players in public infrastructure. "; Needs to be unanimous. var tdBlocksArray = []; //here we store all the items for the current page
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In its summary of key findings, the special committee declared that the procurement was not compromised. LUCIA CANDERLE, DOMINIC DIPEDE, 2483251 ONTARIO CORP. a.k.a. 3. delete tdLocalCache.data[resource_id];
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. googletag.enableServices();
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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. Domenic Dipede, Bondfield controller at the time, corresponds with a Potentia shareholder about Mr. Aquino and Mr. Georgiou investing in the solar company. .td_block_template_16 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item,
Your time is valuable. 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. .td_block_template_9 .td-related-title:after {
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The company had just eked out a passing grade. }
That was a conflict of interest neither man disclosed. [17] John Aquino's employment with the Bondfield Group was terminated on October 15, .td-search-form-widget .wpb_button:hover,
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. 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. 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.
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Our structure has evolved into a single-ownership business, but the Aquino family remains at its head. Previous post There is no more story. 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. As The Globe has reported previously, the SFO is also investigating alleged corruption at Torontos St. Michaels Hospital, which, in partnership with Infrastructure Ontario, selected Bondfield in 2014 to lead its $300-million redevelopment. .td-header-wrap .black-menu .sf-menu > .current-menu-ancestor > a,
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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. font-size:12px; body .td_top_authors .td_mod_wrap:hover .td-author-comments-count,
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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. .td_outlined_btn: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. .archive .widget_archive .current,
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var tdThemeName="Newspaper"; The Globe and Mail reported last week that arrest followed an investigation by YRP detectives of several complaints from current and former staff of Bondfield in Vaughan. Mr. MacNaughton was named Canadas ambassador to the United States in March, 2016. var td_magnific_popup_translation_tPrev="Previous (Left arrow key)";
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Steve Aquino now is the CEO of Corebuild Construction Ltd., based in North York. body .tdm-social-item i {
var tds_logo_on_sticky=""; Mark can be reached at. Five companies were vying for the contract: PCL, EllisDon, Bondfield, Turner Construction and Brookfield Multiplex. When questioned by Zurichs lawyers, Mr. Georgiou insists he didnt invest.
Mr. Aquino, Mr. Georgiou and Unity Health opposed the disclosure. .widget a:hover,
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Your email address will not be published. The Globe is not naming these sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the procurement. Mr. Georgiou had a heated argument with Mr. Toigo, which one witness described as a raised voice discussion.. Mr. Mendonca, who also came to the hospital from Infrastructure Ontario, was to report to Mr. Georgiou and help oversee the project.
Our Toronto office acts for Ernst & Young Inc., as monitor in the CCAA proceedings of Bondfield Construction Company Limited and various affiliates. border-color: #38a6c1 transparent transparent transparent !important;
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Ontario Construction News staff writer
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. For its part, Zurich said, through its lawyer, that it disagreed with that assertion. }
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. On April 3, 2019, Bondfield Construction Company Limited ("BCCL") and several related entities (collectively "Bondfield") obtained . But instead of accepting the scores, the steering committee sent the evaluators back to re-evaluate. var td_email_incorrect="Email incorrect! .td_block_template_14 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item,
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It was granted creditor protection last spring. 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. In 2017, more subcontractors walked off the job because of lack of payment.
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. if ( -1 !== navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Safari') && -1 === navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Chrome') ) {
var td_ajax_url="https:\/\/www.ontarioconstructionnews.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php?td_theme_name=Newspaper&v=12.2"; St. Michaels Hospital, founded in 1892 with a mission of treating Torontos poor and vulnerable, long ago outgrew the space it occupies. Mr. Marafioti has not been charged with any criminal offences. Mr. Aquino was Bondfield's CEO when it won the St. Michael's contract in 2015.
Notify me of follow-up comments by email. The Globe and Mail reports that one of the criminal charges stems from the day John Aquino was fired. Again, like I said, I dont even necessarily believe that it was true.. .td-menu-background:before,
As far as your story goes, I wont provide any information on the victims, in order to protect them, Pattenden wrote to OCN. But Bondfield appealed, and in 2019 the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed the lower courts decision. 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. .header-search-wrap .td-drop-down-search:before {
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. Charges against John Aquino also include break-and-enter, uttering threats .td-404-sub-sub-title a:hover,
John Di Aquino, 64. (1979) as Deputy Sheriff After the bids were submitted, the details of each were supposed to be confidential. .td-mobile-content .current-menu-item > a,
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More than $1-billion worth of Bondfields projects were guaranteed by Zurich Insurance Co. Ltd., including the St. Michaels project, through construction surety bonds.
For a number of people with inside knowledge about the procurement, the reports findings were puzzling. A construction union deal with a labour supply company rather than directly with a builder . As for how that information filtered down to Mr. Aquino, Mr. Georgiou told Zurichs lawyers he had no explanation. 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. You can receive a daily update of certificates and notices published in Ontario Construction News, sent around 7:30 a.m. each morning.
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.
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A pedestrian passes the St. Michael's Hospital emergency entrance this past fall. .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,
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font-weight:500; Zurich, which issued bonds for dozens of Bondfields public infrastructure contracts across the province, was forced to insert itself into the companys affairs.
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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. if ( -1 !== navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Mac OS X') ) {
Infrastructure Ontario signs hang on the construction hoarding outside St. Michael's in 2018.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail. 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. tdLocalCache = {
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. .td-post-small-box a:hover,
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"He added: 'We've done a lot of projects there. 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
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For six years, The Globe investigated the relationship between Bondfield and Torontos St. Michaels Hospital. On June 18, 2018, Zurich advised that it would be winding down the Bondfield Group. });
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. As part of that proceeding, lawyers for Zurich examined Steven Aquino, under oath, in 2020. 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.
They own the globe and maybe we can get story crushed.. 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. 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. But Zurich alleges other e-mails show Mr. Georgiou was indeed trying to obtain some kind of compensation for Mr. Mendonca. .wpb_text_column blockquote p,
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. That is why clients turn to us to solve their most complex legal problems. div.wpforms-container .wpforms-form div.wpforms-submit-container button[type=submit],
(Because the hospital had added scope to the project as the bidding process progressed, it had taken the unusual step of letting bidders know its target price was about $301-million.) For its part, Unity Health spokeswoman Sabrina Divell told The Globe that St. Michaels had no knowledge at the time about the work done on Mr. Georgious home. .archive .widget_archive .current a,
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Pressed by Zurichs lawyers, though, Mr. Georgiou said thats not at all what Mr. Aquino meant. font-family:"Work Sans"; Mr. Georgious lawyer has said her client denies any wrongdoing. An Ontario Superior Court judge found that those funds were illegitimately transferred to subcontractors for services that were never delivered. 1.. var tdb_modal_cancel="Cancel"; The problem was that neither company, both of which were owned by Mr. Georgious family, had actually performed any work. .td_block_template_1 .td-related-title,
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Bondfield was burning through cash. cite a:hover,
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. Mr. Georgiou exploited his position to influence the direction of the evaluation, the company said in its pleadings. John Aquino, formerly of Bonfield Construction, formerly in Concord, has been charged criminally by York Regional Police. }
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. EllisDons design was considered non-compliant and it was disqualified. The evaluators gave the company a design score of 70.74 per cent only a hair above the 70-per-cent threshold for disqualification. .tdm-btn-style2 {
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.
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