Steve Aquino now is the CEO of Corebuild Construction Ltd., based in North York. 3. John Aquino, et al.
Details of the alleged kickbacks contained in e-mails and transcripts were barred from public view. 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. Bondfield's office in Vaughan. "@id": "https://www.ontarioconstructionnews.com/",
Infrastructure Ontario signs hang on the construction hoarding outside St. Michael's in 2018. .comment-content blockquote p,
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In 2020, Mr. Aquino was examined by lawyers for Zurich, and a transcript was part of the court filings unsealed at the request of The Globe. On March 14, 2016, Mr. Aquino sought an audience with the leadership of the hospital, and was coached by Mr. Georgiou on his approach. .td-page-title,
This is a deeply troubling situation and we are taking this seriously, said Craig DuHamel, the hospitals vice-president of communications. .td_block_template_4 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item,
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John Aquino, the former chief executive officer of Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd., was a domineering boss who was used to getting his way. We'll see you in San Antonio! 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. Infrastructure Ontario launched an investigation of his dealings with Vas Georgiou.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail. .td-subfooter-menu li a:hover,
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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. Learn how your comment data is processed. Despite being terminated with cause the result of which was supposed to be the full termination of all of his compensation Mr. Georgiou received his full salary for another 18 months. And falter it did.
In 2017, more subcontractors walked off the job because of lack of payment.
Its affiliate was in the concrete forming business. .block-title > a,
I did not invest, he said. 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. Bondfield is highly regarded in many sectors. }
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. That ruling has been appealed and a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal has yet to be released. {
The charges include allegations that Aquino assaulted and threatened to kill some of the companys employees and co-owners. .td-pulldown-syle-2 .td-subcat-dropdown:hover .td-subcat-more i,
The City of Hamilton has discovered more sewage flowing directly into Lake Ontario.
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But instead of accepting the scores, the steering committee sent the evaluators back to re-evaluate. The only problem that September day was that Bondfields go-to IT official, Benny Weinstock, was off for Rosh Hashanah and was prohibited, religiously, from working until the two-day celebration ended at sundown. The monitor and . .td_3D_btn,
The Globe and Mail discovered that information on their own, and I wont confirm it.. .td-footer-wrapper .td-post-category,
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Fax: 905-458-6020. Over the years, Bondfield has been awarded a number of contracts at Sunnybrook, which the hospital estimates were worth a total of $129-million. John Aquino was born on 20 April 1948 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. "name": "Home"
We need to finish a few things at his place. Other e-mails from 2013, 2014 and 2015 show Bondfield staff asked Mr. Aquino for instructions about how to record work done at Vas house or Vass house.. Follow Greg McArthur on Twitter: @McarthurGregOpens in a new windowFollow Karen Howlett on Twitter: @kahowlettOpens in a new window. .tds-button5:hover .tdm-btn-text,
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. Join to connect Bondfield Construction Company Limited. A special committee of the board of Infrastructure Ontario went so far as to conclude that the St. Thanks again for cigar it was good to see you and you have charged my batteries.. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Learn More Ralph Aquino CHAIRMAN Learn More Maria Bot, BSc. this.td_filter_value = ''; //current live filter value
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. var td_magnific_popup_translation_tPrev="Previous (Left arrow key)"; }
var tds_more_articles_on_post_pages_distance_from_top=0; 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. ,{
Mr. Aquino, Mr. Georgiou and Unity Health opposed the disclosure. tdLocalCache = {
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. That left only Bondfield, which bid $299-million 45-per-cent lower than PCL. body .td_block_list_menu li.current-menu-ancestor > a,
You can receive a daily update of certificates and notices published in Ontario Construction News, sent around 7:30 a.m. each morning. var td_magnific_popup_translation_tCounter="%curr% of %total%"; Special to Ontario Construction News
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The Mareva was brought against John Aquino by Ernst & Young Inc., in its capacity as court-appointed monitor of Bondfield Construction Company Limited. 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 open court principle is protected by the constitutionally-entrenched right of freedom of expression. .td_block_template_10 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item,
Mr. Georgiou advised Mr. Aquino to keep his temper well known throughout Ontarios construction industry in check. He even attended a dinner with Mr. Aquino, Mr. Mendonca and Steven Muzzo, the owner of Ozz Electric, one of Bondfields irate subcontractors, to try to mediate a resolution. font-size:13px; Experience CFO Bondfield Construction Company Limited . .widgettitle:after,
Mr. Marafioti has not been charged with any criminal offences. An Ontario Superior Court judge found that those funds were illegitimately transferred to subcontractors for services that were never delivered. [16] In October 2018, BCCL's primary lender, Bridging Finance Inc. ("Bridging"), called in its $80,000,000 loan. Click here to leave a comment! .tdm_block_column_content:hover .tdm-col-content-title-url .tdm-title,
That was not the only e-mail in which Mr. Georgiou used the word we to describe Bondfield. } }
The top two floors remain under construction, Ms. Divell said. font-family:"Work Sans";
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. var tdBlocksArray = []; //here we store all the items for the current page
Following an in-depth peer review process, the 2022 Lexpert Special Edition: Canada's Leading Litigation Lawyers guide recognizes 15 Lenczner Slaght lawyers for their extensive courtroom experience and subject-matter expertise. }
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.. Your email address will not be published. remove: function (resource_id) {
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JOHN AQUINO, MARCO CARUSO, GIUSEPPE ANASTASIO a.k.a. Two days later, they returned with new scores, and this time Bondfield had moved into third place, replacing Turner Construction, which had been knocked down to fourth. .bbp_widget_login .button:hover,
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Infrastructure Ontarios rules required the steering committee to be unanimous and his concerns meant the procurement could fail. googletag.cmd.push(function() {
The Globe submitted more than 1,700 records. if ( !!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident. 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..
Mr. Georgious lawyer has said her client denies any wrongdoing. Zurich also discovered that when The Globe began publishing stories in September, 2015, about the close ties between the two men, Mr. Aquino ordered his IT staff to wipe all references to Mr. Georgiou from the companys e-mail server. Mr. Aquino and Mr. Georgiou considered Mr. Mendonca their lifeline, internal Bondfield e-mails show. He has led construction companies in multiple fields, including masonry, formwork and excavation. #bbpress-forums button:hover,
They should continue to fund construction, and then sue the actual fraudsters (John Aquino & Bondfield). .block-title,
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Law firms that specialize in white-collar investigations often turn to the courts to compel the production of documents.
As far as your story goes, I wont provide any information on the victims, in order to protect them, Pattenden wrote to OCN. The Bondfield group is the general contractor on a number of large scale infrastructure and other construction projects in Ontario. Under questioning by Zurichs lawyers, Mr. Georgiou confirmed they had been friends since high school. color: #38a6c1;
The aggregate value of these projects is in the billions of dollars. 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. }
So I think I gave him a panettone, and some wine, maybe a cognac bottle, thats about it. var td_email_user_incorrect="Email or username incorrect! 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. window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};
Mr. Aquino said Mr. Georgiou didnt do anything to earn the remaining $450,000, and he had no explanation for the spreadsheet that indicated he owed Mr. Georgiou $500,000. Charges against John Aquino also include break-and-enter, uttering threats
The terms of the settlement are confidential, but the evidence unearthed by Zurich contains a hint about what Mr. Georgiou received. Mr. Aquino rallied allies in the construction industry and a prominent Conservative fundraiser. .td_block_template_6 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item,
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In 2015, when The Globe was preparing a story about the close ties between the two men, John Aquino ordered an IT official at Bondfield to permanently delete 5,000 e-mails and records about Mr. Georgiou from the companys servers. 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. "; That was a conflict of interest neither man disclosed. Seven days later, Mr. Marafioti resigned, ending a three-decade career at Sunnybrook, which is home to Canadas largest trauma centre. Over a number of years, Aquino and his associates were alleged to have carried out a false invoicing scheme by which they siphoned off tens of millions of dollars from both companies. .vc_tta-container .vc_tta-color-grey.vc_tta-tabs-position-top.vc_tta-style-classic .vc_tta-tabs-container {
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. Funding will go By Susanna McLeod
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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. var td_magnific_popup_translation_ajax_tError="The content from %url% could not be loaded. Mr. Aquino wanted to know: Were any clues about his ties to Mr. Georgiou contained in public records? 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.
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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. 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. return tdLocalCache.data[resource_id];
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