A special committee of the board of Infrastructure Ontario went so far as to conclude that the St. John Aquino was born on 20 April 1948 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. } John Aquino is a Manager, Network at KPMG based in London, Greater London. In its statement, Unity Health characterized Zurichs lawsuit as an attempt to get out of its obligations under the surety bonds, and noted that the healthcare network has countersued the insurer. .bbp_widget_login .button:hover, }, 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. .td_block_wrap .td-subcat-item a.td-cur-simple-item { 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. That same 2013 e-mail also raises questions about who was ultimately paying for the work on Mr. Georgious home. }; 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 .td_wrapper_video_playlist .td_video_controls_playlist_wrapper, .td-pulldown-syle-2 .td-subcat-dropdown:hover .td-subcat-more span, .page-nav .current, .td_block_template_1 .td-related-title, "@type": "BreadcrumbList", .tds-social3 .tdm-social-item { .td_module_wrap:hover .entry-title a, "@type": "ListItem", return tdLocalCache.data.hasOwnProperty(resource_id) && tdLocalCache.data[resource_id] !== null; The author of the letters, which were unsigned, urged the reporters to look into the many ties between Mr. Georgiou and Mr. Aquino, and the awarding of the St. Michaels contract. 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. .td_outlined_btn:hover { "; }); Bondfield collapsed in 2019, fired Mr. Aquino as CEO and sought court protection from creditors. Click here to leave a comment! He has not been charged with a criminal offence, and he did not respond to a request for comment. Bondfield was a construction company that operated in the Greater Toronto Area and elsewhere. .td-mobile-content .current-menu-item > a, body .td_top_authors .td_mod_wrap:hover .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. Corebuild Construction LTD. Executive Team Members Steven Aquino, B.A.Sc. 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." _____ .td_block_template_4 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, .dropcap2, Bondfields statement of claim alleged The Globe article had the clear inference that the contract was awarded because of corruption. var td_viewport_interval_list=[{"limitBottom":767,"sidebarWidth":228},{"limitBottom":1018,"sidebarWidth":300},{"limitBottom":1140,"sidebarWidth":324}]; Mr. Aquino was Bondfield's CEO when it won the St. Michael's contract in 2015.Cole Burston/The Globe and Mail. As part of the lawsuit, both The Globe and Bondfield were required to produce all documents relevant to the court case. a.vc_btn-black:hover, *rv\:11\./) ) { 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. 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. .td-mobile-content .current-menu-ancestor > a, .sf-menu > .current-menu-ancestor > a:after, Vas Georgiou was chief administrative officer of St. Michaels Hospital from 2013 to 2015, and John Aquino was CEO of Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd. when it won the coveted contract to create Canadas premier critical-care centre in 2015 a $300-million project that is mired in protracted delays. 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. .td-trending-now-wrapper:hover .td-trending-now-title, .td_block_template_17 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, .tdm_block_pricing .tdm-pricing-feature i, .archive .widget_archive .current a, #bbpress-forums li.bbp-header .bbp-reply-content span a:hover, 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. For a number of people with inside knowledge about the procurement, the reports findings were puzzling. var td_pass_empty="Pass empty! .td-pulldown-syle-2 .td-subcat-dropdown ul:after, 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 (Mr. Georgiou was also suing St. Michaels for wrongful dismissal. John Aquino is also being investigated by the SFO for his role in alleged corruption at St. Michaels. The documents, Zurich alleges, show that Mr. Aquino bestowed multiple benefits on Mr. Georgiou, including free home renovations, and that Mr. Georgiou intervened on Bondfields behalf to help it secure the St. Michaels contract. The Globe and Mail discovered that information on their own, and I wont confirm it.. "; Mr. Georgiou has denied he swayed the procurement in Bondfields favour. 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 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. Zurich, citing this alleged corruption, is seeking a court order rescinding the bonds it issued on the St. Michaels contract. St. Michael's Hospital in 2015, the year that Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd. won a contract to manage a major redevelopment there. this.max_num_pages = 0; //from wp 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. ] But a month before St. Michaels even announced Mr. Georgious appointment publicly in January, 2013, celebrations had begun in Bondfields head office. Your email address will not be published. body .td_top_authors .td-active .td-author-comments-count, .td-footer-wrapper .widget_product_search input[type="submit"]:hover, An Ontario Superior Court judge found that those funds were illegitimately transferred to subcontractors for services that were never delivered. 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. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. } .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, Under questioning by Zurichs lawyer, Matthew Lerner, Mr. Aquino acknowledged Bondfield performed all of this work free of charge. But Mr. Aquinos strategy was not limited to litigation. EllisDons design was considered non-compliant and it was disqualified. "@id": "https://www.ontarioconstructionnews.com/", 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. But the two men went back even further. But the records were released in March after The Globe and Mail successfully fought a judges order that sealed them. 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. Resides in Burbank, CA. 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. On March 19, 2013, those evaluators presented their scores to Mr. Georgious steering committee, which was also made up of two officials from Infrastructure Ontario and a St. Michaels official. var tds_more_articles_on_post_pages_distance_from_top=0; We salute and recognize our Gala Co-chairs, John Aquino, Bondfield Construction and Sam Ciccolini, SJC Investments Inc., as well as our donors, friends and benefactors who generously supported this worthwhile cause and made it a truly special event. Mr. Aquino was fired from Bondfield in 2018 by his younger brother Steven Aquino, who supplanted him as president. In a statement to The Globe this week, a spokesperson for Osler said the firm had no knowledge of the e-mail deletions. He has led construction companies in multiple fields, including masonry, formwork and excavation. } Thanks again for cigar it was good to see you and you have charged my batteries.. 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. A police investigation, which is being led by a provincial law enforcement initiative known as the Serious Fraud Office, is targeting Sam Marafioti, a Sunnybrook executive who oversaw construction and planning until his recent resignation from the hospital. Ontario Construction News staff writer "position": 3, "@id": "https://www.ontarioconstructionnews.com/category/aroundprovince/", tdLocalCache.data[resource_id] = cachedData; Bondfield is highly regarded in many sectors. About three months later, that firm declared it believed Bondfields bid was compliant and could proceed. 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, Ralph Aquino CHAIRMAN Ralph brings more than 60 years of construction experience to this Chairman role at Corebuild. Zurich argues that the alleged collusion should nullify any obligation it has to pay for the completion of the project. Experience CFO Bondfield Construction Company Limited . John Aquino, the former chief executive officer of Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd., was a domineering boss who was used to getting his way. Whats more, it said its investigators which consisted of a team from Toronto law firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and forensic auditors from Cohen Hamilton Steger & Co. Inc. had found no evidence of any attempt to inappropriately influence the procurement. Infrastructure Ontario paid Blakes $1.4-million for its work on the report. .td_block_template_5 .td-related-title .td-cur-simple-item, Mr. Georgious lawyer has said her client denies any wrongdoing. -webkit-box-shadow: 0 4px 26px #38a6c1; .td-search-form-widget .wpb_button:hover, Save the date for our 62nd annual Conference and Expo. John Bondfield to the Commissioners. .comment-content blockquote p, No one person could materially influence or direct the outcome of the procurement process, he has argued in court filings. .td-block-title-wrap .td-wrapper-pulldown-filter .td-pulldown-filter-item .td-cur-simple-item, John Di Aquino, 64. htmlTag.className += ' ieEdge'; Bondfield, now insolvent, grew rapidly in the middle of the last decade. The problem was that neither company, both of which were owned by Mr. Georgious family, had actually performed any work. 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. .td_block_template_5 .td-block-title > *, This letter will help both my and your lawsuit with the newspaper.. But when a team of evaluators first scored the bidders, they put Bondfield in fourth place a ranking that, if allowed to stand, would eliminate the company from the race. JOE ANA, THE ESTATE OF MICHAEL SOLANO, LUCIA COCCIA a.k.a. .wpb_default, 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. $19 Million Mini Biography John Aquino was created on Apr 20, 1948 in Philadelphia, Pa, USA as John Michael Grochowina. Over the years, Bondfield has been awarded a number of contracts at Sunnybrook, which the hospital estimates were worth a total of $129-million. After The Globe published a story on Sept. 24, 2015, outlining how Mr. Georgiou had been working on Mr. Aquinos commercial buildings at the same time he was evaluating bidders for the project, Mr. OBrien sprang into action. .wpb_tabs li:hover a, Mr. Marafioti was not a party to that litigation and was not offered an opportunity to respond to Steven Aquinos testimony. input[type=submit]:hover, #bbpress-forums button:hover, Mr. Aquino had provided Mr. Georgiou with a secret BlackBerry and even his own bondfield.com e-mail address, which they used to pass messages. In the end, both agencies agreed to hire a third-party engineering consultant to review Bondfields bid. Copyright Of The Record 2020 All rights reserved. A construction union deal with a labour supply company rather than directly with a builder . 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. "; He was released with a next court date of Jan. 6, 2021, Pattenden wrote. .td-theme-wrap .sf-menu ul .current-category-ancestor > a, .tds-button5:hover i, Aquino, 48, was arrested and charged on Sept. 23, York Regional Police (YRP) Staff Sgt. this.post_count = 0; //from wp .td-subcat-filter .td-subcat-dropdown:hover .td-subcat-more, As the founder of Bondfield Construction, Ralph built a construction company from one employee to reach Canada's top 10 constructors. // td_js_generator - mini detector But the e-mails uncovered by Zurich show he was not deterred. } 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. CLF supplies labourers to GTA job sites for general cleanup work on a temporary or long-term basis. } .td-block-title-wrap .td-wrapper-pulldown-filter .td-pulldown-filter-link:hover, This backchannel was in contravention of numerous procurement rules, and if anyone discovered the e-mails, it would mean trouble for both men. For its part, Zurich said, through its lawyer, that it disagreed with that assertion. Td_Js_Generator - Mini detector but the e-mails uncovered by zurich show he was not deterred. in alleged corruption St.! The St. Michaels john aquino bondfield newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the end, both Globe! Also raises questions about who was ultimately paying for the work on the St. john aquino bondfield show he was not.. Infrastructure Ontario paid Blakes $ 1.4-million for its part, zurich said through! Produce all documents relevant to the court case or evening. the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently to! 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