Mondo Condo Makeover a Looming Nightmare for UFCW
Mondo Condo Makeover a Looming Nightmare for UFCW
Are Pension Gurus Backing Job Destruction Scheme?
If you had a $32 million investment in a hotel and learned that the owners planned to turn it into ...something other than a hotel, you'd want to know what was going on - right? Similarly, if you came to work one day and saw a sign announcing that your workplace was soon going to be ...something other than your workplace, you'd want to know about that too - wouldn't you?
Workers at the Travelodge Hotel at Keele Street and Highway 401 in Toronto's west end have been living with uncertainty on both fronts for a long time now. Earlier this year, a large banner draped across the roof of one of the hotel's two 10 storey towers announced that the hotel will soon be converted to condominiums. Since then a presentation center, sales office and model suites have been opened to promote the Westmount Condos. Ads are running in local newspapers and a recent story in the Toronto Star stated the building was sold earlier this year to Joe Ieradi, a local builder. According to the story, Ieradi has come a long way since those days. He now runs a construction company called Dacapa Construction and intends to convert the hotel into 247 condo units ranging in price from $98,000 to $440,000.
The obvious impact of this kind of conversion on the hotel workers, who are represented by United Food and Commercial Workers Union, is the certain loss of their jobs. But there is another dimension to the relationship between these workers (and about 180,000 of their UFCW sisters and brothers), and the current owners of the Travelodge. As members of the UFCW's Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (CCWIPP), they have a substantial investment in this and other hotels - at least $30 million dollars from what we can tell.
Despite their status as employees and investors, it seems that so far nobody's told them what's going on. Their employer has been silent on the subject and so has their union.
Knowledge is power and there's nothing we like more than bringing knowledge to working people. Here we go again. We've done some digging and want to share some information that we've unearthed with the workers at the Travelodge, members of CCWIPP and interested members of the community of workers. MfD Goes in For a Look.
First father Ronnie rescues the building:
quote:
He chose to run a consulting company from his tiny Brampton condo. Putting his church experience to work, Kelly advised funeral homes and cemeteries on business plans and raised funds for education projects. Almost by accident, he began helping struggling companies.
While driving to meetings across Metro, he often found himself on Keele St., viewing the grandiose Skyline-Triumph hotel, shut down amid financial troubles. Kelly found the $9 million power-of-sale price meant a per-room cost of just $27,000 - compared to $70,000 elsewhere in Metro. The hotel's convention centre alone cost $10 million!
Then the UFCW rescues the workers:
quote:
14. Mr. Kukovica was questioned regarding the nature of CCWIPP.Mr. Kukovica stated that he is a trustee of CCWIPP. There are currently eight trustees of CCWIPP, which is jointly managed by the International and representatives of the employer community. According to Mr. Kukovica, the International appoints four trustees. A representative of each of the Oshawa Group, Canada Safeway and Loblaws make up three other trustees of CCWIPP, and a fourth individual sits an a representative of other employers who participate in CCWIPP.
Mr. Kukovica testified that the trustees ensure that the pension plan is administered to the benefit of its members, and that an Investment Committee appointed from the trustees makes the effective investment decisions for CCWIPP. Currently, four of the trustees sit on the Investment Committee - Clifford Evans and Bernard Christophe, both of the International, and Victor Pinchin and Howard Preston, representing Safeway and the "other employers' respectively.
15. Mr. Kukovica testified that CCWIPP invests through corporations. He identified Propco's 14
and 16 as being two of the vehicles used by CCWIPP to invest in companies such as Kelloryn. Mr. Kukovica had little knowledge of the specific details of CCWIPP's investment in the company, but conceded his knowledge of two mortgages held by CCWIPP, through Propco's 14 and 16, in the total amount of fifteen million dollars, secured by the hotel property. The articles of incorporation and most recent Form 1 filed with the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations for Propco 16 were placed into evidence before the Board, The address of the Registered or Head office of the corporation is stated to be that of the offices of Ahee, McMahon and Meikle. The directors consist of Mr. Ahee, Mr. Evans, Mr. Preston, Mr. Christophe, Mr. Pinchin, Michael Rogerson and William Minnis. Messrs. Rogerson and Minnis were not identified at the hearing. Mr. Evans is identified as the Chairman, Mr. Preston as the President, Mr. Pinchin as the Vice-President, and Mr. Ahee as the Secretary-Treasurer. No such corresponding information for Propco 14 was placed into evidence.
16, Also placed into evidence was the shareholder's Agreement dated May 12, 1993, between Ronald Kelly, Kelloryn, Propco 14 and Propco 16. This agreement governs the manner in which the affairs of Kelloryn are conducted. In the document the parties acknowledge that the source of funding for Propco 14 and 16 are "registered Canadian pension funds". The document by its terms also creates, amongst other things, the following relationship and obligations:
(a) the board of Directors of the company Shall consist of six directors;
(b) each of Propco 14, Propco 16 and Ronald Kelly shall have the right to nominate two nominees
of its/his choice to be elected directors of the company;
(c) the BY-Laws of the company are to provide that a quorum for a meeting of directors shall be
three directors, which must include at Least one of the nominees of each Propco 14, Propco 16
and Ronald Kelly;
(d) any contracts 'havinq a value in excess Of $10,000.00 or having a term or duration in excess
of one year" require prior approval of the board of Directors; and
(e) at all times that Propco 14 and Propco 16 are Jointly or severally shareholders of Kelloryn,
Kelloryn may not enter into "any agreement, contract or comitment" (except as specifically
provided) without the approval of the Board of Directors.
The agreement also permits, in certain limited circumstances, Propco's 14 and 16 the right to purchase the shares of Ronald Kelly in the company. Finally, any monies available in the company for distribution after the enumerated obligations and expenses are paid are distributed largely in favour of Propco's 14 and 16 - that is Propco's 14 and 16 receive forty per cent each, and Ronald Kelly receives twenty per cant of all monies available for distribution. The agreement appears to have been executed on behalf of Propco's 14 and 16 by Alexander Ahee.
17. Also reviewed by the Board was the operating Agreement dated September 25, 1992 between
Kelloryn and Accomodex. This agreement in essence creates an agency relationship between Accamodex and Kelloryn (although not determinative of the nature of the relationship, the document specifically characterizes the relationship between Accomodex and Kelloryn as one of agent and principal). The relationship created is characterized,amongst other things, by the following incidents and obligations:
(a) the Owner (Kelloryn) grants the operator (Accomodex) the exclusive right, licence and
privilege to supervise, direct and control the management and the operation of the hotel as
agent of the owner;
(b) the operator has control and discretion in the management and operation of the hotel, except
as specifically provided;
(c) the operator, at the request of the owner, shall consult with the owner concerning policies and
procedures affecting all phases of the conduct of the business at the hotel; and
(d) the operator conducts labour negotiations, hires, supervises and terminates employees on
behalf of the owner, as agent. All employees of the hotel are stated to be employees of the owner. Collective agreements are to be approved by the owner prior to execution.
The operating agreement was executed by Mr. Ronald Kelly, on behalf of the company, and Mr. Steven Phillips, an behalf of Accomodex.
18. It is On the basis of the above facts that the issue of employer involvement was argued by
counsel.
I wonder if the CCWIPP reps are going to visit the hotel to tell the employees what's in store for them?
I wonder why Kelly paid $9 million, but CCWIPP lent him $15 million, and that $15 million doesn't show up on the land registry documents?
Thanks for bringing that to our attention.
Who is Joe Ieradi? I can find three references to Joe Ieradi on the Internet:
A Joe Ieradi offers to set up a hit for a friend and then calls the cops.
quote:
…Mr. [Joe] Ieradi, a greasy-looking 47-year-old, said he's known Ms. Bonacci for 20 years -- they'd met through her family, and for a while, after getting re-acquainted at a Phil Collins concert, had been "casual" sexual partners. Given that, one would think he try to talk her out of it. Instead, he set the amount at $300,000, and told her to get the down payment -- practically "leading [Ms. Bonacci] down the garden path" and perhaps hoping to pocket the money himself, her lawyer Bob Carew suggested yesterday.
Mr. Ieradi was also facing several drug and weapons charges at the time. Maybe he thought, as his police statement suggests, he'd get a deal if he turned her in.
He denied both allegations. "She said she'd find someone else if I didn't help her," he said. "It was the only way I could stop her."
Mr. Ieradi's motivation aside, Ms. Bonacci appeared determined. When she had trouble raising the down payment, she embezzled $10,000 from her dad's account. When the Money Mart refused her personal cheque, she had one certified at a bank and with Mr. Ieradi posing as her father, Frank, returned the next day….
A Joe Ieradi gets caught selling underweight baloney:
quote:
…Giuseppe Joe Ieradi, acting as an officer of Richmond Meats Inc., pleaded guilty to violating the same counts and was fined a total of $2,000….
A Joe Ieradi gets caught for an illegal land-fill operation
quote:
ORGREEN ENTERPRISE LIMITED 1 EPA 40 $10,000 08/16/1996
VAUGHAN, ONTARIO (306) 1 EPA 9(7) $10,000 08/16/1996
1 EPA 14(1) $25,000 08/16/1996
IERADI, JOSEPH 1 EPA 194(2) $2,000 08/16/1996
MAPLE, ONTARIO
ESTABLISHED AN UNAPPROVED WASTE DISPOSAL SITE BY RECEIVING WOOD WASTE AND ALLOWED WASTE TO BE BURNED IN AN UNAPPROVED WOOD WASTE INCINERATOR. TOTAL FINES: $47,000
Does anyone know if all three are the same guy or if there are a lot of Joe Ieradi's in Ontario?
quote:
"With the pension funds we've been mainly concentrating in real estate, such as affordable housing projects," says Kukovica.
Do(es) 247 condo units ranging in price from $98,000 to $440,000 count as an affordable housing project?
Perhaps every laid-off worker should get a free condo.
If/when the conversion/construction begins, I can't imagine how the hotel could possibly continue to have guests, unless they were the construction workers themselves.
I see there was a Joe Ieradi who "ESTABLISHED AN UNAPPROVED WASTE DISPOSAL SITE" and now a Joe Ieradi who may have established an unapproved money pit.
My guess is that Royal Host is looking to unload this property and Joe is in line to pick up its 50%. If that's the case, I wonder where Joe is going to get his financing? Could it be from CCWIPP?
My big question is exactly how is Dacapa Construction qualified to carry out this proposed engineering feat? Dacapa seems to be little more than a phone number at a private residence at Viva Court in Maple Ontario.
If you don't want to go to a house, you have to drop your letter off at a PO Box;
Dacapa Construction Limited
905-832-9937
PO Box 471 Stn Main,
Maple, ON
L6A 1S3
The phone provides an anonymous recorded answer saying only that "You have reached 832-9937. We are unable to come to the phone. Please leave a message etc."
I find it hard to believe that this company is going to be the new owners of the Triumph.
Sounds like a real top flight operation for sure.
What is so galling about this is the way that the workers at this hotel have been treated. Since 1992 - when the place reopened, they've been represented (in this order) by UFCW Local 206, HERE Local 75, the Textile Processors Union, UFCW Local 351 and now UFCW Local 333. What has all this representation got them?
I can't imagine working in a place for weeks or months on end where big signs have gone up saying "condos coming soon" (which translates into "we're going to fire you all soon") and not being told a damned thing by either my employer or my union about what's going on.
Their pension fund has pumped millions upon millions of their penion money into the hands of Father Ronnie and the Royal Host boys (and maybe - coming soon condos man - Joe Ieradi). And what's that going to get them? Pink slips!
If my pension fund did that to my job I'd be at the trustees' office with a busload of protestors.
This story highlights the sad reality of members who are stuck in these biz unions. They are like a bag of money to their employer, their union(s) and their pension fund - something to pass around for the mutual benefit of the high and mighty. Their unions made money off of them, so does the pension fund, so does their employer. They're like like a big fat joint at an upscale biz guys' party. They get passed around and smoked so the high and mighty at the party can get even higher.
Pathetic. Where are all the labour movement leaders in this? For all their rhetoric about service industry workers, here we have another hundred or so about to be sacrificed at the altar of greed and the lords of labour are looking the other way - as always.
Ah, yes, the Textile Processors:
quote:
Union empire-builder Corrigan is not loved in movement
BY LORNE SLOTNICK
and PETER MOON
The Globe and Mail (Feb. 26, 1987)
Thomas Corrigan has carved out a unique place for himself in Canada's labor movement: he is the only person to hold office in three different unions.
Shortly after coming to Canada in 1960, the New York born Mr. Corrigan began accumulating unions the same way some people grab fast food franchises.
While his activities have gained him a lot of titles after his name, they have not earned him much respect in labor circles. He is relatively unknown in the labor movement, and most unionists who do know him regard his operations with suspicion.
But Mr. Corrigan has always concentrated his efforts on building his social and business contacts. Most recently, he has been linked to the setting up of the International Bank Ltd. in St. Kitts, which is being investigated by the St. Kitts authorities with the help of the RCMP.
For a quarter century, Mr. Corrigan, 57, has controlled a medium sized local of the Teamsters and the Canadian operations of two little known U.S. unions the Textile Processors, Service Trades, Health Care, Professional and Technical Employees International Union and the International Union of Allied Novelty and Production Workers.
All three are housed in a handsome, renovated old mansion on Madison Avenue in Toronto, where Mr. Corrigan's office is decorated with pictures of him with Teamster leaders such as the late James Hoffa, as well as football pictures and photographs of Mr. Corrigan at black tie dinners.
The building was purchased in 1982 for $600,000 in cash by LHWF Holding Ltd., a company owned by the Textile Processors.
It is not known how Mr. Corrigan got involved in unions, but he came to Canada from Chicago in 1960 as an organizer for the Laundry, Dry Cleaning and Dye House Workers union, which several years ago changed its name to the Textile Processors. Along with his good friend Gilbert Davis, he launched an aggressive campaign to sign up workers in Toronto laundries.
The two, both Korean War veterans and former professional boxers Mr. Davis was known as the "Jewish white hope" were inseparable for years, but Mr. Davis suddenly disappeared from the union scene several years ago.
The early months of the laundry organizing drive quickly landed the two men in court. They were fined $100 each for intimidation after one worker 'testified that they had threatened to bring two Sicilians from Chicago to change his mind about the union. However, the conviction was overturned on appeal.
"They told me that when they had finished with me, I'd beg to join the union," the Italian born worker had told the court. Mr. Corrigan and Mr. Davis argued that they had merely offered to bring a Sicilian to explain union affairs to the man.
In those days, sources say, Mr. Corrigan's pay consisted of a percentage of the dues the union collected from Canada. "It was pretty important to get lots of members, even if he didn't do anything for them," one unionist said.
Mr. Corrigan is now third international vice president of the Textile Processors, a job which brought him a salary of $23,100 (U.S.) for the year ending last March, according to figures filed with the U.S. Department of Labor.
He is also secretary treasurer of the union's Local 351. With 3,600 members, the local has nearly all the union's Canadian members.
Mr. Corrigan refused to be interviewed but answered several of 18 written questions submitted to him by The Globe and Mail through his lawyer. He would not discuss what salaries he makes in his various union offices.
The Chicago based textile processors' union has long been an outcast in the labor movement it was kicked out of the main U.S. labor body, the AFL CIO, in 1957 for unethical practices, including corrupt elections. The union has survived partly because of a loose affiliation with the Teamsters agreed upon in 1962.
Under the agreement, the textile processors' union pays a per-member fee and in return gets the right to use the phrase "affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters." (cont.)
Isn't it amazing how the now deceased Mr. Corrigan and the UFCW are entwined?
The UFCW gets the Textile processors and Cliff Evans' son, John Evans' gets the Madision Avenue building for a song. You'll notice that Corrigan bought the place in 1982 for $600,000 and then did extensive renovations. John got to buy the place about 17 years later for about $440,000. Now the building seems to be worth about $1.3 million, and Ralph Ortlieb is involved again.
Ralph Ortlieb, a former UFCW rep and father to one of the largest SEIU Local's president, was origianally involved in the deal and then he winds up being president of UFCW Local 351.
Real eastate has been very, very good to some but for the workers it has been very, very bad.
The Triumph, even though it was essentially owned by the UFCW, had one of the shittiest contracts around. The MFD outed the UFCW and then the Triumph employees got a better deal than other related properties. Could that have been because the cost wasn't a big deal because the place wasn't going to be around for long, so the impact would be minimal?
edit= no evidence that the above three items refer to the same man.
Hey look, here's a nice story about Father Ronnie from the society page of the Jamaica Gleaner. Seems Ronnie was partying it up with the creme de la creme of Jamaican society over the Easter holidays - around about the time that the Feds were slapping a lien on the Travelodge on account of his company not paying its taxes.
Here's a nice excerpt about the high-falutin' do:
quote:
Canadian multimillionaire, Ron Kelly of the Canadian Investment Company of RHK Capital Inc., says the Hilton Kingston Hotel is not for sale as is being rumoured.
So says the affable Canadian multi-millionaire who was on one of his many unheralded visits to this here capital city last Sunday. He was at a dinner party thrown in his honour by security conglomateur Kenny Benjamin, at his Stony Hill Estate residence.
My dears, it was another of those Kenny Benjamin power-packed dinners, with a number of the noted and quoted in attendance, as the guest of honour did the rounds -a-meeting and a-greeting old friends and new acquaintances on one of his rare social outings here in Kingston and it made for a primetime do and then some!
Now Kenny Benjamin does not know how to host anything but stellar dos!
And with old friend Ron Kelly in town, the bon vivant was in social overdrive, opening up his much celebrated entertainment cathedral, for cocktails and a sumptuous buffet of Indian culinary surprises and delights, that proved a hit and all that!
It all made for a fabulous evening and then some, as guests lazed through the luxuriant gardens a-sipping cocktails, the city of Kingston and the verdant hills of St. Andrew being the perfect backdrop for a truly fabulous do.
I absolutely fail to understand the CCWIPP trustees' loyalty to this guy. It seems to me that they are always there for him. Given what we know about the returns generated by the hundreds of millions of dollars sunk into his enterprises it's hard to imagine whose interests - other than Ron Kelly's - these investments are serving.
Mondo Condo Makeover P.02: The Plot Thickens
Last week we posted Mondo Condo Makeover, a report on some intriguing - to say the least - developments at the Travelodge Yorkdale Hotel at 2737 Keele Street in Toronto. Along with the intriguing developments were a myriad of troubling questions that the hotel's recently announced conversion to condominiums raises.
UFCW Canada's pension plan, CCWIPP, has a sizable investment in the hotel - some $32 million. The latest goings-on raise questions about the role of the union pension fund's trustees in this conversion: The UFCW represents the workers at this hotel. UFCW leaders sit on the Board of Trustees of CCWIPP. CCWIPP has $32 million invested in this business. The UFCW's original investment in this property was supposed to be all about creating good union jobs. If the hotel is converted to a condo, that will cost over 100 UFCW members their jobs. How does that equate to good representation of workers by their union? Or to job creation through investments of workers' pension funds?
At the heart of the condo conversion scheme is Joe Ieradi. A mysterious local builder, Ieradi was quoted in the local media stating last month saying that he was the new owner of the hotel. But records at the City of Toronto Land Titles Office reveal that he is no more the owner than MfD. Why is Ieradi claiming that he owns the hotel when he doesn't?
Then there are the lingering questions about the CCWIPP trustees' ongoing relationship with the real owners of the hotel - particularly the former-father Ron Kelly, whose various enterprises have been heavily funded by CCWIPP for over a decade. He's benefited enormously from CCWIPP's largesse. What has been the benefit to CCWIPP members? What's going on with the millions upon million of union members' dollars that have been invested in this and other hotels? We've been asking those questions for the past three years. So far, nobody in a position to know is responding.
If They Won't Tell Us...
If they won't respond, we'll find out for ourselves and we'll share what we learn with our community. And we're learning more each day.
Only a week has passed since our Mondo Condo story appeared and already the plot has thickened. Reports from a number of sources indicated that a sale of the hotel to Joe Ieradi was imminent. So we decided to check back at the Land Titles Office to see if there was any recent activity involving the property and sure enough - there was! Check it out.
Holy Shit, what's that awful odor? This is butt ugly stuff, unless of course there is some plausible explanation. So, to ease the minds of the UFCW workers affected, would the Union officials involved please step forward do some "splaining."
I'm not holding my breath, BTW. It is sad, because in the United States, these types of transactions conceiveably would be called Prohibitive Transactions. It is illegal for anyone connected to a pension plan or health and welfare fund to benefit from a relationship with a provider or investor.
I always heard how much more "union friendly" Canada was towards the labor movement...is this what they mean?
quote:
I always heard how much more "union friendly" Canada was towards the labor movement...is this what they mean?
Pretty much - for corrupt unions anyway. Canada is a great place to set up shop for anyone who's up to no good because of our weak law enforcement and gullible regulatory agencies.
If I hear another story about crooked cops in this, Canada's largest city, I think I'm going to puke. Don't get me wrong, our boyz-in-blue are pretty good at busting petty offenders but when it comes to complicated crime involving guys in suits, fuggetaboutit! Here's a cool story from the Toronto Star about money laundering money laundering in Canada and how almost impossible it is for all but the most stupid of crooks to get caught.
As far as the regulatory agencies - like the FSCO which oversees pension funds registered in Ontario - are concerned, my impression is that they are staffed with half-milers who couldn't investigate their way out of paper bag or aren't allowed to by senior bureaucrats who will do anything to avoid a controversy. They have long since come to see the public (that they're supposed to be serving) as a nuisance and the pension administrators, trustees, consultants, lawyers et al as their true "clients". The regulators no longer see themselves as having to protect the public but rather perceive their jobs to be helping the pension administrators. If that means putting the public interest in second or even third place, so be it. When the suit 'n tie crowd calls, they get the regulators' undivided attention. When some pension plan member calls looking for answers to what's going on with his or her pension plan, they're just a pain in the ass - troublemakers who can't leave well enough alone.
Good investigators and vigilant staffers either leave in frustration or end up doing the half-assed job that their Directors, Assistant Deputy Ministers, Commissioners and other top brass expect of them.
In the case of the high-strangeness involving CCWIPP, the FSCO (Financial Services Commission of Ontario) has been reviewing the pension fund and its administration for over a year now. In that year, we've learned of one hair-raising scheme after another. Money continues to pour into Ron Kelly's failing ventures, millions have been pledged for the struggling resort operations in the Bahamas, sweet deals granting concessions on the repayment terms of multi-million dollars loans have been given to AFM Hospitality (where two CCWIPP officials were given 65,000 shares each just a couple of months after the last great act of generosity). What the hell is going on? While the FSCO's review (or whatever it is) drags on, it's business as usual for CCWIPP and its circle of leaches. Does this make sense? Not to me it doesn't.
I don't know what it is about Canada that has led to this fawning approach to regulation of things that affect people who are not among the elite of society. Maybe it's our colonial past - public servants were expected to defer to the wisdom of the guvnor and his well-heeled cronies.
I would encourage any member of CCWIPP, the UFCW or any concerned person out there (anyone who believes that working people should have the full protection of laws like the Pension Benefits Act), to contact the FSCO, the Ontario Ministry of Finance (which oversees the FSCO) and even the Premier of Ontario himself to demand answers and action. Contact Minister of Finance Greg Sorbara or Premier McGuinty and ask whether your rights matter. Only when they see that we're not going away and we're not going to let them jerk us around are they going to take our rights seriously.
If you are a CCWIPP member, the FSCO must talk to you and provide you with information about your pension fund - including documents that they have on file about the plan. If you live in the GTA, you can arrange to visit their offices (5140 Yonge Street in North York) and look through files and docs related to CCWIPP. They'll ask you for proof that you're a member. Once you provide it, they can't ignore you. If they do, tell us about it. These guys hate being subject to public scrutiny and worse yet, public criticism.
Mondo Condo Makeover P.03
When Two Tribes Go To War
More than 4,200 people - twice as many as were expected - descended on a revamped hotel in North York yesterday to apply for 150 jobs paying between $8 and $15 an hour.
The job-seekers, some of them with bundled babies in tow, starting lining up before dawn at the Howard Johnson Plaza-Hotel at Highway 401 and Keele St. By 10 a.m., when the first application forms were handed out, about 1,500 were there, shivering in the cold.
As quickly as the applicants filed in for interviews, they were replaced by other hopefuls, despite pouring rain that turned into sleet and then hail. By late afternoon, the total had risen past the planned-for 2,000.
To keep up spirits during the drawn-out procedure, management supplied hot coffee and fresh pastries. Mimes, clowns and a man dressed like Charlie Chaplin were also brought in to make the time pass faster, and many applicants left not only with high hopes but balloon animals fabricated by the entertainers. (Desperate thousands wait in cold for 150 jobs, Toronto Star, November 7, 1992).
That was the scene at the hotel that is the focus of our Mondo Condo feature on a cold day in November 1992. If you find the idea of clowns, mimes and a guy dressed up as the little tramp performing for a line up of desperate job seekers somewhat disconcerting, you're not alone. Lining up for hours in November weather in Toronto for a low wage job and having nothing to show for your efforts but a balloon animal is a bit demoralizing - dehumanizing some might say. But recent events at the hotel are no less troubling - for the 150 or so workers who are now employed there.
Twelve years later, they are witnessing performances of a less amusing kind by a different group of clowns, mimes and guys dressed up as ...things that they are not.The performers are their employer, their union, their union's pension fund and a mysterious man who claims to have bought the building months ago, but never did. Their performances are not funny. They're confusing and disrespectful to the men and women whose dedication has kept the place in business for over a decade.
What's going on?
Mondo Condo Makeover P.04 - Deconstruction
On May 1, 2004 the Toronto Star's Condo Section ran a short article about a hotel in west end Toronto that is being converted to a condominium.
The article, Builder relives a triumph from his past; Hotel built in 1975 to become condos, included a fawning introduction to Joe Ieradi, the man who was making it all happen, and his motivation - the restoration of a building that he worked on as an immigrant labourer thirty years ago.
The Toronto Star article took a lot of its content from an advertisement published by Baker Real Estate, a local firm that is promoting the condos. The ad, called The Triumphant Birth of the
Westmount Condominiums, presents information about the condo units themselves and also promotes the working-stiff-who-done-good image of Ieradi -
IN THE SUMMER of 1975, Joe Ieradi was one of the workers who helped build the Triumph Hotel at Keele Street and Wilson Avenue. Twenty-eight years later, Ieradi is back to rejuvenate the structure - converting it to the luxurious Westmount Condominiums.
- the little guy who made it big in the local construction scene and is returning, triumphantly, to fix up a place to which he has an enduring attachment because... he used to work there and it's a fine old place.
What a heartwarming story! Labourer morphs into big shot in the local construction scene. Takes time out from building office towers downtown to give birth to luxury condos in the burbs. It's touching to the point of being maudlin. It's the sort of story that you almost feel bad poking full of holes. But poke we must. Check it out.
Mondo Condo Makeover P.05: Cleaning Out The Closet
At the Travelodge Toronto Yorkdale the past is as intriguing as the present. The history of this west end Toronto hotel may in fact hold important clues to understanding the strange events that are unfolding there now. It may hold the answers to questions that are looming large on the minds of the hotel's workers. Questions like: Why is a mysterious man claiming to own the hotel when he doesn't? Why is he trying to sell it off unit by unit? Why are the leaders of their union, whose pension fund is a part owner of the hotel, allowing him to do it? Check it out.
Wow!
This is the kind of stuff they write movies about. I've always wondered where they come up with those international crime/espionage type stories.
A potential BLOCKBUSTER is right here.
We'll have to start casting soon though. Anyone know if Harrison Ford is available?
A chronological fact sheet would help in understanding this twisted tale.
Casting call? Here are a few of my picks:
Cliff Evans: The guy who played Gollum in Lord of the Rings (in his Gollum costume but in a white suit with wide lapels and golfing shoes).
Ron Kelly: Jack Nicholson (at his scariest).
Joe Ieradi: Danny DeVito
UFCW Canadian Director Mike Fraser: Ben Affleck (snivelling like when J. Lo dumped him)
CCWIPP Board of Trustees: The Muppet Choir
So are they at this moment, selling COndo units that haven't been built, and for which the building permits have not been issued?
Good idea Bugs.
Although, for every fact that has been exposed publicly, I'm sure there are hundreds just waiting to be plotted into 'the story'.
Once Part 5 filters out, there might be a few people working on time-lines.
As for the casting call, LOVE THE MUPPET CHOIR IDEA!! The muppets are non-stop laughs- it fits. But we also need someone to play a German rich-boy-turned-hermit. Actually we need a few Germans.
Maybe we can get Michael Jackson into the story! I think he'd be great with a German accent. Think about it... Muppets, Gollum, Michael... it'll be the greatest and most unique casting ever.
Maybe the movie can start out with them all playing Monopoly together!
I think it would be easier to comprehend the story if there was less innuendo in the presentation, if it was less coy. Rhetorical flourishes along the line of "could there be more to the story? We think so..." (not a direct quote), just make it more confusing, and could make some people reading it question the factual impartiality.
For instance, in another story Andrew Stern is referred to as a "strongman" as if he were President for Life of Paraguay, or something.
Since we know he reads this forum, it's tempting to tweak him like that, but the effect will also be to make the site less credible.
Bugs, you're entitled to your opinions, and some are quite valid. However, the site has some pretty damned credible stuff on it. It's the only site quite like it.
The piece is factual where necessary and informative, and thought provoking where necessary. What you consider coy is a method to get people to think in different ways. Much of the facts presented here started with people thinking in different ways.
Rest assured; the coy stuff is necessary. The facts to back up the coy stuff will follow.
As for Stern, pfffft! 
Speaking as a wisecracking cartoon bunny, coy suits me just fine. But speaking also as a sitcom sewer worker crossed with an evil Frank Capra newspaper tycoon, the simpler the better. I get so easily confused.
More exposition with the drama, please.
More exposition with drama is pretty much assured. There is one hell of a story happening here and we're going to tell it as it happens.
But we're not going to tell it in 30 second sound farts or reports based mostly on the media releases from the players involved. That's how the mainstream media operates and we're not the mainstream media. So be ready to use your head and ask questions.
Contrary to what the mainstream media-entertainment industry would have you believe, it's pretty much impossible to squeeze anything meaningful into 30 second sound bytes, very few stories are ever adequately explained or covered on the mainstream networks and most mainstream journalism consists of regurgitating media releases published by people who want to bullshit the public. Knowledge is power. Getting knowledge requires some effort. Events that involve intrigue, deception and guys who want to snow you pretty much always require questioning and discernment (ask questions, analyze the data, ask more questions, theorize, get more data, revise your theory, and on and on. That's how you figure stuff out and that's how you keep yourself from being b.s'.ed).
If the stories we tell and comment on sound convoluted and confusing, it's because they are. That's actually the reason that you don't hear about this stuff in the mainstream media. It's too complicated. You can't tell the story in 30 seconds, the only people getting hurt are the working stiffs, there's no blood and gore, nobody's been hauled off in handcuffs (yet). According to the mainstream media it ain't news unless there's blood, gore, sex, handcuffs and/or rich guys getting hurt.
F**k the mainstream media I say. What happens to the millions of us who aren't rich, dead or in jail matters. What we talk about in stories like the Mondo Condo series are events that affect people's lives - people in our community. The only way that we can make sense of these events is to talk about them, analyze them, ask questions, try to figure out what's going on (because people who want to control you rarely ever come right out and tell you what they're up to). All of that is necessary if you want to make shit happen so shit doesn't happen to you. This isn't anything new. It's a mindset that has driven rebellion since the dawn of oppression.
Anyway, there will surely be more drama and we'll be here to tell you about it and ask more difficult questions about it. (You have to ask the questions if you ever hope to get the answers.)
Now, back to the casting call.
helltopay, I agree, we must have Michael Jackson in the movie. I think that he would be really good in the role of the Sleazy Business Agent. Every biz union has a few of these guys. The Sleazy Business Agent is a guy who is never going to make Canadian Director or National President but is kept around because he's not afraid to get dirty for the cause. He's the guy you see lurking around in places where the members are getting out of control and some intimidation is needed to get them back in line. The classic SBA has slicked back hair, dresses in bizarre suit jackets and speaks in monosyllabics. He struts and staggers around in ways that are not unlike some of the fancy footwork you see in MJ's video's. More often than not he screws up when sent out on a mission - getting loaded and waking up in a ditch. I think Michael J. would be great in this role. Maybe we could also have Justin Timberlake as his sidekick.
Who mentioned the mainstream media?
Not everybody who visits this site is some kind of labor relations consultant who was a former human resources consultant or expert. Or knows everything about the history of unions or how REITs and pension funds work.
Put the facts out there and provide some goddamn context that doesn't assume that you've had a fan club that has read every freaking word you've written previously.
Why is it necessary to say that?
Sheesh!
Bugs. you are aware that there is a feedback forum right?
quote:
Sheesh!
Indeed.
quote:
posted by Bugs Norton:
Put the facts out there and provide some goddamn context that doesn't assume that you've had a fan club that has read every freaking word you've written previously.
Damn, Bugs... I thought your IQ was at least in the triple digits.
You're asking for 'context' (rudely) from a fifth instalment of a series? Go back and read Part 1-4 and then read the articles that were linked in each of those sections. Once you're finished doing that, come back here and say "I'VE FINISHED READING AND I NEED MORE CONTEXT".
I'll provide it... I've almost completed my pop-up book for ya.
I'm just saying. I have trouble following all the deeper stories on this site. And I'm not new here. Despite the beer, I should be able to not be pissed off at my own incomprehension. ANd looking it over, I find that what is blocking my comprehension is the tweaking of the fatcats in an insiderish way that assumes I already know everything.
Whatever. Excellent work overall. Best Web site on earth, no shit.
I mentioned the mainstream media because of its dumb-it-down treatment of news, opinion and issues and the extent to which that makes any alternative treatment seem confusing or insiderish. You should think about that, we all should, because we are influenced by the mainstream media and tend to assume that its approach is the "right" one. Well, there is no right approach to media. Whatever is accessible and most effectively carries the message of an individual or group is their preferred media.
The information that we're presenting in this series confusing. That's because there's as lot of information. We've tried to lay it out in a way that will make it understandable but that doesn't mean that following it won't require some effort.
We're not intentionally making it confusing. What we know, we post. Yes, there's a lot of it. It's a complicated story but how else do you understand complicated stories but to get as much information as you can and try to make sense of it? The questions we're asking are not rhetorical but, as weiser said, intended to get people thinking and asking questions of their own. We're not insiders in this story at all. We just know where to dig for information. All that we know, we've dug up on our own.
I don't think that you are at any disadvantage in terms of your ability to understand this story than someone who is a labour relations expert or human resources specialist. Most HR consultants or labour relations specialists would find this story as confusing as people who don't have HR or LR knowledge. This is story isn't about the technical aspects of labour relations or human resources management. It's about the relationships between groups of high flyers and the impact of their transactions on a group of working people. It raises ethical and moral issues - about the relationship of the union and the pension fund with its members and about the employer's relationship with its staff. You don't need to be a labour relations specialist to understand those types of issues (in fact, most labour relations types have little knowledge or interest in these issues). There are labour relations issues (employer-union relations) involved in this story but they are secondary to the broader issue (is it right to treat human beings the way that these workers are being treated?).
This is also a story in progress. As we go along, we learn more. More things happen. There's more to tell. That's how life works, so it makes sense to cover life this way.
As helltopay pointed out, there is a lot of background information in the earlier 4 segments of this story. There is also a lot of background information about the pension fund, Ron Kelly et al in the CCWIPP Full Disclosure articles. For additional info you may want to check out our earlier articles: The Haunted Houses of Labour, Opportunity Knocks, Sins of the Father or seach the forum and the old Weekly archive for articles about the use and misuse of union pension funds.
A time line would be helpful as you've suggested. We'll see about getting one together and post it in a day or two.
Happy reading.
Bugs,
There is some inside stuff that's intended for the trough denizens. They know who they are and they know the truth is near to being revealed. I can realize when a writer stops to poke a mine rat in the eye that it might be somewhat disruptive. However, it is much less than stepping into a literary side street while a full-blown explanation is given.
Hey, think of it this way: If it's disruptive for you, think what it's like back in the mine rat's office. He be runnin' 'round with his spindly fingers covering his bleeding eye, but he can't tell any of the other mine rats what just happened.
The writers work very, very hard. Let them have a bit of fun.
I guess my suite at the Westmount Condominiums won't be ready for January 1, 2005. 
If any chumps really bought units earlier this year, I wonder what they have to say about the pace of development at the Ieradi Arms.
Mondo Condo Makeover P.06
Cooked Turkeys Getting Stuffed?
Cooked Turkeys To Go These words appeared in October 2004 on a large mobile sign in front of the hotel that is the subject of this series. I had to laugh. The hotel was just advertising some prepared food it was offering for the Christmas holidays but to me - having spent several months following the strange goings-on at this west end Toronto hotel, I couldn't help but think of a few variations on the theme: Cooked Turkeys Must Go, Cooked Turkeys Basting Slowly in Their Own Juices, Cooked Turkeys to Go - where?! The possibilities were endless.
Was there a message in those words - you know - one of those unintended messages that, in the end, turns out to be very prescient? Could it be that the cabal of business guys and union pension gurus who are behind the strange goings-on were about to "go"? Was a comeuppance upcoming? Were they fixing to cut and run? Had something happened that might upset the best laid plans of rats and men?
Little did I know, that just days earlier the scheme to convert the hotel to a condominium - a move that will throw over one hundred UFCW members out of work - had been dealt a blow that could throw the whole plan into a tailspin. The latest.
quote:
Our CCWIPP watchers are putting their money on the following scenario: The hotel will close. The conversion project will fall through. The blame will be heaped on City officials and their unreasonable demands. The property will be sold off at a discount to some lucky buyer who will turn around and flip it to a developer at a hefty profit. Whatever will eventually occupy the site will be a monument to bad unionism and boneheaded pension investing.
That's an awesome parlay ticket! Unfortunately the always logical bookmakers are gonna agree with you and post low paying odds. Be lucky if it pays 2 to 1.
On the other hand, the hotel owners and the Toronto city officials might try to get a new 'fix' in. Joe might be asked to fall in the 5th month instead of the 3rd for example. Risky. Don't know if he can make it.
This sport is amazing. We just need Ron King Kelly to come back with a shock-white afro.
I guess if I had financed half a place with someone else's money, the place could close; My friend could buy it back at half price and sell it to someone waiting in the wings for double the price. I could split the profit with my pal who bought it for me along with the other half owner so he or she didn't lose her or his shirt on the deal. My original lender would be shit out of luck, but who cares, he has lots of dough. Everyone could walk away with a couple of mil in their pockets except for the first lender.
If I did that who the heck would be the wiser? How would anyone know?
I know that would never happen with a bunch of straight shooters, but I once read that the above scenario is a classic money laundering technique.
quote:
posted by weiser:
I know that would never happen with a bunch of straight shooters, but I once read that the above scenario is a classic money laundering technique.
Ya think?
The place is a 30 year old washing machine. Used and abused thoroughly. About time for a super-duper upgrade. That way it can accept the newer $2 coins... because ya know handling millions of quarters can be quite the headache.
A lot of questions come up every time that we look at the UFCW and CCWIPP's involvement with the repugnant ex-Father Kelly but there is something that keeps nagging away at me every time I reflect on this story that I think is really important and may explain how the UFCW/CCWIPP embarked on its decade-long journey of disastrous investments.
How the hell did the UFCW/CCWIPP (I mention them both because both had a part to play in the decisions and their fallout) come to be enmeshed with Kelly in the first place?
Even if you are not especially bright or investment-savvy, it would seem to me that Ron Kelly circa 1991-92 ought to have been among the least likely candidates for a multi-million dollar loan to run a hotel – or anything. Kelly had no experience in the accommodation industry, he had no business experience period. He had no money of his own. He had just recently run away from the priesthood and was getting by doing consulting to funeral homes.
Why would anyone lend this guy millions to do anything? The UFCW/CCWIPP might as well have gone out on the street and pulled the first passer-by aside and said, 'Hey buddy, wanna borrow $15 mill to buy a bankrupt hotel?'
Assuming that the UFCW/CCWIPP wanted to get into the hotel biz for whatever reason (to buy up members, create jobs or whatever), there would have been all kinds of accommodation industry entrepreneurs with at least some knowledge of the business that they could choose from. Some would even have their own money to put into the venture.
Their choice of a guy without any experience in the industry, without any business experience, without any of his own resources (the $400,000 he claimed to have put towards the purchase is a drop in the bucket) – is baffling, even for that crowd of dimwits.
Baffling also is the fact that Kelly was not part of the circle of union-connected flunkies with aspirations of being businessment who moved in Cliff Evans' orbit. Evans' choice (and I believe that it would have to have been Evans' choice since he ran both the UFCW and CCWIPP) of an outsider for such a large investment is, I would say, a big departure from the traditional 'keep it in the family' approach to doing business that is common among the biz unions. If business experience didn't matter, why not fix some semi-retired business agent or his wife up with a big loan and the keys to the hotel? Much safer option and one that will have all the other hangers-on bowing and scraping at warp speed hoping for their opportunity to play businessman.
That Kelly's path might have crossed with Evans' sometime in 1990 (or thereabouts) isn't in itself all that surprising. The power hungry ex-father (that's why he abused young boys – it was about power) was looking for a new gig in a milieu where money is power. He spent a lot of his time while still in the priesthood schmoozing the movers and shakers in Toronto's business community. Presumably, he was planning his exit from the priesthood and building a network of loaded suckers who might be useful for him in the 'after life'. Speaking of loaded suckers, I've heard that around this time Evans was prone to boasting about his control of the billion dollar CCWIPP. So it's not surprising that their paths crossed. (It's possible that they might have been introduced by CCWIPP trustee and Investment Committee member Howard Preston who was involved with Agincourt Cemetery Board).
But while the likelihood of their paths crossing might have been high, the decision to loan this unsavoury character with no business experience millions of dollars is an altogether different matter. Any kind of due diligence would have screened this guy out. Articles about his sexual abuse of young boys had already appeared in the local media. But not only did they loan him the money to buy a hotel that was bankrupt during an economic recession but they appear to have gone to lengths to help him do it. An entire cadre of CCWIPP-helpers seems to have sprung into action setting up Propcos, sitting as Directors of the Propcos and of the business that Kelly incorporated to buy the hotel. Why?
None of this makes sense and none of it is plausible. Lenders with statutory fiduciary responsibilities don't lend other people millions of dollars 'by chance' or because they seem like nice guys. Not when they are surrounded by countless others who would be better risks. So why Ron Kelly? Why that hotel, at that time? I don't buy for a minute Kelly's explanation that he just happened to be driving past it one day and got to thinking about how cool it would be to buy it and restore it to its former grandeur. That's a lame cover story if I ever heard one.
If all of that isn't puzzling enough, here's something even more puzzling.
Kelly bought the hotel for $9.1 million dollars on October 9, 1992. He claimed in the local press to have put up $400,000 and borrowed the rest. We know that on October 7, 1992 he got a loan of $8 million from CCWIPP. OK, that should just about cover the purchase price. But on that same day, Kelly also borrowed $7 million from the CIBC. Why'd he do that? He already had enough dough to buy the hotel? He paid the $7 million back to the bank in May of 1993. Why'd he do that? The same day as he paid off the bank, CCWIPP loaned him another $8 million. Why'd they do that?
I've been trying to think of some plausible explanations. I thought initially that maybe Kelly took out the bank loan and paid it back a few months later to establish a reputation with a major lender. But why would he borrow another $8 million from CCWIPP the day he paid the loan off? And what was the $8 million for? He sure didn't put it into the business (hell, the entire place was only worth $9 million). Was it money that went to finance his other hotel purchases? I don't think so. Each of those was financed by other CCWIPP loans and other Propco's. So why did they give him the $8 million? You don't just give a guy $8 million. And there were more millions that were loaned to Kelly against this hotel in the years that followed! The way that I understand mortgages is that no lender with half a brain will loan you more against a property than the property is worth. Yet, from May 1993 onwards millions of dollars more than the property could have been worth were loaned to Kelly by CCWIPP and registered against the property. I haven't seen anything in the Land Registry records that shows these mortgages were ever discharged. In 1998 when Kelly sold the hotel to Royal Host and his other company, new mortgages were registered against the property which may have included the amounts of the previous mortgages from given the amounts that were loaned at that time.
I can't help but get the sense that something more than just hotel investing was being transacted here. I don't think that Ron Kelly just turn up in this story by chance or because the UFCW/CCWIPP trustees decided they'd give a few million dollars to the first shmoe who turned up on their doorstep looking to buy a bankrupt hotel. I think that someone who wanted to remain very mysterious facilitated his involvement in this scheme and that they did it for their own purposes. Similarly I think that the $8 million that was given to him in May 1993 was for some mysterious purpose. We must find out what that was.
Once upon a time there were two union leaders named Neil and Bob.
Bob ran a big well known union with a big honking fund that was full of money. Bob was famous. All over town people called him a stand up union guy. Neil on the other hand ran a smaller union. He wasn't very well-liked and kept a low profile. Some people though Neil supplemented his income by doing crimes and they were right.
Bob was romancing Neil in the hopes of talking him into a merger. Neil had a few thousand members in an industry that Bob wanted to penetrate in a big way. Neil was sending Bob postiive signals about the merger but hadn't committed to anything yet.
Bob's ego was as big as his union, maybe bigger. All in all he was a pretty stupid guy but as is always the case, he was the last to know it. He surrounded himself with yes men who kissed his ass and told him how smart he was. A lot of other people kissed Bob's ass too. Politicians, union leaders, guys looking for money from his pension plan, all kinds of people. So Bob thought he was a real wiz when it came to just about everything and he thought he was flameproof too.
Neil, on the other hand, was clever and sneaky. He always knew a sucker when he met one and he especially like suckers who had a lot of cash and upstanding reputations in the community.
Neil was planning on getting out of the union racket (as he called it) and figured he'd get top buck of his union from Bob but that would be a little later. First, he had another use for Bob and his union.
Neil had hatched a plan to do a really big crime. The mother of all crimes-of-that-type in fact. The job was going to increase his net worth by a few mil and make him famous in the underworld forever. He had it all figured out down to the last detail. The only thing he needed was to find a way to sanitize all that cash without exposing himself. He knew that the long arm of the law would be all over him and looking under all the usual rocks for signs of the disappeared dollars. He needed a washing machine that didn't look like a washing machine. He found one - Bob's fund.
Through some lawyer friends, Neil introduced Bob to Fred, a local business man who wanted to create some good union jobs. Fred couldn't get financing from the banks because they didn't want anybody creating good union jobs. Fred was a great guy, salt of the earth, a real people person, a saint you could say. "If you help me out with an investment from your fund," Fred said to Bob, "I'll make all my workers join your union. It'll be a win-win for both of us." Bob's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. "We don't have to stop at just one shop either" Fred continued, "If you spring me the funds, I could create good union jobs all over the map and send loads of happy union members your way."
Fred didn't need to say anything more. Bob fixed him up with the start up money he needed and Fred made sure all his workers joined Bob's union. They did it again and again to their mutual gratification.
A few months went by and Neil's lawyer friends approached Bob with a proposition: Some guys wanted to loan Fred some more money for his job creation business but they couldn't give it to Fred directly. There was some kind of government problem with doing it that way. If it got "flowed through" Bob's fund first, then everything would be OK. Would Bob be willing to help out? It would be another win-win. They'd even fix him up with a special cook guy who would make sure that the money flowed through without making a mess. How could Bob refuse?
So the money from the mysterious guys passed through Bob's fund and came out as a loan to Fred who turned around and gave it to Neil (after taking a cut for himself so that it would be win-win-win). The special cook guy was like a magician. He made the loan look smaller and smaller until it disappeared. He got paid really well for doing that kind of magic. It was win-win-win-win.
Eventually Neil retired and merged his union with Bob's. But Bob and Fred and gotten to know each other so well they kept up their association.
Bob really like all the winning he was doing. Everytime Fred tapped him for some more help with a job creation project, it seemed that Bob came out a winner. There was so much tapping and winning going on that Bob's fund was getting a bit low. Bob had to top it up. Where the hell would I find a lot of money Bob asked himself. The corporate office of course, he said to himself, there's lots of money at the corporate office, and he marvelled at how smart he was.
So off to the corporate office Bob went to ask S. Pider for some money. "Come into my office said the Spider to the fly".
I pissed my pants laughing... and enjoyed it! Now I only have to worry about my missing pension money in my old age. The incontenance thing is no problem!
Cute little fairy tale. One day maybe at bedtime, mommy can tell me more about the mother of all crimes (wonder if that's a world or national title?). Little Potentate would just love that, hiding under the bedsheet as he hears detail after detail after detail. Ooooooooh, mommy you're scaring me!
If anyone is interested in a visual of the mess that the Mondo Condo sits in, Attachment 2 (pg. 7) shows it clearly...
Oct 27/04 Staff Report
The bolded area is the new townhouse development that has been jumping through City hoops for about as long a time as Joe has had been occupying the penthouse. A gas bar fronting Keele sits on the land as well.
The area above (north) is the hotel land. One wing of the hotel fronts Keele St. The garage is at the back directly south of the plot of land labelled C1(93). This C1(93) plot of land is reserved for the roadway that will connect to Wilson Ave. The townhouse people have given up a chunk in their north-east corner as well. All that stands in the way is the ugliest garage in Toronto (a paraphrase of what a city official once said).
The rest of the land north of the hotel is used by a cheap-ass looking Swiss Chalet/Burger King complex (a fishy story for another day).
Anyone that knows this Keele St. intersection and its famous clogging problems will understand why the city has been talking about the need for this 'new' road for a decade. Their latest idea has a median being extended to force the townhouse, gas-bar and possibly hotel guests into a right-turn only situation (barring highway access).
The road will happen. It's the only guarantee in this whole story.
Yes the road will happen.
quote:
They're on the highway to hell
No stop signs, speed limit
No MFD's gonna slow 'em down
Like a wheel, gonna spin it
Somebody's gonna mess 'em round
Hey Satan, payin' their dues
Playing in a box-o-sand
Hey Momma, look at 'em
They be on the way to the promised land
They be on the highway to hell
(Don't stop me)
They be going down, all the way down
They're on the highway to hell....
Father Kelly reminds me of a guy the mob used to use in the 60's nicknamed Father Cash.
Father Cash was used to move money around the world because everyone trusted a priest and who the hell would search him?
He had a network of nuns that helped move money in and out of the country. Why? Ever look at a nun's garments?
They have these huge pockets sewn in the linings that could hide a damm Winnebago. Till 911 you would never see a nun getting strip searched at an airport.
The church, of course, derived some benevolence from theses operations. Those darn Italians love the church.
All in all, from following your penion fund debacle, I would say you guys were mobbed up to the hilt.
Plan on spending some cold winters in you old age eating cat food at 39 cents a tin.
quote:
posted by unionnow:
Plan on spending some cold winters in you old age eating cat food at 39 cents a tin.
For that price we'll only get Presidents Choice generic (supporting our true friends in our old age). The Fancy Feast brand will definitely be out of our budget. It'll hurt... the craving for their 'Salmon & Chicken Feast' will be unbearable.
Father Kelly was just whacked with obtaining a "fraudulent preference" in a deal where he was in the process of buying a Bahamian bank reputed to be used by the Florida mob to launder the proceeds of crime.
Are there mob or criminal connections to the huge CCWIPP losses? Perhaps. Who knows who the criminals are though. Could the CCWIPP dudes simply be ignorant pawns used by unscrupulous bad guys? We must get to the bottom of this whole pension deal; we really must.
The pawns are flushing prawns down with white wine.
The North York Community Council was back in action today. Lets see if our famous intersection received any attention...
quote:
Feasibility to Extend the Concrete Median – Keele Street north of Highway 401
(Ward 9 – York Centre)
(Speakers – 11:30 a.m.)
(Deferred from November 16, 2004 meeting)
Report (November 1, 2004) from the Director, Transportation Services, North District,
Works and Emergency Services, reporting on the need to extend the concrete median on
Keele Street north of Highway 401, to manage existing and future traffic along Keele
Street, between Highway 401 and Wilson Avenue.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1) the extension of the median on Keele Street, as detailed in Attachment 2, be
approved for construction in 2005; and
(2) the appropriate City officials be directed to introduce in Council the appropriate
Road Alterations By-law to permit the construction.
quote:
Eastbound and Westbound Right Turn Lane Designation – Keele Street and Wilson
Avenue (Ward 9 – York Centre)
Report (December 15, 2004) from the Director, Transportation Services, North District,
Works and Emergency Services, reporting on obtaining approval to dedicate the
eastbound and westbound curb lanes on Wilson Avenue at Keele Street.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that:
(1) the eastbound curb lane on Wilson Avenue at Keele Street, be designated for right
turns only, buses excepted, between Keele Street and a point 110 metres westerly
thereof;
(2) the westbound curb lane on Wilson Avenue at Keele Street, be designated for
right turns only, buses excepted, between Keele Street and a point 150 metres
easterly thereof; and
(3) the appropriate by-laws(s) be amended, accordingly.
It's non-stop roadwork and site 'beautification' at this location. Facelifts all around! The City loves this place. Dammit, the Rolling Stones, the Pope (twice) and ACDC have played down the street! 
That concrete median coming up fast is bad news. The hotel is already in a 'tight' spot. Their room to manoeuvre continues to disappear. And if I'm the owner of the gas-bar, I'm slitting my wrists over what that will do to my off-highway customers. Someone needs a road. Lets see who wants it badly enough.
I love these City files.
Jan 4/05
This one is teeming with info on the discussed area. The afore-mentioned vacant plot of land connecting the parking garage to Wilson is the subject here. Somebody wants to develop it. The City is saying sure... as long as there's a road in the plans. They are adament that a road is coming. They must be smoking some new drugs and not sharing with the hotel/condo boys. But wait...
quote:
Following the completion of the Technical Feasibility Study, Works and Emergency Services,
Infrastructure Division initiated a Class B Environmental Assessment (EA) in June 2004 to confirm and
establish an approved road alignment in the southeast quadrant. Notice of the EA was published in local
newspapers and sent to landowners in the area in September 2004.
Oops, landowners received notice in September. Wonder who got it and who held out on who?
C'mon boys, if you won't share info with the staff and condo shoppers, at least share it with each other.
In the latest update to the circus known as the Travelodge Hotel...
Workers have been called in for a meeting tomorrow morning, Tuesday February 7th.
9AM Shop-steward Meeting
10AM Department Head Meeting
11AM General Staff Meeting
The last one like this took place last summer. Staff believe that it'll be the final notice. An instant shutdown of the hotel isn't likely since the UFCW 1000A has that big meeting on the 17th. So it would make sense for them to squeeze one more family event in before closing shop.
I'm sure we'll get to hear about some of the bullshit that gets thrown around.
Mondo Condo Makeover p.07
Who Jacked Your Jobs?
The number 7 is supposed to be a special number - lucky number, God's perfect number, google "significance of the number 7" and you'll get all kinds of mind-bending definitions. For that reason, we wanted Mondo 7 to be special, illuminating and mind-bending. A journey towards an answer to the question: Who jacked the hotel workers' jobs? Here we go:
"This is our hotel", UFCW representatives used to boast while swining and dining and getting waited on by their members at the Toronto Travelodge Yorkdale, the west end Toronto hotel that is the subject of our Mondo Condo series. "Our union owns it through its pension plan", the smug slobs would intone. For a lot of years, they got to feel like real estate tycoons while cooling their heels and being waited on by UFCW members.
Now the boasting's over. Only those who need to venture there do so, quietly, through the side doors, for fear of incurring the wrath of the hotel's workers - all of them soon to be laid off UFCW members. The union reps' game of "let's pretend we're big shots" has been replaced by another game, "let's pretend this is just a normal business closure".
The members have reason to be angry. For years now they've stood by and watched while the hotel, once a bustling mid-town spot frequented by business travelers and tourists, fell into disrepair. To some it seemed as though the owners were trying to run it into the ground. Many were unaware that one of the owners was their union's largest pension fund. More Stuff To Know.
Previous Mondo Condo articles:
P01: Looming Nightmare for UFCW
P02: The Plot Thickens
P03: When Two Tribes Go To War
P04: Deconstruction
P05: Cleaning Out the Closet
P06: Cooked Turkeys
quote:
BETTY G. ORTLIEB - Director. Betty Ortlieb is Vice President and Business Representative of the International Union of Allied, Novelty & Production Workers, Local 905, a position she has held since 1997. As Vice President and Business Representative of the local union, Betty is an active voting member of the Executive Board of the Sponsor. Betty arranges membership meetings, handles grievances for the members of the local union and is a signing officer of legal documents and banking documents for the local union. Betty has been involved in the local union since 1997 and held a number of positions in the local union, including Financial Secretary and Recording Secretary. She is a graduate of the Labour College of Canada and has been an instructor in the education department of the Service Employees International Union Canada ("S.E.I.U.").
RALPH E. ORTLIEB - Director, Member of Investment Committee and Member of Audit and Valuation Committee. Ralph Ortlieb is Secretary-Treasurer and Business Manager of the International Union of Allied, Novelty & Production Workers, Local 905, a position he has held since 1999. As Secretary-Treasurer and Business Manager of the local union, Ralph is an active member of the Executive Board of the Sponsor, prepares budgets and oversees all financial transactions, is a signing authority for the local union and administers the day-to-day operations of the local union. Ralph has been involved in the local union since 1997 and has also held the position of President of the local union. He was the Director of Organizing for the Canadian Labour Congress and for S.E.I.U., Representative for UFCW International Union and President of UFCW Local 351.
That's really interesting. Ralph left the UFCW to help out his son, Mark, at his SEIU operation. I was surprised to find Ralph hooked up with Tommy.
Tommy ran the Allied, Novelty & Production and Workers and now Ralph is in charge. Ain't that sweet.
There are some real fine connections here. This report only scratches the surface. They have a pal on the board who ran a UFCW local and now that local is run by a kid of another UFCW insider.
quote:
Gwenn Victor is Recording Secretary and Business Representative of the International Union of Allied, Novelty & Production Workers, Local 905, a position she has held since 1999. As Recording Secretary and Business Representative of the local union, Gwenn is an active voting member of the Executive Board of the Sponsor, prepares all minutes of meetings, facilitates membership meetings, handles members' grievances and prepares financial statements for the local union. Gwenn has been involved in the local union since 1997. She has been involved in the labour movement since 1982, has taken numerous labour courses, managed a UFCW Local 1230 union and has been the Secretary-Treasurer of UFCW Local 102.
Now that Gwen hasn't got the time to do the UFCW stuff, UFCW Local 102, at 83 Campbell Ave E Campbellville, Ontario L0P 1B0 is run by Dustin Magee. Hey; wouldn't that be UFCW Special Assistant to Mike Fraser, Paul Magee's kid?
The investigators have a file cabinet full of shit on these and other shenanigans. Stay tuned.
It's a family reunion at Keele/401!! Makes the Potentate happy to know these guys love us so much.
Tommy Corrigan was so cool. He spent more time trying to look menacing than actually speaking. Wonder who the dead boy is haunting now? You still got your little cap Tom?
Ralph Ortlieb was there for a long enough time to give the staff this cool UFCW info-pack (seemingly designed by a grade school kid) which contained a picture of the ugly fucker himself.
Ralphie is also the guy who, the story has, begged one of the union steward to 'name a price' so that he could get his union into the place. Knowing that person, I'll say that he ended up finding another way in.
Now I'm pissed off more than ever. Not only do I have to live this shit, now I have to watch these assholes desecrate...
The game of MONOPOLY!!!
The image is of 3 cheap plots of land side by side (colour code- VOMIT), being bought up by one player and his buddies. One of them has a red hotel on it (badly painted blue) and the next plot over has some green coloured houses coming eventually.
Couple problems in the game these jackasses are playing. First, in Monopoly, you can't have a hotel up on a property without the next door properties fully 'housed'. That means they are CHEATERS and making up their own rules as they go along. Second and pretty damn important... THERE ARE REAL PEOPLE IN THAT SHITHOLE HOTEL AND THIS ISN'T A FUCKING GAME YOU MORONS!!!
You do not want to play Monopoly against the Potentate. Very few on this planet can compete and you dicks definitely ain't the type (watching you in action is sickening). But the Potentate will have a game for you very shortly! The staff of the Mondo Condo Travelodge want to play a game. A great game.
The rules are coming soon. Aren't you excited?!!!
quote:
posted by HJFinnamore:
Now that Gwen hasn't got the time to do the UFCW stuff, UFCW Local 102, at 83 Campbell Ave E Campbellville, Ontario L0P 1B0 is run by Dustin Magee. Hey; wouldn't that be UFCW Special Assistant to Mike Fraser, Paul Magee's kid?
The investigators have a file cabinet full of shit on these and other shenanigans. Stay tuned.
I'm so confused!! I try to read this...
quote:
THE SPONSOR
The sponsor of the Fund is the Hotel, Hospitality and Casino Workers Union (the "Sponsor")...
The contact persons for the Sponsor are Ralph Ortlieb, who is the Sponsor's President and Betty Ortlieb, who is the Sponsor's Vice President. Mr. Ortlieb and Mrs. Ortlieb may be reached at the Sponsor's office which is located at 5200 Dorchester Road, Suite 22, Niagara Falls, Ontario, L2E 7M6...
The Sponsor's telephone number is (905) 854-4732.
Now a reverse lookup of the number given above gets...
United Food & Commercial Workers International Union Local 102
905-854-4732
83 Campbell E,
Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0
What the hell? Do these people have so many things on the go that they can't keep the office numbers straight? If I wanna reach Ralphie I gotta go through cock-fluffer Magee's kid?
Hugh, you're scaring me with that 'scratch the surface stuff' because making sense of all this shit is enough of a headache already.
Edit addition:
Well this is a relief. The reverse lookup on the Cliff Evans number gets...
Dynamic Venture Opportunities Fund
85 Campbell E
Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0
(905) 854-4592
So now if cock-fluffer Magee's kid can't get me Ralphie, he can at least tell me if Cliff is in next door. That could potentially save me a quarter!
Wow, isn't that interesting. So Ralphie's venture capital fund is hooked up to Cliffie's venture capital fund which gets its dough from some union pension funds - including the UFCW's.
I was wondering how some little fart ass independent union with 400 members could have money to lend to guys looking for venture capital. Well, that explains that little mystery.
I wonder if any of that venture capital is being used to finance the condo conversion?
And Ralphie Ortlieb was a player in the history of the haunted hotel too? Isn't that interesting. And now he's running a UFCW satellite operation (I'm quite sure that he didn't bail out of his lucrative UFCW career to run a real independent union) that's looking to horn in on HERE's turf.
There's something about the hotel and casino business that's been making the UFCW honchos and CCWIPP boys salivate for more than a decade now. I wonder why they want so badly to get into that game? Hmmmm....what is it about hotels and casinos.....what?
What is it about the Travelodge I wonder, that has the CCWIPP boys so intent on hanging on to it? Let's face it, they could have bailed out of it a few years ago, taken a loss, taken their lumps and have been done with it. But instead they appear intent upon getting mixed up in a condo conversion scheme fronted by a guy who has about 5 words in his vocabulary.
I think this place holds some really damning secrets. I keep going back to the the CCWIPP boys' decision to get mixed up with Ron Kelly back in 1992. Of all people, why did they pick this guy? (And they picked him - they made a conscious decision to get involved with him. He didn't just fall on them from out of the air). Why him? They could have walked out on the street and stopped the first passerby and said, "Hey buddy, wanna buy a hotel with our money?" and ended up with a more reputable character.
Maybe another way of going about solving the "why Ronnie" mystery is to think about what else was happening in 1992 that might have involved someone close to the UFCW? Was some person or group of people with ties (formal or informal) to the UFCW looking for a place to quietly "invest" a large amount of money?
Oh, there's so much more to the tangled web:
quote:
Clifford R. Evans, President,
I.F. Propco Holdings (Ontario) 32 Ltd.
P.O. Box 487
83 Campbellville
Ontario L0P 1B0
Canada
Fax: (905) 854-4593
Propco 32 and other Propcos lent a penny-stock outfit, called Case Financial, and its predecessors millions of dollars over the years. Cliff has been deep in Case and its predecessors over the years, but for some reason the new owners paid one of Cliff's pals 10% of one loan as a "finders fee" for introducing Cliff to the new owners. It's a long story that I won't get into here.
Two guys split the $200 grand. The guy from California takes one third and Cliff's pal from Ontario takes two thirds. That's strange when you consider that when two people split a deal it goes in halves, and when three people split a deal it goes in thirds. However, for some reason, this deal didn't go 50/50.
I.F. Propco 100 and Eugene (Gene) Fraser are hangin' at the Campellville address too. Ask Mike Fraser who Gene is.
As for the Production and Novelty Workers, they were registered at Tommy's Madison Avenue address until Cliff's son bought the place for much less than market value. He bought it from a middleman who flipped it from Tommy and Ralphie's company to Cliff's son's. That's strange 'cause flippers usually only flip if they can make a huge and quick profit.
Anyway, long after Cliff's son occupies the building (actually an old mansion) the Production and Novelty Workers are still registered there.
The UFCW seems to have gotten Tommy's building, his Textile Processors union, and his Production and Novelty Workers Local, but not his Teamsters Local.
Like I said, this only scratches the surface. ISDUP, you did what I had hoped that you and others would do. You did a bit of sleuthing. You came up with a damned interesting tid bit.
All the information that I have and that the authorities have, is all accessible through public documents.
Anyway, like was said, who in their right mind would buy the pile of rubble on Keele Street when the regulators and others are keeping such a close watch on what has happend and what is happening?
quote:
posted by remote viewer:
Maybe another way of going about solving the "why Ronnie" mystery is to think about what else was happening in 1992 that might have involved someone close to the UFCW? Was some person or group of people with ties (formal or informal) to the UFCW looking for a place to quietly "invest" a large amount of money?
RV, you are so lucky that the Potentate enjoys a little torture once in awhile. But I already have the nipple clamps, and therefore don't need any of this written bullshit!
So some jackoff wants to jackoff his own company... again... set a national record... and funnel the proceeds through a building purchased by his buddy's buddy? Is that the insane story you're trying to sell?
The Hotel reopened on Tuesday, December 1, 1992. The Potentate arrived by flaming chariot on the 5th, for those who care.
Now RV, don't you go telling me that the date chosen was something more than Ron Kelly getting instructions from GOD! Ron's GOD put a priest and his hotel there on Dec 1/92 for a reason. And that's good enough for me!
I'm sure it was a pretty boring weekend in the GTA that week and GOD was really looking forward to Tuesday's opening.
Some of the players.
Ralph Ortlieb, Tommy Corrigan, Cliff Evans, John Evans, Mike Fraser, Eugene Fraser, Ron Kelly, Andrew Lepper, David Harvey, John Irvine, Tobias Rowe.
Gord Cannady, Vic Pinchin, Howard Preston, Judy Robinson, Lucy Paglione, Tom Zakrzewski, Alain Picard.
Get to know these people. You'll be hearing a bit more about them. Andy Lepper is real neat, he seems to work for Propcos and RHK Capital. He switches back and forth so often that one might think that the CCWIPP and RHK are one and the same.
quote:
To date, neither their Local nor National Office have told them anything. After considerable prodding and hints of embarrassing direct action, UFCW staffers offered up that they are "looking into things" and that some answers will be forthcoming on Monday (February 21, 2005). We're not holding our breath.
MONDO CONDO NEWS FLASH:
We have breaking news just in... Staff of the Travelodge heard absolutely fuck all today. THE STREAK IS STILL ALIVE!! It was actually quite the challenge for the UFCW as phone calls did go in to the local asking 'what up boys?'. To come up with an 'I haven't got a clue' and another 'i'll get back to you' from two individuals shows how dedicated these guys are to the cause.
Hey Mike Fraser, we know the cat has your tongue. The ISDU trains vicious cats and they sometimes rip 'em out, with vocal cords dangling. At least you can make uncle proud with your explanation "I ate pussy!". You'll have to play Charades to do it though.
It is remotely possible, Mike, that you have one of those lawyer thingies telling you to shut the hell up. I don't get it. Joe Ieradi has a top notch laywer and he just loves to chit chat... Mondo Unplugged. You should really look into using his laywer. It would make you much more of a people person!
There is also some petition floating around that's made its way to the offices of the union and Royal Host. Some Travelodge people are demanding fair treatment before they go to the media. Ho hum, another day at the Travelodge office.
Get in the game guys! Pretty please?
Propco 32? In the CCWIPP financial statements that's shown as the "cash on hand" Propco. Isn't that handy? You can take out a little loan (Propco 32) or a lot-a-loan from the endless array of venture capital firms that these union guys control. And if you'd like to get a friendly union, you can go down the hall to Local 102.
Now that's one stop shopping for ya!
Hey, is Dustin Magee, Pres of Local 102, related Paul Magee, one of Mike Fraser's numerous Executive Asses? Have we found another branch on the old UFCW family tree?
Look, calling yourself a "union" may provide good cover for your business activities but when you're using people's dues - money they pay you to represent them - to finance your lending schemes, isn't that some kind of offence? It has to be.
ISDU Potentate - I'm sure Mike Fraser is just busy counting other people's money today. That's why he forgot to dispatch the spokes_heads to come out and meet with you all. Soon they won't have your money to count so they can't be bothered to make the trip. I mean hey, from Carlingview and Dixon over the Keele and 401 is a lot of mileage money, lunch expenses and other "servicing costs". With the axe set to come down in a few weeks time, the boys won't be able to recoup those expenses and that's not fair to them now is it?
Has any thought been given to bringing the people to Mike if Mike won't go to the people? A nice little march on headquarters?
I know Hugh, RV and many of the readers enjoy sleuthing, so I'll just demonstrate how easy it is to make all these players look like the scam artists they are.
Last year at this time, the two 'separate' construction projects at Keele/Wilson had their own websites up...
Independence Way
Westmount Condominiums
You'll notice that these were retrieved from the internet archive. Both websites are currently not available (which should say something too).
At that time there was also a website promoting the Hotel Residences (which unfortunately isn't in the archive at the moment), but one glance would have told you that it was created by the same people and program that created the Independence Way site. The style of building and cars was an exact match.
Side note: Don't you just love the name "Independence Way" being used on a property where everyone knows a road is needed? Those damn koinky dinks.
When questions about the Westmount site started coming up (it was missing crucial information regarding EVERYTHING about the condo- including the addy) a new website was quickly put together. Independence Way's stayed untouched even though the idiots forgot the phone number on that one.
Then came late summer and public questioning began on whether the properties were connected because both Westmount and Independence had been sitting there for years without actually doing anything (the old Canadian Tire hadn't even been torn down yet!). First came the public "WE KNOW", and by next day... there was construction madness next door! Insane digging and 24-7 trucks carting dirt away. The staff of the Travelodge was laughing their asses off at how 'guilty' that looked. They were trying to distinguish the projects and fuck, they really sucked at it. Turns out all that work trying to 'distinguish' was all being done ilegally. Guess they had to choose their poison. Face the city or the workers. They ended up getting both.
Now the websites getting pulled tells me they still hold embarassment. What else can we squeeze out? Well the Independence Way site has a name on the bottom corner called Willowfield Homes. I know absolutely nothing about them (I'm sure other people here could look into who runs things).
Here's a website for them... Couple projects
You'll note that the numbers are useless 905 numbers (even for a Toronto addy).
And they also have this dick promoting for them... Superhippy Mitch Markowitz
This guy's write up is way more fucked up than the one Joe Ieradi was given! That is talent!
When filling out the form for independence way would the referal be considered direct mailing or referel from friend?
ISDU Potentate posted:
quote:
Now RV, don't you go telling me that the date chosen was something more than Ron Kelly getting instructions from GOD! Ron's GOD put a priest and his hotel there on Dec 1/92 for a reason. And that's good enough for me!
Ron's god is a DOG. He's the DOG of all DOGs. All DOGs have been worshipping at his duty boots for a lot of years now. Remember the story...
On the first day DOG created the plan. It was full of darkness and light and DOG saw that it was good.
On the second day, DOG created a Brother to help him cleanse the proceeds and DOG saw that it was gonna be really good.
On the third day, DOG created a Minister to help him ad_minister and DOG saw that it was f**king flameproof!
On the fourth day, DOG did the job and it went down good.
On the fifth day, DOG's accomplices got busted but DOG's miraculous cleansing machine was already on the rinse cycle and it was all good.
On the sixth day, DOG's accomplices beat the rap. DOG smiled down upon all his helpers and rewarded their efforts.
On the seventh day, DOG headed south - and it was good.
Mondo Condo Makeover P.08
UFCW Pension Gurus Just Can't Get Enough
When I'm with you baby, I go out of my head
And I just can't get enough, I just can't get enough
All the things you do to me and everything you said
And I just can't get enough, I just can't get enough
That's a famous Depeche Mode tune from the 1980's. We're dedicating it to the trustees of the UFCW's famous pension plan, CCWIPP (pronounced "quip"), because they just can't seem to get enough of throwing their members' money into a certain Toronto hotel even if it costs other members their jobs.
On April 5, 2005 the Toronto Travelodge Yorkdale, the west end Toronto hotel that is the subject of our Mondo Condo series, closed its doors.
The 150 or so UFCW members who worked there knew the end was coming for a while. A plan to convert the hotel into a condominium had been hatched a couple of years earlier by their employer, Royal Host REIT and the UFCW's famous CCWIPP which is a co-owner of the property. A unknown local builder named Joe Ieradi became the front man for the plan. Joe was peddling condo units out of the hotel since the spring of 2004.
That their jobs were going to disappear was clear. What wasn't clear was why their union (through its pension plan) was supporting the scheme and why it seemed completely oblivious to their interests. Get in the loop.
Mondo Series:
P01: Looming Nightmare for UFCW
P02: The Plot Thickens
P03: When Two Tribes Go To War
P04: Deconstruction
P05: Cleaning Out the Closet
P06: Cooked Turkeys
P07: Who Jacked Your Jobs?
I wonder if Joe got the same wonerful deal from the other lenders? This really means that Joe pays nothin' until he makes a whole whack of dough.
Why would the CCWIPP guys hand over title to this investment without Joe havin' to take on any risk? Why does the CCWIPP always assume the risk? The whole deal seems to be with a limited liability "corporation" that if this deal goes sideways, the worthless corp. takes the brunt and Joe could simply walk away. Is this really the best deal for the CCWIPP?
The Queens Plate property and the Millwoods mall were supposedly sold to some other union-run group but the CCWWIPP holds the risk on the mortgages. Why is that?
In honour of the dearly departed ISDU Potentate...
we know that by now he would have emailed this interesting article to:
- all Toronto councillors and some of their staff
- various newsprint reporters
- all Royal Host head office staff
- The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO)
- the Clarke Inc. CEO and his right-hand man
- the Royal host regional accounting office
- curious friends and legal experts following the comedy/drama
- Royal Host REIT shareholders and followers of the stock
- his mourning mother who he dearly loved
It would have been the ultimate chain e-mail. The one that everyone wanted to pass on, frightened out of their minds.
It's a shame. But if by some cosmic koinky-dink something like this did happen, we should link the most recent Mondo Condo threads for any 'guests' showing up...
Mondo Condo: The Game!
Royal Host admits they are INCOMPETENT!
and of course his farewell thread, with tributes that were surely appreciated...
The Potentate R.I.P.
...just tying up some loose Potentate ends.
Edit: Hey, we forgot one!
- ONTARIO SECURITIES COMMISSION (OSC)
Anymore loose ends?
quote:
As chief law officer, the Attorney General has a special responsibility to be the guardian of that most elusive concept - the rule of law. The rule of law is a well established legal principle, but hard to easily define. It is the rule of law that protects individuals, and society as a whole, from arbitrary measures and safeguards personal liberties.
The The Attorney General - the office is on a roll - so why not?
Ooo -Oooo, what about the Alberta Securities Commission just for posterity?
quote:
posted by siggy:
The Attorney General - the office is on a roll - so why not?
Ooo -Oooo, what about the Alberta Securities Commission just for posterity?
- Alberta Securities Commission (ASC)
Ok, the 'posterity' is taken care of.
I'll leave the AG to anyone else. Seemed complicated.
I have to say that I'm absolutely at a loss to fathom the CCWIPP trustees' decision to continue their involvement in this property.
If all that their 50% interest was worth was $7.3 million, then why not take the money and walk away from this disasterous investment? Why loan more than half of it back to this builder and grant him exceptionally flexible terms and accept a position in line behind another creditor?
Wouldn't it be more prudent to simply invest the $4.3 million dollars in some low-risk stocks? That way the members could be reasonably assured that they will see some kind of return.
And really, who the hell is going to benefit from this project? It seems to me like someone is going to clean up, big time and it sure isn't going to be the members.
This place marked the beginning of the CCWIPP's experiments in throwing its members' money into high risk ventures. May it also mark the end.
I'm completely beside myself when I look at these numbers, the money they've poured into this place and what it's got them. It's a disgrace. If a brokerage house did this to its clients' money, they'd be up to their asses in lawsuits and regulators.
"Pensions for 200 Alex" -
quote:
If a brokerage house did this to its clients' money, they'd be up to their asses in lawsuits and regulators.
"What is biz-union"?
quote:
posted by siggy:
"Pensions for 200 Alex" -
quote:
If a brokerage house did this to its clients' money, they'd be up to their asses in lawsuits and regulators.
"What is biz-union"?
Sig, you almost killed me. I was cracking up laughing at this (from an insider report)...
quote:
Royer, Gregrey Mervin GROYER001 Calgary
Royal Host Real Estate Investment Trust
Then I'm thrown into a Jeopardy spoof!
Alex and Merv competing for best corruption gameshow. Who can launder more? The biz-union or the union-biz?
I can't pick.
I'd like to take this opportunity to 'expand' the focus and thinking of MFD members. Eases the boredom while the OSC and all the rest play catch-up on the info.
We've been told by Merv Royer that they never wanted the North York Mondo Condo Travelodge, that it doesn't make money, bad location, blah, etc., blah.
So how is it that right after Royal Host took over in '98 that the General Manager Harald Kurtzke managed to score and transfer into the top job at the GRAND OKANAGAN? This was during Accomodex Franchise Management (AFM) time. Royal Host must have been a fan for some reason.
For those not aware, the Okanagan is a casino/resort in Kelowna BC, that has been just as 'fishy' as the Mondo Condo. Read the early Royal Host financials to see how special this property is. And a '98 Royal Host Prospectus mentions it no less than 26 times.
Continuing with the North York Mondo Condo Travelodge (it doesn't make money, bad location, blah, etc., blah.)...
The former General Manager Jim Kerstens has parachuted into the top job at the Travelodge Hotel Dixon Road. This property is an award winning hotel for the Travelodge chain. Award after award. So, how did Royal Host reward Cliff Quinlin, the GM, after all these years? Last Wednesday, they terminated him and walked him off property. Jim now slides in. We thought Jim was awesome, but who would have thought that he was that awesome? Some are now saying sell-out. Actually a gallup poll is being conducted and he's not faring too well.
Oh, and it's also interesting that the Dixon Rd. hotel also houses the regional accounting office for Royal Host. Hmmm... and running things there is Christine Grant. Who is she?... the former Mondo Condo Controller. It's like a family reunion!! Now the employees are represented by HERE 75, but if you're suffering from UFCW withdrawal you can walk the 5 yards to visit Michael Fraser at UFCW Canada on International Blvd.
I'm surprised that Royal Host hasn't taken more of their former staff into this fine property.
Are they accepting resumes?
Some of the math that goes on at the regional accounting office...
Royal Host = AFM
Travelodge = Howard Johnson
Greg Royer = Ron Kelly
Edited in:A classic case. A 'nice guy' Jim was brought in when all the questions started a couple years back. Let's call him the nice guy sedative pill... or the morphine injection if you're more hardcore. He wanted to make the place work and the employees believed and trusted him. Everyone seems to have been played and used (including Jim). At least he gets to keep his gig. Hope he can step back, look at it and still live with himself.
What I find weird is that Cliff Evans is the investment chair of the CCWIPP, so he's in deep on the plan to dump dough into the hotel. There is the CCWIPP that holds the mortgage and then there's the Ontario UFCW pension plan that holds the pensions for all the people who used to work at the CCWIPP investment. Cliff Evans is the head guy for that pension plan too. Two pension plans that are going down the tubes and Cliff has his fingers in each one. Hmmmmm......
What's even weirder is that the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) is charged with the oversight of both pension plans. Both plans stink to high heaven, but the fine folks at the FSCO circle around these piles of shit cooing like a bunch of aunts and uncles on the first visit to see their new baby nephew.
The FSCO and the McGuinty government have a 'lot of ‘splainin' to do.'
quote:
There is the CCWIPP that holds the mortgage and then there's the Ontario UFCW pension plan that holds the pensions for all the people who used to work at the CCWIPP investment.
B.C ufcw members have all been dumped into a/the *ufcw pension* plan. We have been assured that bc ufcw pension money is safely tuc'd away. What are the odds that one *ufcw pension fund* isn't tied to another *ufcw pension* fund?
And what are the odds that a national security commission would have an interest and/or jurisdiction for questionable investments which span borders and which have interesting international connections?
The NSC is charged with overseeing threats to national and economic security, transnational crime and everything to do with war weapons growth.
aside: In BC. it has been duly noted that some $4.6 billion of public sector pension plans "hold stocks of companies producing war materiel and/or contracting to provide the Pentagon with goods and services essential for its illegal occupation of Iraq.".
quote:
In BC. it has been duly noted that some $4.6 billion of public sector pension plans "hold stocks of companies producing war materiel and/or contracting to provide the Pentagon with goods and services essential for its illegal occupation of Iraq."
Well there! We finally have one good thing to say about CCWIPP: It doesn't invest in companies that produce war materiel. It invests in companies that produce nothing - bankrupt hotels, boarded up resorts, comedy clubs that have gone bust, meat packers that have closed their doors, development land that has lost 90% of its value, the list of the non-producers just goes on and on.
It's a wonder, as weiser says, that the regulators don't seem at all compelled to step in and stop the bleeding while there's still something left to save. Of course when it come to the non-productive, the bureaucrats at the FSCO are right up there.
It's absolutely apalling that they're allowing the CCWIPP boys to get away with this shit. I'd swear they were in cahoots or, at least, badly compromised and trying to cover their tracks. We're not going to let 'em.
quote:
Well there! We finally have one good thing to say about CCWIPP: It doesn't invest in companies that produce war materiel.
... that we know of.
It is rather curious that good money can be thrown after bad - not just once but - over and over and over again. It's curious that except for one trade_us interuptus not one regulatory alarm has been set off.
There's a strange correlation between the Keele Street Hotel and the current predicament of AFM Hospitality Corporation.
Long-timers know that disgraced Newfoundland priest Ron Kelly bought the Keele Street location with CCWIPP money several years back. He ran an outfit called Accomodex Franchise Management and through that corporation, he renamed the Keele Street location as a Howard Johnson Hotel. Accomodex changed names to AFM Hospitality and the CCWIPP kept pouring the dough into that company.
The CCWIPP gave father Ronnie millions to buy bankrupt hotels and to run AFM. Cliff Evans used to be on the AFM Board and was on some of father Ronnie's company boards too. When Cliff and one of his pals dropped off the AFM Board, they were replaced by Wayne Hanley (UFCW Local 175 prez.) and Eugene (Gene)-(guess who I'm related to) Fraser. Gene and Wayne did very well on the Board. In fact for a while, Wayne was Chairman of the Board. Wayne and Gene got options on sizeable chunks of shares and they got paid about $700 for each meeting that they attended and they got a annual stipend. Good gig if you can cop it.
Then things got dicey. Members started asking questions. The CCWIPP had close to $10 million sunk into the AFM dog. The $10 million was backed by some pretty worthless shares. Wayne decided to give up his options. Gee, we wonder why? When the CCWIPP dough dried up, so did AFM. CFOs came and went like leaves in the wind. The TSX suspended trading ‘cause AFM was having trouble getting someone to do the books.
They got someone to do the books and promised that they would move their penny-stock/micro-cap offerings to the European exchanges. That didn't happen. Goodbye CFO; hello new CFO. Hello to a new Cease Trade Order, say hello to an upcoming suspension.
Wayne and Gene jump ship the day before the latest Cease Trade Order. Why is that?
AFM is on the rocks and so is the hotel that started it all.
Stay tuned….
A) GREG ROYER JULY 6, 2004...
You talk alot with very little knowledge.
B) GREG ROYER JULY 6, 2004...
When we first did the deal, the idea was that he was going to do half, but one tower, not the other tower. And because of the mechanical issues at the hotel, that really doesn't work. Because our mechanical system here is just not suitable for a condo complex so at some point in time in the conversion you have the shut the whole hotel down for a period of time to convert. So the idea now is you have to sell the whole thing.
C) GREG ROYER JULY 6, 2004...
I think you're living in a dream world.
D) GREG ROYER/ROYAL HOST FEB 24, 2005...
The conversion of the property, which involves closing the hotel and completing major interior and exterior renovations over the next six to eight months, will commence immediately.
E) GREG ROYER/ROYAL HOST MAR 12, 2005...
The property was sold for proceeds of $10.8 million consisting of $7.0 million cash and a $3.8 million 8% vendor take-back ('VTB') mortgage with a 60-day term.
Now would Mr. Royer like his words salted, peppered and with a little bit of hot sauce as they are fed back to him? While he thinks about it, lets just comment on the few words mentioned.
A)Boy, Merv you weren't kidding!! Like I mean we have much more knowledge now. It's makes the talking sooooooooooo much easier. And maybe we still have little knowledge. Imagine what's to come!! Hopefully you're learning a few lessons yourself.
B) Fans of this story don't know about what a crock of shit this line was. Later on in our little get-together last summer, the hotel engineering staff told you that the wings were built separately with separately functioning mechanical systems. You acted surprised. Did you think your very lot of knowledge was no match for the guys that work in the hotel?
C)Everyday of my life. Yes. When you lose your company and are wasting away in your cell, I'll remember you with these Debbie Gibson lyrics...
Every time I'm telling secrets
I remember how it used to be
And I realized how much I miss you
And I realize how it feels to be free
That's from Only In My Dreams (1987). You can download it and practice it with Randy, Joe and Cliff.
D)That very little knowledge thing has stuck with me. So I had a construction worker tell me what he thinks of this Westmount project. This is a guy that's been building buildings and houses for over 30 years. Straight. Not Joe-Ieradi-I-lifted-a-brick-in-1975 kind of years.
He made a few interesting observations. He said that it's easier to build from scratch than renovate. 'Replacing' whatever is in there would be a major headache. And he laughed at the timeline. If things go well... 2 years. I don't think we mentioned the garage to him either.
So Greg, are things 'going well' for you and Joe? Should I go with his figure or your knowledgeable one?
E)How can your CFO Sikora screw the financials so badly?? A couple years ago his salary was greater than yours. That would make sense for a guy involved from the start. And as a major owner, it would make sense that he wants to fudge his own books. Wasn't he supposed to be gone when a replacement is found? Was that another diversionary press release or you just couldn't find an incompetent CFO/owner to replace him with?
It's interesting that Kelly sold 50% to you in '98 for $5.5M according to records. And now Royal Host is holding $5.8M in mortgages on that pile of shit. Has 60 days come and gone? Should the property records get checked again?
Since you and Joe have lotsa da naw-lege, why aren't you talking?? Or are you saving it for the AGM next week?
EDIT BONUS:
F)Pleased to see that your feeling better.
F)Thanks again. And how are you doing? It's been awhile. Let us know about the words. I know a few cooks and waiters willing to serve 'em any way you want 'em!
Rumour has it that our man Joe has taken exception to the Mondo Condo articles.
I can't imagine why. They're not really about him. They're about his pals the UFCW/CCWIPP/Royal Host boys. If those guys have done things that reflect poorly on Joe, I'd say his beef's with them.
quote:
posted by remote viewer:
I'd say his beef's with them.
Where da beef?? Nuttin' wrong with da beef!!!!
Apparently there is more than one Cliff Evans...
maybe there is more than one Giuseppe Joe Ieradi?
