Vaughan's deputy mayor focus of ethics probe

Integrity commissioner plans to reveal results of her code-of-conduct investigation of Michael Di Biase to council on Tuesday.

Thestar.com
April 10, 2015
By Noor Javed

In what could be her last duty as ethics czar in Vaughan, integrity commissioner Suzanne Craig is expected to reveal her findings next Tuesday from a four-month code of conduct investigation involving Deputy Mayor Michael Di Biase.

Craig said in a brief report on the city council agenda, posted April 7, that council will get a copy once she has received a response to the report and recommendations from Di Biase’s lawyer, Morris Manning. The lawyer was given a copy of Craig’s report on March 27 and has yet to respond, she said.

The investigation followed a complaint filed in December by Di Biase’s longtime political foe and city-hall watcher Richard Lorello. Obtained by the Star, the complaint is based on a CBC report from last October that alleged Di Biase was building a cottage with help from a contractor that has done work for the city. In the CBC story, Di Biase denied the allegation.

The complaint also alleges that Di Biase tried to influence members of the library board in a construction issue over the Pleasant Ridge Library. It further alleges the councillor tried to interfere in a tendering process involving the Vaughan Civic Centre Resource Library.

“As is the practice of this office, to ensure procedural fairness, I provide the member under investigation with a reasonable opportunity to put forward any comments regarding my preliminary findings and proposed recommendations,” Craig said in an email.

“I have followed this practice with the current matter before council and upon receipt of comments from the member subject of the report, I will submit a final communication to council with my investigation findings and recommendations, if any,” she said.

If Craig recommends Di Biase be punished, council will decide what action to take, if any.

Di Biase told the Star he will respond after he reads the report next week.

“I will provide you with a response as soon as I read it,” said Di Biase. “I will not be participating at the meeting, definitely.”

“But once I see it, read it, I will provide a response to you and gladly answer your questions at that time,” he said.

Also on the agenda next Tuesday is an extension of Craig’s contract for another two months. Her two-year contract with the city officially expired April 5.