Investigations into cancelled Toronto Parking Authority land deal continue without public update

Parking authority board met in secret Tuesday to discuss an ongoing review by external investigators while two top executive remain suspended with pay.

Thestar.com
March 27, 2018
Jennifer Pagliaro

External investigators provided a closed-doors update on their probe of a cancelled Toronto Parking Authority land deal that has sparked investigations by both the city’s auditor general and provincial police.

A senior team from Torys LLP of partners Linda Plumpton, Sheila Block and senior counsel Frank Iacobucci, a former Supreme Court judge, were on hand to speak to the parking authority’s interim board Tuesday.

The board for the public agency, now overseen by the city’s most senior staff, met privately for more than an hour at city hall after a special meeting was called to discuss the report and direct staff on next steps. Staff cited solicitor-client privilege on advice related to identifiable city employees in holding the closed meeting.

The board voted to report to city council on the actions they have taken so far. Those actions were kept secret Tuesday.

A police investigation into the deal is ongoing, a spokesperson for the OPP confirmed Tuesday.

In June, a report from the auditor general found the parking authority's board -- then staffed by civilian appointees and city councillors was poised to overpay for a plot of North York land by $2.63 million.

The five-acre (two hectare) piece of unused land at Finch Ave. West and Arrow Rd. near Hwy. 400 is located in Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti’s Ward 7 (York West). The auditor found Mammoliti, who was previously on the parking authority board, was involved with deliberations about the proposed $12.2-million sale.

The land is owned by Katpa Holdings Inc., a company directed by real estate broker Frank De Luca, according to public records.

Following the report, council put city manager Peter Wallace and other top bureaucrats in control of the board during an internal investigation, which Torys was hired to do.

That interim board suspended TPA president and CEO Lorne Persiko as well as vice-president of real estate, development and marketing Marie Casista. Both have been suspended with pay for more than eight months.

The salaries of the public employees continue to be kept secret, despite repeated questions from the Star and an official request under freedom of information legislation. The city provided base salary ranges of $246,500 to $333,500 for Persiko and $168,969 and $202,772 for Casista.

Reached at home, Casista said she had “no comment” on her current employment status.

Auditor general Beverly Romeo-Beehler spent 10 months investigating the land deal after Councillor John Filion, who was a member of the parking authority board, brought concerns about the deal being pushed through.

The deal, Romeo-Beehler concluded, resulted from a “hairball” of relationships and potential conflicts involving Mammoliti, the Emery Village BIA in his ward, a lobbyist hired by the BIA, a sign consultant and TPA executives.