Former Brampton mayor testifies in lawsuit
Fennell denies wrongdoing in suit brought by developer over controversial downtown project
Former Brampton mayor Susan Fennell repeatedly denied allegations she conspired against a local developer and had him disqualified from a controversial downtown project that is now at the centre of a massive lawsuit against the city.
Fennell took the stand last week for two days in Ontario Superior Court in Orangeville to answer allegations against her and the city in a $28.5-million lawsuit brought by local developer John Cutruzzola.
Fennell denied any wrongdoing or personal bias toward Cutruzzola or his company, Inzola Group Inc. “The only discussions I would ever have is: ‘is (the recommendation) coming soon?’ ” she told the court. “I had zero, no part at all in the steering committee.”
Inzola is suing the city for damages, alleging the city unfairly disqualified the firm from bidding on the $500-million City Hall West Tower expansion and Southwest Quadrant renewal project in 2010. The suit alleges the former mayor and some senior city staff members at the time, including former CAO Deborah Dubenofsky, were biased and conspired against Inzola while favouring eventual project winner Dominus Construction. The now seven-year-long lawsuit also alleges Fennell, Dubenofsky and others worked behind the scenes in Dominus’s favour.
While on the stand, Fennell denied any bias or involvement in the 2009 “competitive dialogue” request for proposals (RFP) process, which was supposed be conducted entirely independent of council’s involvement.
The downtown redevelopment deal has been the focus of controversy in Brampton since 2011, after the city used a procurement process that had never been used in Canada. The “competitive dialogue” process involved a higher level of non-disclosure — even to members of council — than typical procurements, in exchange for assurances from bidders that they were submitting their actual costs and would bear the risk of any overruns. Inzola is claiming Fennell was swayed by large donations to the mayor’s golf tournament and gala by agents of the Dominus bid.
Under questioning from city lawyers, Fennell claimed she didn’t know or had never met with anyone involved in the Dominus bid before the company was awarded the project in August 2010.
However, the Dominus bid team included Fernbrook Homes, owned by the Cortellucci family who were major contributors to the mayor’s gala and golf tournament for years.
“To this day, I still don’t know why Fernbrook is mentioned as part of this project,” Fennell told the court, while repeating several times she did not know and had never met with Nick or Mario Cortellucci in any personal or professional capacity.
Inzola’s lawyers produced emails between Fennell, Nick Cortellucci and other employees of Fernbrook Homes, as well as Four Valleys Excavating & Grading — another Cortellucci enterprise. Inzola also produced a record of Fennell’s office calendar showing a scheduled meeting with Mario Cortellucci in July 2007 “in the mayor’s boardroom.” Yet another email showed her soliciting Nick Cortellucci for a $12,000 donation for the mayor’s gala.
In the face of Inzola’s evidence, Fennell maintained she had no recollection of any meetings or dealings with either of the Cortellucci brothers, or anyone else involved in the Dominus bid during or before the request for proposals for the city hall expansion. Fennell also distanced herself from direct involvement in the mayor’s golf tournament and gala.
Ultimately, Fennell denied any political corruption involving Inzola, Dominus or Fernbrook, calling the allegations “completely false.”