THE PEOPLE

Steve Sardinha

Alleged in court documents to be a key principal in a number of the related companies, including Havana Group Supplies Inc. Sardinha Holdings, Forever Topsoil and Voralto Group Inc. Sardinha has amassed a long list of charges and convictions over the past dozen years related to bilking customers through various commercial and residential renovation businesses. He was charged in October and December with 11 criminal counts in St. Catharines.

John Findlay

Director of corporate affairs for Havana Group Supplies Inc. Findlay’s law licence was recently revoked by the Law Society of Ontario after he admitted taking nearly $2 million from a class-action lawsuit settlement fund. In September, Findlay was charged with theft, fraud and breach of trust.

Grant Norton

Listed as a “corporate consultant” to Havana Group Supplies Inc. Alleged in court documents to have held himself out as a consultant to Metrolinx, GO Transit and CN Rail with the authority to procure and award contracts, which would allegedly benefit Havana Group Supplies. Metrolinx and CN Rail say they have never been associated with a Grant Norton.

Maria Sardinha

Mother of Steve Sardinha. In a one-hour video recorded July 28, 2018 for the grand opening of Havana Group Supplies, Norton stated Maria Sardinha was the CEO and owner of the company and that she and Sardinha Holdings owned 80 per cent of the company’s construction equipment.

Pat Musitano

Alleged to be a minority shareholder in Havana Group Supplies Inc. It’s alleged in another court document that he was receiving under-the-table payments for loads of soil that are dumped in a rural Flamborough location. Musitano was shot Thursday morning after meeting with a lawyer who is representing Havana Group Supplies Inc. Musitano’s late father, Dominic, was the head of one of Hamilton’s most prominent organized crime families.

Gary McHale

A vice-president of Waterdown

Garden Supplies Ltd. and former vice-president of Havana Group Supplies Inc. McHale is a plaintiff in one of the main court actions involving Havana Group Supplies and a defendant in a couple of other related cases. McHale is often described as an activist and protester for his opposition to the handling of the 2006 occupation of the Douglas Creek Estates housing development in Caledonia.

The Rowe Family

Chris Rowe Sr., 80, and Henrietta

Rowe, 81, were the founders and original owners of Burl-Oak Paving. They passed the company on to their four children. They now allege Chris Rowe Jr. spirited away control of Burl-Oak Paving after he became involved with Sardinha and Havana Group Supplies. The elder Rowes have gone to court to try to foreclose on Chris Rowe Jr.’s house to get back money they say they’re owed.

Bill Van Ravenswaay

The former owner of Waterdown Garden Supplies Ltd. and its 40 hectare property located at 1771 Highway 5 West in Troy, west of Peters Corners.