Election rival threatens councillor with lawsuit
Narrowly defeated in 2010, Cusimano wants apology for Augimeri’s ‘criminal’ remark
The bad blood between Toronto Councillor Maria Augimeri and Gus Cusimano, the candidate she narrowly beat in Ward 9 in 2010, has resurfaced six months before their rematch at the polls Oct. 27. Cusimano, a North York businessman, is threatening legal action unless Augimeri apologizes and retracts a comment she made in a Toronto Italian-language newspaper. In the Feb. 21 edition of Corriere Canadese, Augimeri was quoted in Italian discussing the municipal election and race in York Centre, the Downsview ward she represents. Cusimano alleges that in the article, which he had translated from Italian to English, Augimeri said, “the people do not want to be represented by a criminal.” The Star did not do its own translation. “To be accused of being a criminal, that is very low,” the 58-year-old insurance company owner said Tuesday. “The name Cusimano is very well respected in the whole community. I’m not a criminal. I never have been. I got my first ticket after 40 years of driving, two years ago.” Augimeri, who chairs the TTC, said the interview took place months ago and she does not recall what she said, other than it was a general discussion about “illegal and unlawful activity in politics.” “I know that my constituents are very upset with this candidate who voted illegally in the last election,” she said Tuesday. “It’s a proven fact that he did break the law.” Last year, Cusimano pleaded guilty to breaching the Municipal Elections Act by voting for himself in a ward in which he did not live. It is not a criminal conviction. “She knows he’s not a criminal, she knows he’s never been investigated for criminal activities,” Lorne Honickman, the lawyer representing Cusimano, said Tuesday. Cusimano is understandably concerned about the impact of the comment on his reputation in the run-up to the election, the lawyer said. “There’s a lot of people in the Italian
“To be accused of being a criminal, that is very low. . . . I’m not a criminal. I never have been. I got my first ticket after 40 years of driving, two years ago.” GUS CUSIMANO RUNNING IN WARD 9
community in that riding (ward) who read the newspaper and obviously have read that comment.”
According to its website, the paper reaches 30,000 readers a day and has the capacity to access 55,000 unique households occupied by readers of Italian heritage.
Honickman has served a libel notice on Augimeri, Corriere Canadense Newspaper Ltd., its publisher, Joe Volpe, and Leonardo Molinelli, the writer of the article. No one at the paper could be reached for comment.
“We’re looking for a retraction and apology. I’m not doing it with any political motives,” Cusimano said. After Augimeri beat Cusimano by 89 votes in 2010, a bitter court battle followed until a three-judge panel ruled the election results were valid.
Cusimano has also filed a complaint against Augimeri with the city’s integrity commissioner.
In 2007, the former integrity commissioner found Augimeri made “irresponsible and reckless” comments during the previous year’s election campaign. Augimeri left a voice-mail message for her area’s MP suggesting that another councillor, one seeking re-election in a nearby ward, was being investigated by police.