John Aquino, left, and Vas Georgiou were convicted in October of fraud in the multimillion-dollar redevelopment of St. Michael’s Hospital over allegations that the bidding process was tainted by favouritism and undisclosed conflicts of interest.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
The two men found guilty of fraud in the multimillion-dollar redevelopment of Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital are asking the Ontario court judge who convicted them to reopen the trial and acquit them.
Vas Georgiou, 61, a former chief administrative officer of St. Michael’s, and John Aquino, the 53-year-old former president of Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd., were convicted in October over allegations that the bidding process for the hospital project was tainted by favouritism and undisclosed conflicts of interest.
The Crown’s case against the two men, presented over 24 days of testimony in late 2024, focused on their alleged undisclosed business ties, as well as their alleged secret communications throughout the bidding process for the hospital contract.
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A three-day court hearing will begin on Wednesday on the defence lawyers’ motion to reopen the trial followed by sentencing arguments. Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Bawden, who presided over the trial without a jury, has not stated when he will rule on the motion.
The application isn’t a formal appeal, which would instead be filed with the Ontario Court of Appeal. Rather, the defence lawyers are asking the trial judge to change the convictions to acquittals. The submissions say the two men are preserving their right to a mistrial. Alan Gold, lawyer for Mr. Aquino, said in an e-mail that if the application is unsuccessful, they would be filing an appeal.
Mr. Gold and Peter Brauti, lawyer for Mr. Georgiou, make two arguments in their application seeking to reopen the trial.
First, they argue that Justice Bawden convicted Mr. Georgiou and Mr. Aquino on a theory of liability that was speculative and not advanced by the Crown – that Bondfield would have been disqualified from bidding for the hospital project had their misconduct been discovered. They also argue that the judge erred by describing Mr. Georgiou’s testimony as “inherently implausible.” He had testified that Bondfield was widely known to be the only viable competitor by the time the alleged misconduct occurred.
The defence lawyers say in their court submission that it was an error of law to convict on a basis of liability not raised by prosecutors. They note that the Crown had said its case would not focus on the end result – who won the bid to redevelop the hospital – but rather, on the impact of Mr. Georgiou’s and Mr. Aquino’s conduct during the procurement.
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A guilty finding depended on the conclusion that Bondfield would have been disqualified, the submission says. “The facts established in this trial failed to prove the elements of the offence of fraud according to law. No victim has suffered a loss or risk of loss of any monies as a result of the accused’s conduct.”
In their written response filed in court, Crown prosecutors Ben Lerer and Ellen Weis ask Justice Bawden to reject the request. Reopening a completed criminal trial after conviction without any fresh evidence being tendered is a “rare step,” they argue. “What they seek, in substance, is an appeal.”
The Crown’s submission argues that none of the errors alleged by the defence justify reopening the trial, a move reserved for exceptional circumstances, including a potential miscarriage of justice.
“The applicants’ liability rests on multiple, independent routes to guilt unaffected by any alleged error.”
The Crown is asking that Mr. Georgiou and Mr. Aquino, who have yet to be sentenced, each be sent to prison for seven years. They were each found guilty of two counts of fraud over $5,000, a Criminal Code offence that carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
The Crown’s sentencing submission includes a victim impact statement written by Unity Health Toronto, the hospital network that includes St. Michael’s. The actions of Mr. Georgiou and Mr. Aquino caused “real and lasting harm” to the foundation of trust upon which St. Michael’s engages with patients, its community and its donors, the statement says. “The damage to our reputation and community confidence is profound and enduring.”
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The St. Michael’s procurement case dates back to 2015, when Bondfield was selected as the winning bidder to redevelop the hospital. The project, which includes a new 17-storey patient care tower, an expanded emergency department and a renovated intensive-care unit, was initially budgeted for $300-million and set for completion in 2019. It is now on track to be finished in 2027 at a cost of $577-million.
Prosecutors alleged that Mr. Georgiou was part of the team selecting companies to bid on the St. Michael’s contract while he was also working on behalf of commercial property companies controlled by Mr. Aquino. The two men also allegedly used a bondfield.com e-mail address – bccldevelopment@bondfield.com – and a BlackBerry that Mr. Aquino gave to Mr. Georgiou to discuss the hospital project.
Justice Bawden agreed with the Crown’s argument that the BlackBerry was for the purpose of communicating in secret about the hospital project. The information Mr. Georgiou provided to Mr. Aquino was “confidential, highly material, and obviously intended to assist Bondfield to win the procurement,” he said in his decision.