Winnipeg Construction VIII

[Urban recluse]

Originally Posted by JamieDavid Exchange

What plan??!

It's a plan being tossed around. I hope CV endorses it.

[rrskylar]

For those who can get behind the Freep paywall Bartley Kives has a great article about Katz and the WPS headquarters fiasco, here is an excerpt:

The revelation of some form of personal relationship between Katz and Caspian president Armik Babakhanians, described as a friendship by one witness in the RCMP warrant, places three outstanding questions about the procurement of Winnipeg’s police headquarters in a new context.

These questions are aside from the RCMP’s avenue of investigation in 2014, when the Free Press first reported the Mounties were looking into allegations about doctored invoices at the police headquarters project.

They concern the larger question of how the police headquarters construction contract was awarded in the first place. These questions involve the security clearance granted to Caspian, changes to the construction-bonding requirement on the contract and the recipient of the contract itself.

The security-clearance issue first emerged in 2012, when the Free Press and CBC Manitoba reported Babakhanians had a business relationship on a downtown property with the late Ray Rybachuk, who had a lengthy criminal record and ties to organized crime.

Babakhanians moved quickly to sever his ties to Rybachuk, but the publicity forced Winnipeg police to reveal they conducted a special vetting of Babakhanians to ensure he posed no threat.

Typically, entities with ties to organized crime, however tenuous, are not permitted to bid on police work. Earlier, a police source who spoke to the Free Press alleged city hall exerted pressure to allow an individual with organized crime ties to bid on police headquarters work.

Winnipeg Free Press

[bomberjet]

So they're alleging babaganoush has ties to organized crime. Has he been prosecuted or confirmed to be some form of mob member? Wait for the lawsuit against Bartley for defamation.

The whole thing just reaks. The police need to drag all those scum bags out into public again and make them pay for whats happened. Basically need to review every single thing Katz did at City Hall. Where there's smoke, there's fire. And it seems Sammy just couldn't help himself.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

So they're alleging babaganoush has ties to organized crime. Has he been prosecuted or confirmed to be some form of mob member? Wait for the lawsuit against Bartley for defamation.

The whole thing just reaks. The police need to drag all those scum bags out into public again and make them pay for whats happened. Basically need to review every single thing Katz did at City Hall. Where there's smoke, there's fire. And it seems Sammy just couldn't help himself.

If any of the idiots who voted for Sam knew anything about him and his lets say his dealings before he was elected mayor...oh wait, it's Winnipeg and that wouldn't have mattered....besides he was a great businessman and that's what the city needed....

What really bothers me is how everyone on council looked the other way as Sam raided the cookie jar, no one actually ever saw Sam's hand in the cookie jar but cookies were always missing...

[esquire]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

If any of the idiots who voted for Sam knew anything about him and his lets say his dealings before he was elected mayor...oh wait, it's Winnipeg and that wouldn't have mattered....besides he was a great businessman and that's what the city needed....

What really bothers me is how everyone on council looked the other way as Sam raided the cookie jar, no one actually ever saw Sam's hand in the cookie jar but cookies were always missing...

I went looking in the 2010 election thread thinking I'd find some pro-Sam message you wrote to throw back at you, but to my surprise you knew what was up before the police ever got involved:

Originally Posted by rrskylar

I'll be holding my nose and voting for Judy as much as I hate the NDP, her voice, her name and the way she looks but to vote for a plain crook and opportunist like Katz revolts me. If you stand on principles of decency, honesty and integrity then Sam ain't your man.

Respect

[TimeFadesAway]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

So they're alleging babaganoush has ties to organized crime. Has he been prosecuted or confirmed to be some form of mob member? Wait for the lawsuit against Bartley for defamation.

The ties to organized crime are publicly known, a business relationship with Ray Rybachuk, so there is no defamation. Kives didn't make any false or undocumented allegations.

[bomberjet]

Ties to organized crime and being organized crime are two different things. Nothing wrong with doing business, if its actually legit.

Anyways, not disagreeing all this is slimy. Just sayin. SkyCity for example, has mob all over it.

[TimeFadesAway]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

If any of the idiots who voted for Sam knew anything about him and his lets say his dealings before he was elected mayor...oh wait, it's Winnipeg and that wouldn't have mattered....besides he was a great businessman and that's what the city needed....

The people wanted someone who ran the city like a private business and they got it. This is how private business operates, and this approach is completely unsuitable for government.

What really bugs me it that it was obvious that this was how things were going to be run. I'd even give people a pass for 2004, but the other elections, Sam had shown his colours. But apologists abounded.

Look in the archive of the Black Rod, they were apologists for Sam well into 2010, until finally seeing the light. Of course, they didn't mention their vociferous support of Katz in their 10 year anniversary post

[The Unknown Poster]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Ties to organized crime and being organized crime are two different things. Nothing wrong with doing business, if its actually legit.

Anyways, not disagreeing all this is slimy. Just sayin. SkyCity for example, has mob all over it.

The issue is, as noted, that even tenuous ties to organized crime would disqualify you from working on Police projects. So Caspian should have been disqualified. But City Hall (ie. Sammy) pressured the police to do an extra special vetting of them and provide him the required security clearance.

Sammy is as slimy as they come.

However, I do wonder if some of the descriptions here of Sam and this guy being "friends" which Sam denies isnt because of the other rumors around him.

[Bluenote]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Ties to organized crime and being organized crime are two different things. Nothing wrong with doing business, if its actually legit.

Anyways, not disagreeing all this is slimy. Just sayin. SkyCity for example, has mob all over it.

Exactly. I've had contracts with so called organized crime people. But it was always on the up and up. It's one thing to join in on whatever so called people are doing. But I can promise you 80% of all construction trades in this city from the lawnmower guy to the crane operator has had some dealings with organized crime. And probably 95% are on the up and up.

So not trying to defend Sammy. But you need proof before you go attacking people. Not just hearsay and that's all the free press and wpg sun are doing.

I'll wait till the inquest is done to pass judgment.

[TimeFadesAway]

Originally Posted by Bluenote

Exactly. I've had contracts with so called organized crime people. But it was always on the up and up. It's one thing to join in on whatever so called people are doing. But I can promise you 80% of all construction trades in this city from the lawnmower guy to the crane operator has had some dealings with organized crime. And probably 95% are on the up and up.

There is a difference between 'having contact' and owning a building with someone who has had involvement in organized crime and who's seed money for the investment with you is of dubious origin.

Nobody is saying that this would exclude working with the city in the future. It's the process that is in question. It appears as if this company was initially excluded from consideration due to legitimate security concerns. This decision was reversed due to political and administrative pressure put on the WPS by some at city hall. This is the problem.

[Bluenote]

Originally Posted by TimeFadesAway

There is a difference between 'having contact' and owning a building with someone who has had involvement in organized crime and who's seed money for the investment with you is of dubious origin.

Nobody is saying that this would exclude working with the city in the future. It's the process that is in question. It appears as if this company was initially excluded from consideration due to legitimate security concerns. This decision was reversed due to political and administrative pressure put on the WPS by some at city hall. This is the problem.

If true and city hall had pressured the police into this. It begs a much bigger issue to me.
If we are supposed to trust the police with our safety , yet they could be bullied into this would make me want to flush the police force just as much as the last mayor and friends.
Last thing we need is a corrupt police force.

[bomberjet]

I think we need to hold off all opinions based on someones writing in a news article. The word pressured could have been thrown in there to be dramatic. I highly doubt the police would be pressured by Sam Katz into doing anything. Why would the police purposely allow fraudulent dealings? Or go along with it. It just doesn't make sense.

"a police source who spoke to the Free Press alleged city hall exerted pressure"

Exerted pressure could simply mean they asked.

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

For those who can get behind the Freep paywall Bartley Kives has a great article about Katz and the WPS headquarters fiasco, here is an excerpt:

.

you forgot to link the source can u plz fix this

[Cyro]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

For those who can get behind the Freep paywall Bartley Kives has a great article about Katz and the WPS headquarters fiasco, here is an excerpt:

Articles
Articles, such as news articles or blog posts, must be posted in a special way to avoid copyright infringement. Information about the source of the article must be given and only the beginning portion of the article text may be posted.

When posting an article please include the following information:
- the title of the article...Source Post: Con't at : http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=192107

Thx.

[Jeff]

quick note while out and about this morning.. noticed car dealership at furby and portage has its FOR LEASE/SALE signs down. hope something is finally going on at the prominent location. would love to see some high-density residential IE: student housing. would compliment the other potential project around the corner on Sherbrook.

[Urban recluse]

Hopefully not another dealership.

[esquire]

^ Yeah, fingers crossed that redevelopment is in the cards. An outdated old urban car showroom is worthless on its own, forever resigned to shabby, low rent uses.

[drew]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Yeah, fingers crossed that redevelopment is in the cards. An outdated old urban car showroom is worthless on its own, forever resigned to shabby, low rent uses.

Me thinks we shouldn't have high hopes for this particular building.

It is part of a block of that currently sits with a healthy 100% vacancy of every available commercial space.

For the time being, IMO the best bet for the building to remain standing and not replaced by a parking lot is to use it in it's original purpose, or some other fashion that doesn't require much in the way of upgrades or rezoning.

[CoryB]

The pressure could have been more related to who the contract was awarded to than to knowingly undertake fraud. For example, the police review of the bids wanted to award one way but City Hall wanted something different. City Hall could have hinted that if an agreement could not be reached the process might need to be retendered, hence delaying the whole project.