Source: Canoe.ca - May 14th 2009.
A veteran OPP officer is accused of paying off two pals at Bombardier in order to secure lucrative contracts for an aircraft repair company he operates in Mississauga when he's not in uniform.
Sgt. Michael Rutigliano company stole / defrauded millions of dollars from Bombardier. Aero-Rutigliano's company, One Technical Solutions (ATS), has allegedly collected $15 million CDN from the aerospace giant Bombardier in the past several years.
(Rutigliano and his lawyer claim he is a 28-year veteran with "a good record", but this is far from the truth. Rutigliano has a history of being a corrupt cop and has other charges against him, including conspiracy and obstruction of justice in a rape trial for his friend Frank D'Angelo.)
Rutigliano, 49, his business associate, Lynda Viola, 46, and two former employees from Bombardier's Downsview plant, Maurice Clark, 46, and Barry Pierson, 56, were arrested Tuesday after more than two years of investigating.
Det.-Insp. Phil George, of the OPP's criminal investigations branch, said he and his fellow officers stumbled upon the case while probing another matter back in January 2007.
"It's never easy to investigate one of your own," he said outside court, unable to say much else because of a publication ban that was imposed yesterday at a bail hearing for Rutigliano, Clark and Pierson.
The OPP say Rutigliano, who is assigned to their Toronto detachment, and Viola conspired with the two former workers to defraud Bombardier of more than $15 million.
Sgt. Pierre Chamberland said the allegations against Rutigliano involve three distinct incidents and have nothing to do with his duties as a police officer.
ATS -- a mobile aircraft repair and recovery company run by Rutigliano -- not only received contracts with help from the two Bombardier workers, but there was also "some overcharging" going on.
(In other words they were receiving far more money for work than they were supposed to be.)
Rutigliano, of Mississauga, is charged with corruptly giving a secret commission, three counts of conspiracy, laundering the proceeds of crime, fraud over $5,000, two counts of obstructing justice and breach of trust by a public officer.
The officer remains in custody awaiting the continuation of his bail hearing tomorrow.
Pierson, of Thornhill, and Clark, of L'Orignal, are charged with corruptly receiving a secret commission, conspiracy, laundering proceeds of crime and fraud over $5,000. The two men were released yesterday on bail and are expected back in court June 8.
Viola, of Woodbridge, is charged with conspiracy, laundering the proceeds of crime and fraud over $5,000. She was released from custody a day earlier and is also set to appear again June 8.
Bombardier spokesman John Arnone said the company was unaware of the alleged wrongdoing and it's no longer dealing with the business in question.
He said one of the employees left Bombardier last year and the other retired just recently.
One of the two, Clark, is currently listed on the ATS website as the company's president.
Workers at the Satellite Dr. company were unable to comment when reached by phone yesterday.
The OPP is asking anyone with information to call investigators at 1-888-310-1122.
NOTES:
It is believed Frank D'Angelo has been laundering the $15 million defrauded from Bombardier through his company "Cheetah Power Drinks", his music business, his restaurant "Forget About It" and other companies he runs. Frank D'Angelo spends way more on advertising than he actually makes in profits, leading investigators to believe D'Angelo is laundering the money through advertising.