Ontario Provincial Police have laid charges against two Toronto city councillors under the Municipal Elections Act.
Mark Grimes and Justin Di Ciano have both been charged with one count of filing a document that is incorrect or does not otherwise comply with the act following an investigation by the OPP’s Anti-Rackets Branch.
The charges relate to their 2014 municipal election filings.
In a news release, OPP say that they began an investigation in September, 2017 after receiving a request for assistance from the Toronto Police Service. They say that the request was in relation to information that was passed on to police by the city’s integrity commissioner.
Back in March CP24 did report that police were looking into alleged violations of the Municipal Elections Act by Di Ciano.
In a statement at the time, OPP said that the Anti Rackets Branch “commenced a review to ascertain if there was sufficient evidence to warrant an investigation” and determined that there was.
OPP have not released any information about the evidence that led them to lay charges, citing the “integrity of the investigation and any ensuing court processes.”
In a statement on Friday morning, a lawyer retained by Di Ciano said that his client “looks forward to setting the record straight on any alleged clerical errors in his 2014 campaign expense return.”
Di Ciano has represented Ward 5 Etobicoke-Lakeshore since 2014 but did not run for re-election in October and will no longer be a city councillor as of Nov.30.
“The real offence here is the extraordinary waste of scarce government resources spent chasing down minor alleged oversights regarding a long forgotten municipal election campaign,” his lawyer Scott Fenton said.
Grimes was endorsed by Tory
While Di Ciano’s time in office is almost up, Grimes was recently re-elected and will begin another tem on Dec. 1.
He has been a city councillor for Ward 6 Etobicoke-Lakeshore since 2003 and received an endorsement from Mayor John Tory in the October election, which he won by about 6,000 votes.
In a statement, a lawyer retained by Grimes said this client has done nothing wrong. He added that the allegation against his client was made for political purposes.”
“An allegation has been made that he should have made additional financial disclosure for his campaign from four years ago. No such disclosure was required,” Peter Brauti said. “There is no credible evidence to support the allegation which was made for political purposes.
Mayor John Tory did release a statement acknowledging the charges against Grimes and Di Ciano on Friday morning but said that he will not make any further comments due to the fact that the matter is now before the courts, where both individuals “have publicly said they will challenge” the allegations.
Meanwhile, OPP say that their investigation is continuing and are encouraging anyone with information to contact the OPP Anti-Rackets Branch at (705) 329-6420 or Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 222-TIPS (8477).
Both Grimes and Di Ciano are scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice at 2201 Finch Avenue West on Dec. 19.
The charges they are facing are non-criminal. Penalties include a fine of up to $25,000 and being declared ineligible to be elected to any office covered by the act until after the next scheduled election.
In his statement, Brauti said that Grimes is “not in jeopardy of losing his position as a city councillor” since the charges relate to a previous election.
