Billionaire: Epstein misappropriated ‘vast sums’ from wealth

Billionaire: Epstein misappropriated 'vast sums' from wealth

NEW YORK - The retail titan behind Victoria's Secret has accused the financier Jeffrey Epstein of misappropriating "vast sums" of his fortune while managing his personal finances more than a decade ago.

Ohio billionaire Leslie Wexner said in a letter Wednesday that he recovered "some of the funds" but severed ties with Epstein in 2007 as sexual abuse allegations first surfaced against him in Florida.

The letter was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which put the amount of misappropriated money at more than $46 million.

It's unclear whether Wexner reported the allegations to law enforcement.

Air force pays tribute to retiring CC-130H Hercules planes

Royal Canadian Air Force personnel in Winnipeg bid farewell Saturday to the military branch’s last remaining CC-130H Hercules planes — “workhorses” that crews flew in seemingly countless combat, rescue and transport operations.

The federal government is phasing out Canada’s fleet of CC-130H Hercules aircraft, which entered service in 1974, in favour of modern planes, including the CC-295 Kingfisher, which will be used for search-and-rescue operations out of 17 Wing Winnipeg as of November.

“It’s really part of our family and one of us. This was the backbone of a lot of things that we do here out of Winnipeg,” Col. Curtis Wright, commander of 17 Wing Winnipeg, said of the “mighty Herc” after a retirement ceremony and a flypast.

The 435 Transport Search and Rescue Squadron, based at 17 Wing Winnipeg, is the final RCAF unit to fly the CC-130H Hercules. Two Winnipeg-based planes are still being flown. They will be taken out of service Nov. 1 and Nov. 18, Wright said.

School division’s mental-health liaison helps students in crisis access help faster

A youth experiencing a mental-health crisis at a River East Transcona school was connected with specialized care within hours this fall, offering an early example of how a new partnership is helping students in distress.

After the teen made statements that raised safety concerns, school administrators contacted a newly appointed mental-health crisis liaison, who arrived within 30 minutes, assessed the situation and met with the student, their family and school staff.

By the end of the morning, the student was admitted to a crisis stabilization unit for several days, and arrangements were made for followup therapy.

The intervention was possible because of a pilot partnership between RETSD and The Link: Youth and Family Supports, which began at the start of the school year.

Is the student or the system falling short?

One night at bedtime, a 10-year-old looked at her mother with tears in her eyes and said, “Mom, I think I’m stupid.”

MPI cuts off public parking downtown to prioritize staff mandated to return to office

Some commuters who work in downtown Winnipeg are frustrated after finding out they’re losing access to monthly parking spots in lots owned by Manitoba Public Insurance.

The Crown corporation has acquired parking spaces, currently managed by Impark for its staff, and is adding desks and renovating some floors at its Cityplace headquarters to prepare for more employees to return to the office full time, sources told the Free Press.

MPI, which owns the Cityplace complex and parkades within the tower and at 266 Hargrave St., is eliminating daily parking and reducing the number of non-MPI monthly parkers to “prioritize” parking availability for employees who work at the headquarters, spokeswoman Kristy Rydz said.

The changes will come into effect Nov. 1 for the 266 Hargrave parkade and Dec. 1 for the Cityplace tower parkade. The lots will become card-access only.

Children’s story a gift from late grandfather to grandchildren as a way to remember him

Brian Bell had always wanted to write a book.

Certainly, the late Manitoba Crown attorney would have had stories, having taken on some of the province’s most notorious cases.

But the story he ended up writing was the story of his heart.

Grampie’s Heart, a children’s book written by grandfather to grandchildren, was self-published posthumously after Bell died from pancreatic cancer in January. He was 66.