Shindico executive rejects longtime associate’s ‘false accusation’ of bribery in civil lawsuit testimony

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This article was published 29/10/2024 (312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An executive of Shindico, a commercial real estate firm, told a civil trial Tuesday the allegation made in court last week that his company had bribed the City of Winnipeg’s former top bureaucrat in 2009 is a “false accusation.”

The Court of King’s Bench trial centres on the breakdown of the business relationship between developer John Pearson, president of ICI Properties, and brothers Sandy and Robert Shindleman, the executives of Shindico Realty Inc.

The Shindlemans and Pearson co-owned and developed a number of large retail centres during their decades-long business relationship, which soured in early 2022.

The trial, which began Oct. 21 and is slated to continue this week, has predominantly focused on details about the co-ownership and decisions made in relation to the co-owned properties.

Pearson’s lawsuit seeks a $5.1-million settlement over the dissolution of partnerships and agreements between Pearson and Shindico.

“Let’s talk at a high level about media attention (on Shindico) in 2013 and 2014,” Pearson’s lawyer Simon Bieber said during cross-examination of Robert Shindleman.

Shindleman, executive vice-president, bristled.

“There’s been a number of articles written — and there was even a false accusation made by Mr. Pearson in this courtroom,” he answered.

Last week, Pearson alleged during cross-examination by Shindico’s lawyers that he had discovered what he suggested was a “bribe” from Shindico to Phil Sheegl — the City of Winnipeg’s chief administrative officer while Sam Katz was mayor — during pre-trial proceedings.

On Tuesday, Bieber quickly redirected Robert Shindleman, telling Court of King’s Bench Justice Sadie Bond that the intent behind the question was not to “get into” whether the accusation was true or false. The allegation has not been proven in court.

Pearson told court last week one of the reasons he is seeking to dissolve the relationship was his concern about negative news headlines involving Shindico.

Pearson testified Oct. 23 that he grew concerned his reputation as a real estate developer would be impaired by “corruption allegations between (former mayor) Sam Katz and Sandy Shindleman.”

Pearson claimed last week that while reviewing documents provided by the Shindlemans as part of the “production” phase of pre-trial proceedings — where parties to a lawsuit must provide certain documentation to each other — he came across Shindico financial records that showed an $85,000 transaction involving Sheegl while Katz was mayor.

The 2009 transaction was a loan provided to a Sheegl-owned company, Financial Support Services, and was connected to a contract Shindico later won to build a Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service station in Sage Creek, Pearson said last week. That was one of four contacts awarded to Shindico to build new stations.

A city audit later determined the contracts, which ended up costing the city $3 million more than anticipated, were awarded through a compromised bidding process in which Shindico was given inside information not available to other contractors.

It was also learned that a fire hall on Taylor Avenue was built on Shindico-owned land even though the city owned land nearby.

Pearson said that as of 2023, the loan had not been repaid, suggesting it was a “bribe.”

Bieber sought to tender financial documents related to the alleged bribe as exhibits, but Justice Bond denied the request after determining the statements were not germane to the issues in the proceedings.

Jason Kendall, lawyer for Shindico, would not comment on Pearson’s claim last week. Sheegl couldn’t be reached for comment.

“It’s a complex case and I think all the facts need to be heard… by this court before any determinations can be made about what really happened here between these parties,” Kendall said last week.

Shindico president Sandy Shindleman was called to testify Tuesday afternoon.

His testimony, and cross-examination by Bieber, mostly focused on details of the co-ownership, but Bieber raised questions about media coverage of Shindico from around 2013 to 2022.

In 2022, the City of Winnipeg sued Sheegl, alleging he had accepted a $327,000 bribe in return for awarding a city contract to Caspian Construction to retrofit the former Canada Post building downtown to serve as the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters; it alleged Caspian paid Sheegl through an Arizona company and through a subcontractor to Financial Support Services.

Shindico and its relationship to Katz was mentioned tangentially in media stories at the time.

Bieber asked Sandy Shindleman whether the co-ownership group was positively affected by Shindico’s reputation in the real estate world, to which he agreed.

He disagreed when asked whether “bad things that negatively affect your reputation” had affected the ownership group.

“It didn’t affect our business, it didn’t affect our business’s growth, it didn’t affect our recruiting for staff, so, no,” said Sandy Shindleman about unflattering and “hurtful” press stories about his firm.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca