Longtime Windsor lawyer Claudio Martini – already accused of misusing up to $15 million of clients’ money – is facing new allegations he used millions more to make “unusual payments,” possibly for personal expenses.

The Law Society of Upper Canada has filed new documents in Superior Court which allege “shortages in the millions of dollars” in his firm’s primary trust account, which held money for clients.

The licensing body for lawyers has filed a request to be heard in court on March 30 to take control of all of Martini’s work-related accounts. The law society had all of his accounts frozen in December.

Martini is being represented by Toronto lawyer Glen Jennings of the prominent Gowlings law firm.

• Disciplinary hearing delayed for Windsor lawyer Claudio Martini
• Claudio Martini’s licence to practise law suspended again
• Law society requests immediate suspension of local lawyer’s licence

“I have no comment at this point,” Jennings said Friday. “It’s still early on and disclosure is far from complete. We have not had time to fully prepare, so it’s not an appropriate time to comment at all.”

The latest allegations against Martini are included in the Feb. 25 sworn affidavit of Michael Spagnuolo, a forensic auditor in the law society’s investigations department.

Included is a complaint from a Hong Kong resident who agreed to send $1 million to Martini to complete a business deal with a Windsor client. Martini emailed him confirming he received the money in November 2009.

Instead of completing the business transaction, Martini used the funds to pay off what his client owed him and then made “unusual payments” to LaSalle Family Dentistry, BMW Financial Services and TD Trust for a loan payment, according to Spagnuolo’s affidavit.

There was nothing in writing from either party consenting to the payments Martini made – possibly for personal expenses, Spagnuolo said.

The Hong Kong resident asked for his money back with interest, but Martini “failed to do so” or provide an explanation, said Spagnuolo.

Windsor lawyer Claudio Martini is pictured in his office in this 2011 file photo. (DAX MELMER/The Windsor Star)

In another matter in November 2014, Martini paid a local man and wife $50,000 he told them they won in a settlement. A month later, Martini admitted to the law society’s investigator the matter never settled and what he paid the couple was a “fake settlement” taken from the account of another client.

That client had $2.7 million awarded to him by an insurance company in 2012 but was subsequently “misled” as to the status of those funds, Spagnuolo said.

Between November 2012 and July 2013, Martini made five withdrawals from the account totalling nearly $1.6 million and the client was never informed, the investigator said.

Some payments from the account went to a tax collector in Lee County in Florida where Martini owns residential property in Fort Myers, Spagnuolo said.

By September 2013, only $175,588 remained in the account.

In June 2014, Martini is alleged to have informed the client in writing he was still holding onto the full $2.7 million in trust because the matter had not been fully resolved, according to the allegations in court documents.

A month later, Martini was said to have taken $426,000 from a separate U.S. dollar account belonging to his law firm to “appease” the client because he was making repeated inquiries, Spagnuolo said.

The law society is seeking to take control of several work related accounts at Motor City Credit Union, plus any other accounts Martini held in trust for others related to his law practice. It is also seeking an order requiring financial institutions to provide copies of any records the law society requests related to Martini’s transactions.

Spagnuolo concluded in his court filing that every transaction in Martini’s professional accounts needs to be analysed to determine the exact amount of money that was allegedly misused.

Martini’s licence has been suspended for an indefinite period as a result of the law society’s findings to date. His appeal of that decision is scheduled to be heard by the law society on April 14.

dbattagello@windsorstar.com or @DaveBattagello

A habitual thief who last September held up a woman at a bank machine with an imitation handgun was sentenced Friday to 5½ years in prison.

Keimonty Grayer, 28, pleaded guilty to 17 offences, most of them committed during a “crime spree” that began last May and ended with her arrest after the automated teller holdup in September. Court heard Grayer, who had six previous convictions and will be heading to trial on another, was in a spiral of drug addiction and mental illness at the time.

With the usual enhanced credit for time served, Grayer was sentenced to an additional four years and nine months behind bars.

Defence lawyer Christina Sweet implored Ontario court Justice Sharman Bondy to impose a total sentence of four years, reduced to three years and three months with time already served. Assistant Crown attorney Tim Kavanagh sought an “exemplary sentence” of six years before any reduction for time served.

Grayer begged the judge to just sentence her to anything. In an angry outburst at her last court appearance, Grayer said she was being mistreated at the South West Detention Centre and would take any sentence just to be transferred out.

Grayer’s sentencing had already been adjourned three times.

Bondy took time Friday to ask Grayer how she was feeling, promising her that her sentencing would not be postponed again. Grayer smiled and said she has been taking four medications for her mental health issues and has been treated better by guards.

Grayer’s lawyer said the version of Grayer in court Friday was completely different than the “out of control” young woman she visited in jail when she took on the case.

Grayer’s crime spree included breaking into homes at night when the residents where sleeping. Bondy called those crimes particularly “brazen.”

In one case, Grayer stole a woman’s school bag containing all the documents she needed for a nursing program she was entering. The woman had to delay her schooling and missed family holiday celebrations in Michigan because Grayer had also taken her passport.

Grayer would use the credit cards she stole, once ringing up $3,200 in purchases at Sears. She broke into a car and cashed cheques she found inside.

She broke into student housing buildings and a hotel. On Sept. 10, Grayer lay in wait with a fake handgun at the Royal Bank on Tecumseh Road East late at night. When a customer made a withdrawal at the bank machine about 11:20 p.m., Grayer held the gun to the woman’s head. The robbery attempt was scuttled when the customer’s boyfriend approached and scared Grayer away.

“Most of Ms. Grayer’s crimes occurred at a time when she was particularly out of control,” the judge noted. The judge noted Grayer was so “strung out,” she was careless in her crimes. Once while breaking into a house and stealing a purse and clothing, she left her own purse with her identification behind.

While the judge imposed a sentence closer to what the prosecution was seeking, she gave Grayer a break on the fines that would normally accompany her crimes. Each count usually carries a $100 or $200 fine that goes into a fund to help victims of crime. Grayer’s fines would have totalled about $2,000. Calling that “cruel and unusual punishment,” the judge waived the fines.

Court heard Grayer was born into a two-parent family, but that her father abused both Grayer and her mother. Her mom has been supportive, but found her daughter hard to control.

Grayer began using marijuana at age 16 and turned to increasingly harder drugs in an effort to self-medicate for bipolar and borderline personality disorders.

A probation officer who prepared a background report on Grayer for the sentencing judge said Grayer poses “a significant risk to reoffend.”

ssacheli@windsorstar.com or @WinStarSacheli

On the day Cole Charles Rickett crashed into an SUV carrying a Michigan family, killing one woman and injuring her husband and children, he’d had four pints of beer before getting behind the wheel, his Superior Court trial heard Monday.

OPP Const. Michael Whitelaw said Rickett made that admission to him near the crash site at the intersection of South Talbot and Walker roads. Whitelaw said Rickett’s eyes were red, he was unsteady on his feet and he had the smell of alcohol on his breath.

Rickett, 30, is charged with 10 drunk-driving related offences, including impaired driving causing death, for the Dec. 31, 2011 crash. Carolyn Dutta, 44, of Ann Arbor, died in the crash. Dutta’s husband, Suman, and the couple’s three children were injured.

Monday was the first day of trial.

Whitelaw said paramedics and firefighters were already tending to the family when he arrived after 2:30 p.m. One emergency worker handed him a car seat holding a bleeding child. He delivered the little girl to a waiting ambulance.

Whitelaw said he then turned his attention to Rickett, who at first said he didn’t need medical attention. He said Rickett seemed in a fog, looking past him during their conversation with what Whitelaw described as a “thousand-yard stare.”

The officer said when he asked Rickett if he’d been drinking, Rickett at first told him he’d had “two beers at lunch.” Asked again, Rickett said he’d had “four pints at Boston Pizza,” Whitelaw testified.

Whitelaw said he wrote down verbatim what Rickett said next.

“I’m (expletive), aren’t I? They pulled out in front of me. I couldn’t do anything and now I’m gonna lose my job. There was nothing I could do.”

Whitelaw testified that when he arrested him, Rickett had two beer bottle caps in his pocket.

A resident who lived nearby said he was outside his home letting his dog out when he heard the squeal of tires.

Steven Macvoy said he went to the intersection and spoke to Rickett who denied responsibility for the crash. “He said the other car pulled out in front of him.”

The intersection, at the time of the crash, had an amber flashing light on Walker Road and a flashing red light with oversized stop signs on South Talbot Road.

“It’s a fairly difficult intersection to cross,” Macvoy testified.

The sightlines on Walker Road were good, Macvoy said, but, “It’s very difficult to see when you are on South Talbot.” The stop signs were so big they were hard to see around.

Raymond Simard, a Tecumseh firefighter, also lives near the intersection. He heard the crash from his home and rushed to the scene, dispatching emergency crews.

Simard said the intersection has been the scene of a number of serious accidents. The stop signs, despite being oversized, were obscured by signs for nearby businesses, he testified.

The speed limit on both roads was 80 km/h. After the crash, the speed limit was lowered to 60 km/h and traffic lights were installed at the intersection, Simard said.

Dutta’s widower is scheduled to take the witness stand Tuesday. The trial is expected to run until the end of the month.

ssacheli@windsorstar.com

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The chair, vice-chair and head of security for last year’s Shores of Erie International Wine Festival are among the six people facing Liquor Licence Act charges related to the death of 18-year-old Emily Bernauer.

The names of all six charged became public Monday during their first court date. They are: last year’s festival committee chair Karen Gygory; vice-chair Joanne DiPierdomenico; the committee’s head of security Don Deslippe; logistics head Paul Mersch; and longtime volunteer Anne Rota; as well as Anne Rota’s husband Renato (Rennie) Rota, who is manager of the Sobeys in Amherstburg where Bernauer worked.

Renato Rota is facing a single charge of permitting a person who appears to be under the age of 19 to have liquor. The five volunteers connected to the festival each face that charge as well as the charge of failing to inspect the identification of a person who appears to be under 19. All six will appear in court on April 13.

None of them appeared in court Monday – they were represented by lawyers. However, about 10 members of Bernauer’s family sat silently in the provincial offences court as the next court date was set. They were wearing buttons featuring a photo of Bernauer, a LaSalle resident who was killed in a single-vehicle crash Sept. 6 in the 1300 block of Con. 2 North in Amherstburg. She was driving to meet her boyfriend after working a shift for Sobeys serving food at the festival.

Though police initially cited texting and not wearing a seatbelt as factors in the crash and her death, last week they announced that post-mortem toxicology tests found alcohol and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the active ingredient in marijuana) in her system.

A lawyer for the family told The Star last week that “investigations to date have revealed that Emily was provided with and consumed alcohol at the Shores of Erie Wine Festival while working at a booth operated by Sobeys Amherstburg.”

Following Monday’s court appearance, Bernauer’s father Chris said there will be even more family members attending future court dates.

“We’re proud of our daughter and at the end of the day we’ll follow the whole process through,” he said, declining to say more.

The Sobeys manager Rota is represented by Windsor lawyer Andrew Bradie, while Patrick Ducharme is representing the five festival volunteers. A lawyer speaking on his behalf, Jayme Lesperance, said they would not be making any comment.

The festival, which has grown since its start in 2005 to become one of the best festivals in the province, is being investigated by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. Any conclusions are probably a month or more away, a spokeswoman indicated Monday.

bcross@windsorstar.com

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The 21-year-old woman accused of live pornographic performances at Windsor Public Library locations plans on pleading not guilty, says her new lawyer.

Alexandria “Alexa” Morra, who turned herself into police last week, has retained Windsor lawyer Patrick Ducharme in her defence.

Morra has been charged with one count of committing an indecent act.

Ducharme said he fully expects his client will plead not guilty when she makes her next court appearance on April 15.

Morra had originally hired Tyler Jones as her attorney, but changed to Ducharme over the weekend.

After public uproar, a police investigation resulted in the allegation that Morra is the webcam user known as “lilsecrett” — who broadcast dozens of online sex shows from Windsor’s Riverside and Fontainebleau library branches.

According to Section 173 of the Criminal Code of Canada, an indecent act charge applies to “everyone who willfully does an indecent act in a public place in the presence of one or more persons, or in any place with intent to insult or offend any person.”

The charge also applies to those who “in any place, for a sexual purpose, exposes his or her genital organs to a person who is under the age of 16 years.”

As an indictable offence, the charge has a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment.

As a summary conviction, the maximum penalty is six months imprisonment.

If the case involves the exposure of genitals to a minor, the minimum penalty is 30 days imprisonment.

dchen@windsorstar.com

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An oversized stop sign on South Talbot Road may have prevented Suman Dutta from seeing oncoming traffic at Walker Road, the man testified Tuesday.

The Michigan father pulled into the intersection Dec. 31, 2011 and was almost immediately struck by a southbound pickup truck driven by Cole Charles Rickett. Dutta’s wife, Carolyn, 44, died from injuries she sustained in the crash. The couple’s three children were also injured.

Rickett, 30, is charged with impaired driving causing death and nine other related charges. His trial has heard Rickett told police he’d consumed four pints of beer before getting behind the wheel of his Chevrolet pickup truck and heading south on Walker Road.

The trial in Superior Court Tuesday heard that Dutta had a flashing red light and stop sign at the intersection. Dutta said he stopped at the intersection then pulled into it without ever seeing Rickett’s truck approaching.

Defence lawyer Patrick Ducharme suggested Dutta had driven straight through the intersection. Dutta disagreed. “No, I stopped.”

Ducharme asked Dutta if he was on his cellphone at the time of the crash. Dutta again said, “No.”

Ducharme then showed Dutta photos of the intersection. Ducharme suggested the stop sign was so big it blocked the view of traffic approaching the intersection from the north.

Dutta agreed the sign would make it difficult to see all but traffic off in the distance.

The father said he and his family had just left a home “a couple miles away” where they had a visited a friend. The friend was visiting with her parents in Essex County. The home was west of the intersection.

Dutta was driving the family Acura SUV. His wife was in the front passenger seat. Their three children were asleep in the back.

Dutta said he was driving on South Talbot Road and as he approached Walker, he stopped at the intersection. The only north-south traffic he saw was in the distance.

“I looked to the south. I looked to the north. I looked to the south again.”

He pulled into the intersection and was struck by Rickett’s truck.

“I didn’t hear anything. I didn’t hear a horn or screeching or brakes.”

Court has heard the intersection had poor sight lines, and that after the fatal crash, traffic lights were installed.

ssacheli@windsorstar.com

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The fatal crash between a pickup truck driven by Cole Charles Rickett and a Michigan family’s SUV was the result of an error by the SUV driver, says an OPP collision expert.

Testifying in court on Wednesday, accident reconstruction specialist Const. Rich Bortolon said that Rickett did not have time to stop to avoid the 2003 Acura MDX driven by Suman Dutta.

Dutta’s wife Carolyn, who was a passenger in the Acura, did not survive. The couple’s three children suffered injuries.

Rickett is on trial facing numerous charges including impaired driving causing death and bodily harm.

Bortolon examined the aftermath of the crash that took place Dec. 31, 2011, at the intersection of Walker Road and South Talbot Road.

Rickett’s Chevy pickup truck was southbound on Walker. Dutta’s Acura was westbound on South Talbot.

At the time of the incident, the intersection did not have traffic signals. There were oversized stop signs and flashing red lights for South Talbot traffic. Walker Road traffic had right of way.

The area had an 80 km/h speed limit.

According to Bortolon’s calculations, Rickett was travelling in the range of 80 to 86 km/h when Dutta pulled into the intersection at about 14 km/h.

An OPP sergeant and Tecumseh firefighters deal with the scene of a fatal collision at South Talbot and Walker Roads on Dec. 31, 2011. (Dax Melmer / The Windsor Star)

Bortolon confirmed previous testimony that the intersection had sightline issues: The large stop signs and trees prevented drivers on South Talbot from seeing Walker Road traffic at a certain distance.

In Bortolon’s observations for his report, he found that when drivers on South Talbot approached the intersection, they would typically come to a full stop — then creep forward in order to better assess Walker Road traffic.

Defence lawyer Patrick Ducharme, who is representing Rickett, pointed out that Dutta did not mention in his testimony creeping forward at the intersection. “He effectively said he did not do that.”

Bortolon agreed that Dutta could have avoided the collision by ensuring there were no approaching vehicles on Walker Road.

Elsewhere in his report, Bortolon noted that Carolyn Dutta was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

He found no evidence that Rickett was wearing his seatbelt.

Empty beer cans and bottles were discovered in the passenger compartment and cargo bed of Rickett’s truck.

The truck sustained heavy front end damage. The speedometer was stuck at 72 km/h when Bortolon examined the wreckage.

The SUV sustained severe passenger-side damage. Skid marks at the scene indicated the Acura was violently pushed when it was struck.

The roads were dry at the time of the 2:33 p.m. collision.

The trial resumes Thursday with more police officer testimony.

Tecumseh firefighters at the scene of a fatal crash between an SUV and a Jeep on Dec. 31, 2011. (Dax Melmer / The Windsor Star)

The Jack Miner Migratory Bird Foundation is suing the Detroit Tigers to get back Ty Cobb memorabilia it says was removed from the grounds of its Kingsville sanctuary and sold illegally to the team.

The foundation, with charitable status in Canada and the United States, has launched court actions on both sides of the border. The actions name Kirk W. Miner, Jack Miner’s grandson and former foundation president, as the defendant.

Detroit Tigers’ Ty Cobb posing in his uniform and holding a bat in 1915. (Howard Muller/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

According to court documents, Kirk Miner sold the Tigers a bat and ball signed by Cobb, as well as two letters the hall of famer penned. The foundation learned of the sale by accident in January, when proof of a $24,000 payment to Kirk Miner was sent to the non-profit group. It’s not known how much the Tigers paid for the items, but the court documents say the $24,000 wire transfer to Kirk Miner was one of two payments he received and that additional payments remained due.

According to the foundation, those items, and others removed by Miner from the Kingsville sanctuary, belong to the charity.

The foundation is careful not to say the items were stolen by Kirk Miner. “Kirk Miner has wrongfully retained possession of, and wrongfully exerted dominion over, property belonging to the foundation,” the U.S. lawsuit states.

Kirk Miner was served Wednesday with copies of the U.S. lawsuit as well as documents including a preservation order filed in Windsor.  He appeared in a Windsor courtroom where a Superior Court judge ordered him to make a list of every item he removed from the sanctuary property, even things he believes are rightly his.

The foundation’s list of missing items include two Ty Cobb baseball bats, two baseballs signed by Ty Cobb, at least seven handwritten letters to Jack Miner’s sons from Ty Cobb, two letters from Ty Cobb Jr. to Jack Miner and his son Manly Miner, an antique baseball glove, a binder of letters to and from Jack Miner and Manly Miner to and from heads of state from around the world, a Queen Elizabeth coronation figurine and 6,500 migratory bird leg bands.

The leg bands are worth $50 to $100 each, the U.S. lawsuit states. One of the exhibits filed along with the lawsuit is a news story about another Ty Cobb bat selling for $253,000.

The foundation’s list was derived from an account written by Jack Miner’s eldest son Manly, found tucked away in a box of papers last year, said Mary Baruth, executive director of the foundation. Staff set about cleaning out every “last cubbyhole” in the site’s various buildings before coming up with the list of missing items.

Some of the items can be seen in old family photographs also entered as court exhibits in Wayne County state court.

“These are irreplaceable,” Baruth said.

In an interview after court in Windsor Wednesday, Miner was reluctant to discuss the missing items. “I don’t want to say too much about this,” he said. He did however, give a detailed account of his family’s history and how, in taking over as foundation president from his Uncle Manly, he rubbed elbows with America’s business elite. He once met Ted Turner at the Detroit Economic Club. “He liked my tie,” Miner said.

Kirk Miner, grandson of Canadian conservationist Jack Miner, is pictured on Wednesday, March 11, 2015. (DYLAN KRISTY/The Windsor Star)

Miner, 66, said he was wintering in Arizona when he discovered Monday his bank accounts had been frozen. He flew back to the area Wednesday morning at 6 a.m. and was in court in Windsor four hours later.

“I wasn’t planning to be back until April,” he said. April 1 is the soonest he can move into his trailer in Colchester for the season, he said.

Miner used to live on the sanctuary in the house his grandfather built in 1922. He was evicted from the home by the foundation’s board of directors in August 2012 after being fired as foundation president in March of that year.

“Unfortunately, Kirk Miner failed to act in the best interests of the foundation and began abusing his position as president through financial improprieties, misfeasance, and neglect,” the U.S. lawsuit states.

Miner sued for wrongful dismissal and settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Kirk Miner told The Star he built up a $5-million endowment fund. The investment income covered the foundation’s operating costs, he said.

Canada geese are seen at Jack Miner’s Sanctuary in Kingsville, Ont. in this 2011 file photo. (JASON KRYK/The Windsor Star)

Jack Miner founded the sanctuary in 1904 and soon began corresponding with the Royal family and other prominent people around the world to garner support for his conservation efforts. Sanctuary visitors included Marilyn Monroe and Kellogg’s founder Will Keith Kellogg. Jack Miner counted Henry Ford among his closest friends.

Ty Cobb called on Jack Miner one day after reading about him in outdoors magazines. A fast friendship grew. Jack and Manly Miner would invite Cobb on hunting outings and Cobb would reciprocate with tickets to Tiger games. In his autobiography, Cobb wrote that knowing Jack Miner was “one of the finest things that happened to me in the wonderful world I found away from baseball.”

According to the U.S. lawsuit, Jack Miner left his home and its contents to his wife – property that transferred to Manly upon his mother’s death.

Manly was the foundation’s second president. His nephew, Kirk, was his successor.

Manly, in his will, bequeathed his chattle to the foundation, with the exception of silverware and a set of Royal Crown Derby dishes he left to his daughter Wilhelmina. Manly Miner’s will features prominently in the lawsuits on both sides of the border.

As charitable foundations, Jack Miner’s was established in 1936 in the United States and 1931 in Canada. This April marks the 150^th anniversary of Jack Miner’s birth and a celebration is in the works.

ssacheli@windsorstar.com

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The officer who determined a driver in a fatal crash had twice the legal limit of alcohol in his bloodstream was accused of lying on the witness stand Thursday.

OPP Const. Michael Zajac testified he administered two breath tests to Cole Charles Rickett on Dec. 31, 2011, after the pickup truck Rickett was driving on Walker Road slammed into an SUV at the intersection of South Talbot Road. The SUV was carrying an Ann Arbor, Mich., family.

Rickett blew readings of 161 and 152 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

Drivers can face criminal charges when readings exceed 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

Rickett, 30, is charged with impaired driving causing death and multiple counts of impaired driving, impaired driving causing bodily harm and driving with an excessive concentration of alcohol in his blood – 10 counts in all.

Carolyn Dutta, 44, died from injuries she suffered in the crash. Her husband, Suman, and their three children were injured.

Zajac, a certified breath technician for the OPP,  said he packed up his Intoxylyzer 8000C and took it to Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital where Rickett was being treated.

After confirming with a doctor that Rickett was able to blow into the machine, Zajac administered the breath test twice.

Defence lawyer Patrick Ducharme questioned the validity of the test results. Vibration can affect the machine, Zajac conceded. Ducharme pointed out the machine would have been shaken during the commute to the hospital, despite the fact the officer had strapped a seat belt around it.

Also, no maintenance logs were available for that particular unit, court heard.

Ducharme also zeroed in on the fact that the printout from the machine recorded a different lot number of the solution used in the tests. The lot number listed on the printout could have been expired.

The officer testified he changed the solution before Rickett’s test, but failed to input the new lot number.

“I made the error,” Zajac testified. “I think the transition to the hospital may have thrown me off.”

Ducharme accused the officer of not telling the truth.

“That’s a phoney explanation by you.”

The trial resumes Monday before Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas.

ssacheli@windsorstar.com

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The Law Society of Upper Canada has filed a motion to temporarily suspend the licence of Windsor lawyer Maria Marusic – the former law partner of already suspended lawyer Claudio Martini.

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the respondent has misappropriated monies held in her mixed trust account,” says the two-page notice of motion filed with the law society’s tribunal.

At a hearing set for March 24, the licensing body for lawyers is seeking to suspend Marusic until a “conduct application” can be heard at a later date by the tribunal.

“I do not know what the allegation is against me other than the general statement in the notice of motion that I ‘misappropriated funds’ which I strongly deny,” Marusic said in a statement Thursday. “I will provide a statement responding to the allegations when I see them.”

She also expressed frustration that she has not yet been provided with details of the allegation by the law society.

Marusic and Martini were partners in a law firm located in the 2400 block of Ouellette Avenue. The firm was disbanded in January after Martini’s troubles became public and he was suspended. Marusic has continued with her own law practice at that location.

Martini has been accused of misusing up to $15 million of clients’ money, according to the law society which last week announced it will seek on March 30 in Superior Court to take control of all of his work-related accounts to further investigate.

The same forensic auditor in the law society’s investigations department – Michael Spagnuolo – who detailed the allegations against Martini is also to submit an affidavit with details and reasons for the request to suspend Marusic, according to the notice of motion.

But a law society spokeswoman said Thursday that Spagnuolo’s affidavit is unlikely to be filed with the tribunal until closer to the hearing date for Marusic.

None of the law society’s allegations about the two Windsor lawyers have yet been proven.

The law society last week in documents submitted to Superior Court allege “shortages in the millions of dollars” in the former law firm’s primary trust account which held money for clients. The law society previously had all accounts related to the firm frozen in December.

Spagnuolo concluded in his court filing regarding Martini that every transaction in his professional accounts needs to be analysed to determine the exact amount of money that was allegedly misused.

Martini’s licence has been suspended for an indefinite period as a result of the law society’s findings to date. His appeal of that decision is scheduled to be heard by the law society on April 14.

dbattagello@windsorstar.com

Windsor native Mark Dennis was a man people trusted.

As a financial adviser in Hamilton, he used his outgoing personality and name recognition as a former football star for the CFL’s Tiger-Cats to attract clients who had large chequebooks.

But after they handed over millions of dollars, the money often disappeared.

It went to finance Dennis’s lavish lifestyle that included large homes, an $83,000 Mercedes and vacation properties in the United States.

Dennis, 46, will serve nearly four years in jail after pleading guilty in a Hamilton courtroom last month to 10 counts of theft that totalled $5 million.

His downfall came when he was arrested five years ago following complaints by a client who reported hundreds of thousands in missing funds from an inheritance she received from her late husband.

The notoriety of the case brought other victims out of the woodwork.

His own sister reported giving him $400,000 that disappeared.

Another client lost most of a $1.7-million inheritance.

And a couple was left with only $60,000 of $900,000 invested with Dennis’s Denham Companies.

This gated home off Highway 52 in Ancaster was owned by Mark Dennis when he was charged by the Hamilton police. (Postmedia News files)

At the time of his sentencing in February, Dennis was already serving jail time after pleading guilty in July 2014 to theft of $300,000 from a widow who had trusted him with her money.

Dennis was described in court as a “fiscal predator” who, starting in 2003, took his clients’ money for his own use.

He was a football prodigy at the former Centennial high school in Windsor who attended Central Michigan University on a football scholarship. He parlayed his stardom as a linebacker with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats into a high-profile – and seemingly successful – career as a financial adviser in Canada’s gritty steel capital.

When clients started to demand money back or ask questions about the disappearance of their investment funds, Dennis used money from new investors to partially pay them back. All the while he was spending freely and racking up huge credit card bills.

His sister, Celeste Heyerichs, and her husband Karl gave him more than $400,000 in three separate payments in 2004 to bridge finance a house they were buying in Hamilton while they sold their home in Windsor.

Dennis used his sister’s money for “personal purposes” instead of properly passing it on to the lender, court was told.

The only money Heyerichs got back was a cheque in June 2008 for $8,665 from her brother’s company.

Dennis was represented in court by Toronto lawyer Ellen Jamshidi. She did not return a message left by The Star this week, but detailed during his sentence hearing how Dennis’s life has unravelled since his arrest.

The former football star has been married to his high school sweetheart from Windsor, Francisca Cruz, for 24 years and is the father of six children, four of whom still live at home, Jamshidi said in court.

“His reputation and financial state have significantly been destroyed,” she said.

Soon after his arrest, Dennis resigned from all professional and community positions, she said. He entered bankruptcy “which turned into hardship for his family” which was forced out of the matrimonial home.

Dennis is banned from the financial investment field by the profession’s regulatory body, which also fined him more than $1 million.

Court was told during an earlier hearing it will be next to impossible for Dennis to ever reimburse his victims given his financial collapse.

When addressing the court during his sentencing, Dennis made no mention of his victims or family, but did apologize for taking up court time and legal resources.

“I have a complete understanding of the facts of the case and all my responsibility within this case,” Dennis said. “I would like to say that I’m certainly at the mercy of the court for any decision that you make and I respect the decision you make and I thank you for the opportunity.”

Mark Dennis is pictured working out in this 1989 file photo. (FILES/The Windsor Star)

Dennis grew up part of a large family of seven children – many well-known in Windsor for their athletic accomplishments. His brother Tony Dennis in 2012 was elected into the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame for his success on the football field which included seven years in the CFL.

When contacted Wednesday, Heyerichs, who works in Hamilton’s financial sector, did not wish to comment on her brother’s actions.

Another sibling contacted in Windsor Wednesday indicated the family did not wish to comment.

Windsor’s Joe Siddall, a radio analyst for the Toronto Blue Jays, was Mark Dennis’s roommate for a year when both were freshman at Central Michigan on football scholarships.

Siddall left the sport and university a year later when he signed a professional baseball contract.

Siddall has not had a lot of contact with Dennis since they were college roommates over 25 years ago, but was stunned at the turn of events.

“He was good friend and roommate,” Siddall said by phone recently from Florida where he is covering the Jays’ spring training games.

“You never really know the personal issues people are dealing with, but I could never have imagined Mark Dennis to be in this kind of trouble. For me, to hear the news is a sad day. He is from a great family. I just feel for Mark and his family. You can only hope he serves his time and somehow this turns out better in the end.”

Dennis graduated from Central Michigan in 1989. He played four seasons for the Tiger-Cats before a knee injury ended his career in 1993. Starting in June 2000, he secured employment in the investment sector with TD Waterhouse where he worked until October 2008.

He next worked briefly for Richardson Partners before forming his own consulting, realty and investing companies under the banner Denham Companies.

Aside from his sister, Dennis’s guilty pleas in court largely relate to his theft of funds in 2009 and early 2010 before his arrest.

Among the victims was Sarah Mosher who in 2009 handed over $1.7 million of inheritance from her father to Dennis. He told her the funds were to be invested in eight commercial realty properties that would provide a steady return.

Dennis instead used close to $1 million to pay off his own expenses or other investors, court was told.

Shannon and Nicky Porter handed over $900,000 for investment only in Canadian properties that was to provide stable rental income. Dennis steered the funds into his company’s U.S. account where they were used to purchase U.S. vacation properties without the Porters’ knowledge.

The couple demanded their money back, but only got $60,000 – money that belonged to Mosher, court was told.

Teresa Bower, who was newly divorced, trusted Dennis so much she signed and handed him five blank cheques. He made them out to his wife, Francisca Cruz, for a total of $227,000 and deposited them into their joint account.

Those funds were said in court to have been used for payments that included window and landscaping companies. Bower never received any of her money back.

Paul and Judy Crawford turned over a $340,000 line of credit and $90,000 in savings to Dennis for an investment in a commercial property. He instead used the bulk of the funds to buy a $37,000 car, make mortgage payments on his properties and pay off other debts, court was told.

None of the funds were ever used as intended.

The jail sentence handed to Dennis was a jointly proposed by his lawyer and the prosecutor.

Superior Court Justice Dale Parayeski said the only reason he agreed and would not impose a stiffer sentence was that Dennis had been so compliant and chose not to fight any of the allegations in court.

“He has spared the judicial system what would have been inevitably lengthy and complex hearings,” the judge said in his ruling. “I recognize his pleas of guilt as signs of remorse and a sincere recognition of responsibility.”

Parayeski concluded: “To some extent, Mr. Dennis has already been punished in the form of his loss of reputation and loss of the ability to work in the investment field. What he had worked for has been destroyed with negative impact upon both himself and his immediate family.”

dbattagello@windsorstar.com

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A Lakeshore woman seeking leniency on a drug-dealing charge says her abusive ex-husband had a fetish for penis piercings, got high on his own supply, was connected with corrupt police officers — and may have set her up.

“The devil himself. That’s how I see him,” Sabrina Lacommare said to RCMP investigators about her estranged spouse, Mark Anthony Trudel.

In a rambling interview with RCMP in 2012, Lacommare suggested Trudel exchanged money, drugs, and information with members of OPP and the Windsor Police Service.

“I’m not doing anything,” Lacommare, 49, told RCMP. “He’s the one that’s running the show.”

A video recording of the three-hour interview was played in Superior Court on Tuesday.

In January, Lacommare pleaded guilty to one count of possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking — a charge related to an arrest and raid by OPP in June 2011.

Cocaine packaged for sale was found in Lacommare’s purse and at her residence.

Although Lacommare admits she sold drugs, she’s hoping for a break on her penalty based on the idea that she only did it for a short time to raise money to escape her relationship with Trudel.

Lacommare said her arrest was “a blessing in disguise, because it was my way out.”

“I just want my life back. I was brought up by a very good family and I made a mistake.”

According to Lacommare, she only learned of Trudel’s involvement in drugs after their marriage in 2001.

Lacommare said that after her arrest, she tried to tell OPP about Trudel, but “they didn’t want to hear about Mark.”

“People were shutting me up,” she claimed.

At one point in the interview, Lacommare said a retired Windsor police officer once told her he wanted to import drugs from Thailand with Trudel.

Lacommare told RCMP that Trudel has been in the drug trade for 20 years and “will never get out.”

But when pressed for more information about Trudel’s methods and connections, Lacommare characterized him as “an idiot” who is “too stupid to use code words” and “can’t keep his mouth shut.”

Lacommare also told police Trudel “rats people out to get out of trouble,” and she’s “pretty sure a lot of people don’t like him.”

Sgt. Steven Richardson of the RCMP testified that he found Lacommare’s statements in the interview “scattered,” “misleading,” “self-serving,” and “deceptive.”

“It became very clear to me she was just as involved in the drug trade as her husband,” Richardson said in court.

Defence lawyer Patrick Ducharme, who is representing Lacommare, demanded to know why Richardson didn’t follow up on Lacommare’s information.

“These allegations were buried,” Ducharme said. “What reason did you have to disbelieve?”

Richardson responded: “I just didn’t think it was credible.”

Under questioning by Ducharme, Richardson testified that a full-scale investigation of Trudel was never launched by RCMP, and RCMP surveillance of Trudel totalled less than eight hours.

Richardson said he felt Lacommare was minimizing her own involvement and wouldn’t answer direct questions. “She tries to portray herself as some sort of hapless victim.”

Ducharme accused Richardson of “feigning naiveté,” and said Trudel was, in fact, “very hooked up with the OPP.”

Justice Renee Pomerance reminded both the prosecutor and the defence that the purpose of the evidence is to determine if Lacommare deserves leniency in sentencing — not necessarily to determine the truth of her allegations.

The sentence hearing resumes Wednesday.

dchen@windsorstar.com

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The security manager of Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has gone to court trying to censor a disgruntled claims applicant from saying nasty things about him on Facebook.

A two-day hearing began Tuesday with Frank Brunato, WSIB’s corporate safety manager, seeking a peace bond against Windsor’s Mike Spencer to stop him from posting allegedly derogatory and threatening comments.

Brunato, who hopes the peace bond will also stop comments singling out other WSIB employees, testified the Facebook posts made him feel bullied and angry.

“It belittled me, it demeaned me,” said Brunato, who lives in Toronto. “It made me feel bad. A lot of stuff posted is very derogatory in nature and intended to put a mental toll on an individual.”

The peace bond application comes after the WSIB has tried for years to stop the man they believe is Mike Spencer from posting what the agency considers derogatory, harassing and threatening comments against Brunato and others.

The posts appeared on a Facebook page called “WSIB Kills People.” Many members who post on the page believe WSIB causes people to kill themselves through poor treatment and benefits payments that lead to financial ruin and mental despair.

Spencer, who injured his leg in 2008 and couldn’t return to work, lives on a monthly pension of $610. His former workplace wasn’t mentioned in court. About a dozen protesters showed up outside the courthouse Tuesday in support of Spencer.

A small group protests outside of the Provincial Court in downtown Windsor, Ont. on Tuesday, March 17, 2015, where a hearing regarding the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board was taking place. (DAN JANISSE/ The Windsor Star)

WSIB has been monitoring the Facebook page since 2011.

Some of the comments included “you are going to hell with all your murdering ilk. If I can do anything to expedite that I will.” Another post stated “the time for talking is over. I’ve had enough. I think you all need a lesson and I can’t thing of anyone more qualified to give it to you than me.”

Yet another claimed “the consequences of your actions are long overdue but they are coming scum. They are coming. Have a great day.”

One post, seemingly aimed at WSIB’s security department, stated “you’re snivelling little cowards who most likely didn’t meet the requirements to be real cops.”

The agency sent Spencer letters telling him to stop posting the comments. When that didn’t work, it banned him from having any personal dealings with employees. He can’t visit, call, email or contact them in any other way. He’s also not allowed on any WSIB property.

Any files about his WSIB claims or correspondence from him must go through the agency’s security desk. Brunato said such actions are only taken in extreme cases.

The organization also called the police, who paid Spencer a visit. Brunato said the comments stopped after that, but eventually started up again.

Defence lawyer Ken Marley suggested that WSIB has no proof the person posting under the name Mike Spencer is even the same person who was sitting in the defendant’s chair Tuesday.

He said there are many Mike Spencers out there. Marley added the person posting under that name may not even be a Mike Spencer.

“Just bring some poor guy before the court and make accusations against him without any proof,” Marley said during an often confrontational cross-examination of Brunato.

Later in the day under similar questioning, John Fotheringham, WSIB’s director of security and emergency preparedness, conceded that while he’s confident it’s the same Mike Spencer he’s not 100 per cent sure.

Marley also suggested that instead of threats of physical harm, the Facebook statements about consequences and taking action could be the commenter referring to seeking out police charges or lawsuits against WSIB.

But Brunato said he took the comments as personal threats against him and his co-workers.

“I’m fearful that some day my family is going to witness something against me, or I’m not home and something happens to my family,” he said. “That’s my biggest fear.”

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A man who sees himself as a champion of injured workers grew agitated and emotional on the witness stand Wednesday as he tried to stop an arm of the Ontario government from muzzling his online comments.

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is trying to get a peace bond against Mike Spencer to stop him from posting what it considers threatening comments against employees on Facebook.

But Spencer testified he never intended to threaten harm against anyone. He said he was trying to be a voice for injured people who have been “harassed,” “abused,” financially ruined and even driven to suicide by WSIB employees and practices.

“They can see me there defending them,” said Spencer, 54, originally from Pennsylvania. “It gives them hope. Maybe they won’t go and kill themselves next week.”

The WSIB has been monitoring Spencer’s online activity since 2011.

They take issue with numerous online comments, including “you are going to hell with all your murdering ilk. If I can do anything to expedite that I will.” Another post stated “the time for talking is over. I’ve had enough. I think you all need a lesson and I can’t think of anyone more qualified to give it to you than me.”

Another claimed “the consequences of your actions are long overdue but they are coming scum. They are coming.”

WSIB repeatedly tried to get him to stop posting comments. When sending letters didn’t work, they called Windsor police. Officers met with Spencer and gave him a warning, but the comments didn’t stop.

Sgt. Gary Williams testified he felt there was enough evidence to charge Spencer, but the Crown attorney said a peace bond would be a better way to go.

“There is a level of freedom of speech,” said Williams. “But you can cross that line.”

Spencer, who worked in mechanical and steel fabrication, was hurt Sept. 11, 2008. Under questioning from his lawyer, he didn’t go into the details of the accident, but said his leg was snapped in three places.

After fighting for benefits and having WSIB cut off paying for painkillers, Spencer said he has a $610 monthly pension. He said the constant fighting with WSIB caused him to sink into depression.

“They made me feel like killing myself,” said Spencer. “They made me wish I was dead.”

A friend directed him to some Facebook pages where people in similar circumstances commiserate online. Spencer said that was where he realized how widespread the problem, as he sees it, has become. He claims the stress from dealing with WSIB and receiving inadequate benefits, combined with the pain of injuries, cause people to have heart attacks and strokes. He said some have even killed themselves. Spencer, calling it the “silent genocide,” said he hears from a few people a week contemplating suicide.

He claims his comments are not meant to be threatening or incite violence. Spencer said much of what he posted was meant to get him sued or otherwise hauled into court so he had another public forum to express his views.

“This is all to humiliate and demean them so disabled workers can see and they won’t be afraid,” said Spencer.

He said he doesn’t want to hurt WSIB employees. He wants them in jail.

“I want these people criminally charged, I want them tried, I want them convicted and I want them punished,” said Spencer.

twilhelm@windsorstar.com

Local drug baron Shawn Evon was sentenced to 4½ years in prison Friday.

He had pleaded guilty to six crimes relating to trafficking cocaine and crack cocaine and possessing proceeds of crime.

“He’s satisfied with the sentence,” said Evon’s defence lawyer Maria Carroccia. “He’s happy to have the matter completed and move on, complete his sentence.”

Carroccia said Evon apologized for his actions in court. He expressed remorse for the way his crimes affected his family, his co-accused and Danielle Patrick, who he was dating at the time of his arrest. They were in bed together during a police raid in January 2012, when 13 people were arrested.

In February, court heard that Evon had no legitimate means of support. He admitted to using his drug proceeds to buy “necessities and luxuries,” helping his parents and financially supporting Patrick and a child he had fathered with another woman.

Carroccia said Justice Renee Pomerance told the court she accepted that Evon was remorseful and accepted the jointly-submitted sentence.

“I think it was a fair resolution,” Carroccia said.

Carroccia said Justice Pomerance also recognized that Evon had decided not to pursue charter issues relating to the police’s production orders and warrant for a wire tap. Police got court permission to tap Evon’s phones while he was out on bail pending appeal of a 2011 conviction for seven drug offences.

The wire tap led them to arrest his associates. Jason Andrew Potter, Gerald Lauzon, Raymond Caza, Michael Broughton and Yvette Lucier were convicted and sentenced for their role in the drug ring.

“She took into account the seriousness of the offence — there’s no question that they were very serious offences — but also that there were some real charter issues to be argued,” Carroccia said. “In total she determined that the joint position that we put to her was a fair resolution of the matter.”

Evon’s sentence is 4½ years less 13 months of pre-trial custody, meaning he received a sentence of three years and five months.

• Man gets 3½ years for multi-drug operation
• Woman pleads guilty in drug trafficking ring
• Windsor man sentenced to 6 1/2 years

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Lack of evidence, lack of fault, and the unreliability of blood alcohol testing mean that Cole Charles Rickett can’t be considered guilty of impaired driving causing death, says his lawyer.

Closing arguments in Rickett’s trial were heard in Superior Court on Friday.

A 30-year-old Windsor resident, Rickett is facing 10 charges — including impaired driving causing death — in relation to the two-vehicle crash that happened Dec. 31, 2011, at the Walker Road and South Talbot intersection.

The Chevy pick-up truck driven by Cole Charles Rickett that crashed into a minivan in South Windsor on Dec. 31, 2011. (Dax Melmer / The Windsor Star)

Rickett’s Chevy pick-up truck was southbound on Walker Road, and had right of way. An Acura minivan driven by Suman Dutta of Michigan was westbound on South Talbot Road.

Dutta’s wife Carolyn, 44, was killed, and their three children were injured.

Rickett’s lawyer, Patrick Ducharme, argued that there was “a complete absence of any evidence of impairment” at the accident scene.

Ducharme noted that civilian witnesses at the scene reported that Rickett was speaking clearly.

The swaying and faraway look described by OPP officers could be attributed to Rickett’s disorientation due to the collision, and the fact that he’d been struck in the face with his vehicle’s air bag, Ducharme said.

Ducharme pointed to testimony by a collision expert that speed wasn’t a factor and there was no driver error on Rickett’s part. “No person who was in his position could have done anything differently,” Ducharme said.

OPP tested Rickett’s blood alcohol twice at the hospital. The resultant readings — 161 and 152 milligrams per 100 mL — far exceed the legal limit of 80 milligrams per 100 mL.

But Ducharme argued that the equipment wasn’t maintained, there were operator errors, and blood alcohol testing as a practice is unreliable. “This is not a speculative defence. It’s very real,” Ducharme said.

The intersection of southbound Walker Road at South Talbot Road is shown in this May 2014 Google Maps image. The intersection did not have traffic lights at the time of the fatal crash on Dec. 31, 2011.

Assistant Crown attorney Lisa Defoe conceded that the intersection has sightline issues. However, she said photographs show there is a point where a vehicle coming from South Talbot Road would have been discernible to a vehicle on Walker Road.

She noted that it was a clear day, and Dutta’s minivan had to cross the northbound lane before entering the southbound lane and the path of Rickett’s truck. “You can clearly have a view … if you’re paying attention.”

The Acura minivan driven by Suman Dutta collided with a pick-up truck in South Windsor on Dec. 31, 2011. (Dax Melmer / The Windsor Star)

Defoe also noted that the intersection had a caution light at the time (it wasn’t equipped with traffic signals until after the accident). “A caution light is there for a reason — It is an indication to exercise caution,” she said.

There was no evidence that Rickett took any evasive action, Defoe said.

Regarding signs of impairment, Defoe pointed to the reports of OPP officers at the scene that Rickett had glassy eyes, an odour, swayed his weight from side to side, and told one officer: “I’m f*****, aren’t I?”

Defoe also pointed out inconsistencies in the timeline provided by Rickett.

The prosecutor said these details “all may be small things,” but the totality of the circumstances show “there is certainly evidence of impairment.”

The trial resumes on Mar. 27 for the judge’s verdict.

dchen@windsorstar.com

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He loved the thrill, he loved being pampered, he loved being a high-roller, and he let it destroy the lives of his clients, wife and children.

Sam Burgio, an immigration consultant who bilked $1 million from clients, stood weeping before a judge Friday and said he’s a changed man who finally realizes what he did.

“On this day, my judgement day, I stand before you with feelings of regret, shame and remorse,” Burgio, 52, said at his sentencing hearing.

“I’m a gambler, I have an addiction. I have been in denial for much too long. I lay down my armour today, I lay down my guard. I have reached my lifelong limit of lies.”

Burgio pleaded guilty in March 2014 to 12 fraud-related charges for crimes dating back to 2003. His case has been dragging through the courts since 2010 with repeated delays that were often his own doing.

Burgio and his wife, Maria Angela, initially faced 34 charges. The case against her will likely be withdrawn as part of the plea deal.

Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance will hand down her sentence April 30.

During the hearing Friday, assistant Crown attorney Elizabeth Brown asked for a three- to four-year jail sentence, plus a restitution order for $997,089. She said Burgio’s “series of schemes” went beyond taking peoples’ money on false promises of financial windfalls.

“The promise wasn’t one of financial gain but of a new life,” she said. “It’s aggravating.”

Defence lawyer Brian Dube asked for house arrest.

“It’s been quite a humbling experience for him,” said Dube. “He’s had a very significant fall from grace.”

Burgio said he gambled away more than $500,000 in a decade, mostly on horse racing.

“The mental obsession causes you to lose control, then the fall from grace began.”

He said he never skipped out on work to gamble.

“But come six o’clock, I became a totally different person, a split personality,” said Burgio.

Despite that, he said his practice was still in dire straits. He said the recession and fall of the U.S. dollar killed 80 per cent of his business. Debt mounted. Burgio said he started taking clients’ trust money to pay bills, hoping the economy would turn around and he’d start earning enough to pay it back.

But he acknowledged much of the money also went to feed his gambling addiction. He offered a “heartfelt” apology to his clients. When he talked about his family, he began to sob.

“Nobody is more owing of an apology than my family,” said Burgio, who has been in counselling for four months.

He spoke of his youngest son Sam, who bears his name and will be forever “haunted” by it. Burgio said his daughter was in high school when he was arrested. He said kids would bring newspaper stories about him to school and torment her with them. They would send her texts with vicious taunts.

Talking about his wife of 25 years, who could have left him “so many times,” he became even more emotional.

“When I look at my wife today, the stress on her face, we don’t even recognize ourselves.”

twilhelm@windsorstar.com

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• Fraudulent immigration consultant gets court case delayed again
• Immigration counsellor delays criminal case again