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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 19 ,2 01 9 | 2 Than k you for y our supp ort o ver th e yea rs. Dr. A. S ayal Georgetown Marketplace Mall 905-877-CARE (2273) Proudly Serving Georgetown since 1994 Proudly Serving Georgetown since 1994 DR. ANOOP SAYAL & ASSOCIATES Family and Cosmetic Dentistry Dr. Sayal and staff want to thank our family of patients for all their support with our Annual Food Drive. Over the last 22 years we have raised thousands of dollars and many thousands of pounds of food. As is our tradition, in lieu of Christmas cards, a donation has been made to the Georgetown Bread Basket. Dr. Sayal and his staff present 160lbs of donations to Anette Walker of The Georgetown Bread Basket 905-702-2597 • 866- 878 5556 Have a Wonderful Christmas Season and a Safe and Happy New Year! michael.chong@parl.gc.ca www.michaelchong.ca Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! www.tedarnottmpp.com • 1-800-265-2366 TED ARNOTT, MPP Wellington-Halton Hills accepted bribes and kick- backs, improperly helped outside companies obtain contracts with the region and aided them in submit- ting fraudulent invoices. The forensic accoun- tants found dozens of occa- sions where Ohashi alleged- ly accepted money, flights, vacations, hotel rooms, tick- ets, electronics, home reno- vations, "adult entertain- ment" and even Viagra. The shocking details in the report raise serious questions about Halton Re- gion's oversight of con- tracts, invoices and pay- ments, as well as its over- sight of the behaviour of some companies that pro- vide services and equip- ment to the region in the wa- ter and wastewater divi- sion. Two of the companies identified in the report al- leged to have provided kick- backs to Ohashi are still on Halton Region's most re- cently published list of ap- proved suppliers of equip- ment and services for the water and wastewater divi- sion. In written responses to The Spectator's questions, Halton Region stated it "is committed to the highest standards of corporate ac- countability, transparency, responsibility and integri- ty." "These are the actions of individuals in positions of trust who chose to use the knowledge of the controls and systems to defraud Hal- ton residents and Halton Region," stated Stacey Hunter, spokesperson for the region. "Their actions in no way represent the 2,500 skilled, hardworking and dedicated individuals who serve Hal- ton residents each and ev- ery day." "Halton Region has rig- orous systems, policies and procedures in place to safe- guard assets and protect the public interest," Hunter stated. "Even the most con- trolled system cannot pre- vent illicit activity, particu- larly when internal and ex- ternal collusion is in- volved." In 2016, Ohashi was charged with seven counts including municipal cor- ruption, accepting secret commissions, fraud and criminal breach of contract. While some of the details of Ohashi's actions became public when he was charged, the forensic ac- countants' report provides a comprehensive analysis of the scope of the allegedly fraudulent behaviour which appears to have gone on for more than a decade. Ohashi was found guilty by a jury on June 21 of fraud over $5,000, fraud under $5,000, and uttering a forged document. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 28. Also facing charges with Ohashi was Stoney Creek resident David Norris, prin- cipal of Sirron Systems Inc., a company that was a ven- dor and service provider to Halton Region. Norris was charged with five counts and convicted by a jury on June 21 of fraud over $5,000, municipal cor- ruption, and accepting se- cret commissions. He will also be sentenced on Feb. 28. Ohashi and Norris at- tempted to have their con- victions stayed earlier this fall by launching a chal- lenge under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms that argued their rights were vi- olated by the Crown, but they abandoned their appli- cation on Nov. 28. Attempts to reach Ohashi and Norris for com- ment were unsuccessful. Following Ohashi's ar- rest in 2016, Halton police in- vestigated and charged an- other region employee, Ni- colas Rewa, who was subse- quently found guilty of defrauding the region of about $770,000 through falsely awarding service contracts to Sirron Systems Inc. Rewa was sentenced to three years in jail. The forensic accounting firm prepared the investiga- tive report based on emails, phone call logs, texts, Black- Berry Messenger messages, a computer hard drive anal- ysis, and reviews of Halton Region invoices and con- tracts. The investigators also re- ceived documents from the ex-spouse of Norris, who al- so happened to be a former bookkeeper of Sirron Sys- tems, one of the companies implicated in the scheme. Sirron Systems per- formed electrical, instru- mentation and data acquisi- tion services for Halton Re- gion from 1995 to 2017. According to the confi- dential report, Sirron Sys- tems issued nearly 16,000 in- voices totalling $30.5 million to Halton over the 22-year period. When the forensic ac- countants interviewed Nor- ris' ex-spouse, she told them Sirron began submitting fic- titious invoices to Halton Region around 2003. She told them she was terminat- ed in February 2014 "as a re- sult of her reluctance to par- ticipate in Sirron's 'questionable billing prac- tices,'" the report states. The forensic accoun- tants compared Sirron bookkeeping spreadsheets with Halton Region invoices and calculated that Sirron's allegedly fictitious invoices to Halton totalled between $12.3 million to $13.9 million. At least 38 of the alleged- ly fictitious invoices total- ling $490,000 were directly attributable to Ohashi, the report states. At one point, Halton Re- gion issued payments of LOCAL Continued from page 1 OHASHI ALLEGEDLY ACCEPTED MONEY, FLIGHTS, VACATIONS AND MORE See REGION, page 4