Guyanese in Canada tells court councillor pressed him for bribe
Stabroek News
May 9, 2003
A Guyanese immigrant to Canada has testified in court that he was pressed to give a bribe to a Mississauga councillor so as to have his rezoning application for his funeral home approved, according to the Toronto Star.
The councillor, Cliff Gyles, is charged with two counts of municipal corruption and two of breach of trust for allegedly taking $35,000 in cash bribes from two constituents in return for his support on two unrelated rezoning applications.
According to an article Gyles pleaded not guilty to all counts.
The crown has alleged that Gyles sought bribes of $100,000 from Guyanese Rick Benisasia, who migrated to Canada in 1980, in return for his support on an application to convert the former Royal Canadian Legion Hall in Malton, near Toronto, into a funeral home.
The Toronto Star article reported that it was that building that a real-estate agent engaged by Benisasia had located in early 2000 and announced it as the perfect location for a funeral home.
His offer was accepted in February, 2000, with a closing date set for June. In the meantime, he set one of his agents to work fetching the necessary permits and approvals so things would be ready to go.
And that's when he got a rude surprise: The property was not zoned for a funeral home.
The newspaper report said for Benisasia, this created something of a Catch-22. The city would not proceed with any approvals or consideration of a minor variance to zoning laws until he actually owned the property. And the Vancouver financiers who were bankrolling the purchase wouldn't put their money up until the rezoning was in place.
The deal fell through. But Benisasia was on the hook for $75,000 by way of a non-refundable downpayment. And he wasn't about to give up on his dream so easily.
He offered to pay the Legion $25,000 a month for another three months to keep his bid alive while he sought other financing. His house and other holdings were all put up as collateral as he worked on the deal.
The Legion manager agreed with his proposal. A new closing date was set for September. But it was at this time that the manager gave Benisasia some advice.
The local councillor, Cliff Gyles, was a Legion member, she said. And she told Benisasia to go and see him. "He will tell you the proper procedures and what to do," Benisasia said he was told. "It was the first time I'd ever heard his name."
Benisasia called Gyles' office to set up a meeting. He attended with his architect and representatives from the Sikh and Tamil communities in Malton to help make the case for the funeral home. Things did not go well.
Gyles began complaining that "you don't even own the place yet and you're coming to see me," Benisasia was reported as saying.
He testified that the councillor told them, "You people think you can do whatever you want because you have money." Gyles even said something, Benisasia recalled, about the delegation having no respect for veterans.
Benisasia tried to hurry his delegation out, he said, "before we got kicked out of his office."
This time, Benisasia's financing held and the deal closed. As required, he put up a sign on the property, off Derry Rd., announcing the application to run a funeral home there. He was surprised later to receive a call from one of his agents telling him that a second sign - each of which was costing Benisasia about $1,000 - would be required, this one closer to Derry Rd. so it would be more visible.
It had been requested by Gyles, court was told. An earlier witness from the city planning department said it was an unusual request for a councillor to make.
Court has been told that after the November, 2000, municipal election, Gyles contacted Benisasia and offered to help with the rezoning application approval for $100,000 - an amount he wrote on a piece of paper and to which Benisasia countered by writing $50,000.
After telling his real-estate agent what happened, Benisasia went to police in January, 2001, according to the Toronto Star. A sting operation was set up. Police gave Benisasia $15,000 in marked bills to give Gyles. Court has heard that after a meeting between the two men in the Hershey Centre parking lot on Feb. 19, 2001, police arrested the councillor, finding two envelopes containing the money.
Two more charges were laid after another man went to police upon hearing of Gyles' arrest. Gyles, 59, has filed to run for re-election in November.
The newspaper reported that Benisasia says his funeral home, the old Legion hall that now has a gold dome and ornate window dressing done in the Indian style, has "been very successful."
