Frank Magazine Issue 583.pdf - Besthostingplanever.com

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ALERT NATIONAL GEO! A WHITE ELEPHANT IS BEING BORN ON THE EAST COAST! BY BOO N. DOGGEL THE DARRELL DEXTER CABINET IS CONTINUING THE GREAT GUYSBOROUGH COUNTY LAND GIVEAWAY STARTED UNDER RODNEY MACDONALD AND, ONCE AGAIN, THE BENEFICIARY OF ALL THE GOVERN- MENT LARGESSE IS THE MELFORD CONTAINER TERMINAL PIPEDREAM. Natural Resources spokesthingy Dave Salter tells me Melford International Terminal Inc. has a brand spanking new option to buy 505 hectares of prime industrial land, in addition to its May 2007 option on 127 hectares, and 177 hectares in May 2009. In all, the company has quietly amassed 809 hectares of Crown Land, or 2,000 acres, overlooking the Strait of Canso. As I’ve often noted, the land-grab has occurred since the firm first announced plans in May 2007 for a $300 million-plus container terminal, to rival the increasingly idle Port of Halifax, which under ceo Karen Oldfield has lost nearly 30% of its business in the past three years. To put it in context, the Ceres container terminal spans 70 acres, and Halterm, 72 acres. That means the province is selling an area 13 times the size of Ceres and Halterm combined to the Melford principals, who include Bob Stevens, Hugh Lynch and the non-prime ministerial Paul Martin. Chief spindoctor; my very dear friend, Richie Mann. For all its unbelievable benevolence, the government has not yet received a penny from the firm, but Dave tells me the provincial coffers are expected to rise $8,793,250 once the land is conveyed. Unless my abacus deceives me, the steal, er, deal works out to less than $4,500 an acre. That, my friends, is the very definition of a giveaway. Asked why taxpayers continue to offer, at a bargain basement price, huge swaths of valuable industrial land, Dave replies: “This is the third and final conveyance which provides the remaining space necessary for a logistics park ... and a (container) terminal facility.” “Once the conveyance has been completed,” Dave notes, the province will still own approximately 12,000 acres beside the Melford terminal. We’ll be like the neighbour Big Richie visits every time he runs out of sugar and needs a refill. Dave trumpets: “This land transaction supports efforts to make Nova Scotia even more globally competitive by strengthening its presence as a North American gateway, and supports the company’s efforts ... WINNIPEG-BASED TAIGA AIR SERVICES NOW HAS A N.S. SUPREME COURT ORDER FOR A $20,000 DEFAULT JUDGEMENT ISSUED BY MANI- TOBA’S HIGHEST TRIAL COURT IN DECEMBER 2009 AGAINST THE MACDONNELL GROUP OF HALIFAX. In a March 11 chambers hearing, SC Justice Suzanne Hood granted the order to register the judgement against the Ralston MacDonnellowned firm and its senior employee, civil engineer Vidyadhar Limaya. Taiga said MacDonnell Group failed to pay the full $32,046 fee for its August 2008 aerial survey of the Port of Churchill, although Ralston’s biz did hand over $16,000 the following March, according to N.S. court documents. Taiga subsequently sued in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba for the unpaid debt and copyright infringement, alleging the MacDonnell Group had used its copyrighted survey images without prior consent, although Taiga later dropped this part of the lawsuit. MacDonnell Group offered no defence in the matter. The total award, with costs, against MacDonnell Group is a shade 26 ATLANTIC CANADA FRANK APRIL 27, 2010 Upgrades to the rail lines linking the proposed Melford Terminal to the R.O.C. (Rest Of Canada) will likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars. MACDONNELL GROUP ORDERED TO PAY which the province believes will help grow Nova Scotia’s economy. This agreement supports Melford International Terminal Inc.’s future expansion opportunities, increases financier and investor confidence” and, Dave adds, provides growth opportunities for local communities. Forgive me for sounding like Doubting Thomas, but isn’t the Dexter cabinet missing the larger picture here? Like, where is all this cargo going to come from? Asia? No sir, it’s cheaper and more efficient for shippers to use the North America’s West Coast ports than Nova Scotia’s. And, how is the nonexistent cargo meant to travel from Melford to Montreal, and important points beyond? People smarter than I tell me much of the Rail America-run railway between Truro and Sydney, subsidized by the province to the annual tune of $2 million, is barely worth scrap (Frank 571), and likely requires hundreds of millions of dollars in upgrades. As I’ve said a few times before (Frank 487, 491, 509, 521, 522, 525, 556, 560, 561, 571), it’s impossible to make a good business case for the Melford container terminal. But why, then, is the project enjoying strong political support, from the likes of Sen. Stephen Greene? Part of the success is due to lobbying efforts on Parliament Hill. Last year, the Melford principals retained Phil von Finckenstein of PVF Consulting Inc. (routinely named in the Hill Times as one of Ottawa’s most influential lobbyists). Former Preston Manning aide Phil bent the ears of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s deputy chiefs of staff Darrel Reid and Patrick Muttart, as well as then Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt, and other top staffers such as Industry Canada chief of staff William King. In other words, besides acquiring land, the Melford principals are also acquiring access to our most powerful decision-makers. Does Frank Know? atlanticfrank@eastlink.ca over $20,500, plus post-judgement interest of 18%. Marc Dunning of Wickwire Holm represented Taiga before Judge Hood.
HOUSE ARREST NEWS BY JAYE LORR SEEMS I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE WONDERING WHY A SEPARATE BREACH-OF-TRUST CHARGE WAS NEVER LAID AGAINST DISGRACED YARMOUTH JAIL FRAUDSTER SUZANNE “SUE” CROSBY FOLLOWING HER SHAMELESS — AND STILL UNEXPLAINED — PILFERING OF A PRISONER TRUST ACCOUNT (FRANK 582). Given she clearly abused her position as the lockup’s $75,000-a-year Deputy Superintendent, some folks I know in Lockeport — Sue’s hometown — tell me they think she got off easy with a six-month house arrest sentence, a subsequent curfew and probation. As reported previously, 42-year-old Sue helped herself to roughly $8,000 from the aforementioned fund and used a government credit card to pay for personal expenditures. Crown attorney Jim Clarke tells me that while the breach-of-trust issue was emphasized as an aggravating factor at Sue’s pre-Christmas sentencing, a number of circumstances trumped the need for an additional Criminal Code charge. He pointed in particular to the fact she resigned her lucrative position immediately, co-operated fully with police during their investigation, and repaid the full amount of misappropriated funds prior to the laying of any criminal charge. She also pleaded guilty and was sentenced by Judge Robert Prince during her v. first court appearance. Such was not the case with another Justice employee, Mount Uniacke-dweller Natalie MacDonald-Pelrine, 40, who this past January was sentenced to twelve months house arrest after a jury convicted her on separate charges of fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust in relation to her previous employment as a Dartmouth Provincial Court clerk (Frank 572 & 577). Not only did Little Vatican native Natalie’s not-guilty pleas prompt a v. lengthy Supreme Court trial — the jury found her not guilty on a related theft charge — but the mother of three has yet to accept responsibility for the crimes of which she was convicted and is appealing her findings of guilt. And wouldn’t you know? Court-filed documents indicate she’s been approved for N.S. Legal Aid assistance. Isn’t that nice? Incidentally, on the Yarmouth front, Justice spokesthingy Jennifer Gavin tells me that job competitions for Sue’s old post, and the super- CONDO CONUNDRUM I FIND IT V. INTERESTING THAT MAN-ABOUT- TOWN DOUG RUDOLPH HAS TAKEN TO LEGALLY REPRESENTING HIMSELF IN A FORECLOSURE SUIT FILED AGAINST HIM LAST MONTH BY THE TD BANK. The bank alleges that Doug, an accountant by trade, has defaulted on a $449,000 mortgage secured in 2007, in connection with his fourth-level Wedgewood condo on Parkland Suzanne Crosby, left (not exactly as illustrated). Drive, off the Kearney Lake Road. In his recently filed defence, Doug says the bank refused to allow the sale of his unit and similarly “refused to accept a quit claim deed.” He says he has insufficient knowledge to either admit or deny that he currently owes the bank $487,751 as alleged. You may be interested to know that for a time, The Wedgewood counted among its esteemed denizens famed curling duo Mark and Heather-Smith Dacey who sold their unit a couple years back. Cornwallis Street Baptist Church preacher Rev. Rhonda Britton’s 2009 pur- intendent position formerly held by Scott Nickerson (Where’d he go? — ed.), are ongoing. At press time, Troy Foote (another Lockeport native) remained the correctional centre’s acting superintendent. Does Frank Know? atlanticfrank@eastlink.ca MORE WHITE COLLAR CRIME NEWS I SEE WHERE LEGACY COURT, SACKVILLE DENIZEN SHERRI DAWN LEE, 36, HAS YET TO ENTER A PLEA ON CHARGES SHE STOLE FROM AND DEFRAUDED THE EMBRACE SPA ON PARKLAND DRIVE BETWEEN MARCH 2008 AND APRIL 2009. Legal documents indicate Sherri — the pamper pit’s ex-manager — is due back in court May 5. Embrace is owned by Bonnie and Pietro (Peter) Caldarozzi, the Fall River duo whose Dartmouth-based Medic Delivery Services biz once hoped to chemically treat and dispose of the province’s bio-medical waste at a facility in Mount Uniacke. MDS ultimately ended up losing out on the $10-million contract, which went to a Brampton, Ontario company (Frank 484). chase of a $250,000-assessed unit has since filled the condo’s celebrity void. And while I can’t attest to his current residency, I do know that a few weeks ago at least, court data indicated that a 26-year-old named Robert Nicholas Cox was also calling the building home. Back in February, Robert was charged — along with well-known crime figure Jimmy Melvin, Jr. and his younger brother Cory Melvin — with kidnapping, assault with a weapon and uttering threats in connection with the alleged abduction of Richard Michael McInnis. APRIL 27, 2010 ATLANTIC CANADA FRANK 27
Page 1 and 2: MODEL BEHAVIOUR: FROM THE N.S. REHA
Page 3 and 4: ATLANTIC CANADA FRANK HALIFAX, NOVA
Page 5 and 6: LIBERAL CANDIDATE LAUNCHED IRISH AB
Page 7 and 8: BEAR BURNING TO BE BACK IN A KITCHE
Page 9 and 10: MYRA FOUGHT THE LAW & THE LAW WON..
Page 11 and 12: HOW TO SKIN A CAT BYELECTION NEWS B
Page 13 and 14: PAULA IS ON THE JOB BY LEFTY MCCASH
Page 15 and 16: SHURLEY SOME MISTAKE! BY A. FRANK G
Page 17 and 18: Dr. Bob Bagg (far right) and some f
Page 19 and 20: BARKEEP MEL ON THE MEND BY A. FRANK
Page 21 and 22: At the “Funis” Silver Jubilee g
Page 23 and 24: SWIPE ACCUSED FACES MORE CHARGES BY
Page 25: WHAT’S A SWEET VIEW LIKE YOU DOIN
Page 29 and 30: ARE YOU SURE NOW TREVOR? REMEMBER,
Page 31 and 32: FAX ANYTIME: (902) 423-0281 LETTERS

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