Winnipeg police HQ contractor paid for $8K deck at former city CAO's house, court documents reveal
CBC
The City of Winnipeg has submitted new evidence in its lawsuit against its former chief administrative officer, consisting of dozens of previously undisclosed email exchanges that document frequent communication between Phil Sheegl and Caspian Construction president Armik Babakhanians.
The emails include invitations to weekend meetings and discussions about box seats for Winnipeg Jets hockey games, and the revelation that the contractor responsible for the downtown Winnipeg Police Service headquarters project paid for a deck built at Sheegl's home.
The city launched the civil lawsuit in January 2020, alleging the former top city bureaucrat accepted a bribe in 2011, shortly after he was granted authority to award Caspian Construction the contract to build the $214-million police headquarters.
In April 2020, the city was granted access to thousands of documents seized by the RCMP during a 2014 raid of Caspian's office, as part of a police investigation into the construction of the police HQ.
The city is now seeking more than $627,200 from Sheegl plus interest and legal costs.
"The evidence is overwhelming in support of the city's claim against Phil Sheegl … for bribery," City of Winnipeg lawyer Michael G. Finlayson wrote in a brief to Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench last month.
In a May 2021 affidavit to the court, Sheegl said he and Babakhanians were acquaintances because they are both members of Glendale Golf and Country Club. The former CAO described his role overseeing the Winnipeg police headquarters project as being from "a distance of 50,000 feet."
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