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The Canadian Jewish News. Thursday. October 12. 1989-Page 5
Finta case to proceed
reme
Bv
PAUL LUNGEN
TGRO.NTO -
An pntario Supreme Coun justice last week dismissed a motion that he declare a mistrial in the criminal prosecution of al-
leged war criminal Inire Finta.
The decision cleared the
way for the continuation of the case against the former Toronto restaurateur. ■Finta is charged with kidnapping, forcible confinement, robbery and
manslaughter in' 1944 in connection with 8.61> Jews in the Hungarian city of Szeged.
His prosecution is the first of an alleged -war criminal under amendments to the Criminal C(xle passed in 1987.
Justice Archie Campbell rcjeCTed ' [fi'guments' ad-. vanced by defence lawyer Doug Christie that previous rulings in the case by (then) Associate _Chief Justice Frank Callaghan were " nul 1—and that the c'^ircum-stances which gave Calla-
ghan j u r i sd i c t i c) n. ha d. disappeared, as should all his decisions.
Christie had argued that Finta'.s trial had begun under Callaghan and that a new judge could not take over without creating a mistrial and
Former NGJW employee testifies at inquiry
RONCSILLAG
TORONTO -
The public inquir>'into the relationship between Patli Starr, the Ontario Liberals :and the land developer Tridel Corp. last week heard more charges of charity funds being illegally misdirected, a clandestine reimbursement scheme and allegations of threats against a former employee
■ Of the-NmiiTnaf Council of Jewish Women of Canada (Toronto Section).
Betty Ston^, the forni-er executive director of the section, testified last week that Starr contr()lled the charity like a personal fiefdom and intimidated staff into making political contributions; In fact, in NCJW circles. Stone said Starr earned the moniker "Baby Doc," after deposed Haitian dictator
^Jean-Claude Duvalier. —■ •-; Despite objections from
:. Starr's lawyers. Stone's descriptions of the one-time^ fundraising powerhouse---"abrasive, authoritarian.;
. domineering'" — entered the record. Starr "would yell very loudly," Stone . said, if her orders were riot' carried out. "Whatever
- Patti said was law."
"Those orders included a 'scheme whereby Toronto Section employees would be pressed into making per-' sonal.pblitical contribiitions to prominent politicians/ mostly Ontario Liberals, and then be repaid by the /section; which would in ; • turn be reimbursed by Tridel Corp.. the inquiry heard.
A 26-year employee,. Stone was fired from her job in June 1987. after she
began looking closely at Starr's political arid fun-' draising activities. In fact.
: Stone testified that when she mentioned to Starr that several meriibers of the'" charity would also like to; probe her activitiies, Starr' allegedly replied,''Betty.'lf ; that's a threat, remember. : you have two childreri and
: one of them works for the (provincial) government."
Stone' s daughter worked as a clerk in Ontario' s ministry of natural resources but has since left
■ of her own accord ■ '
The most explosive aile-
— gations last week came Jrom Nancy Rotsteinv a
former secretary at the Toronto section, who said "her paycheques were issued by an affiliate of Tridel Gorp, and not the NCJW of Canada (Toronto Section). ' .
Tridel'spresident.Elvio , Del Zotto, is also president of the Ontario wing of the
federal Liberal party. Tridel bu^iltthcS 10 million NCJW-sponsorcd housing project for seniors, the handicapped and the poor on Prince Charles Avenue in Nonh York. Only three weeks into her ■job. Rotstein said she was told that her .paycheques would come from . Dei Pn'ipcrty , 'Management Ltd,, a Trideraffiliatc that managed the Prince CharlesV project, She was told'to fill .out a Del employee application form.
"i said; 'Whafs that got todo with me?' " Rotstein testified. She.was told the , maitcr was "just some paperwork .. . .'. it was
sloughed olT." • .
Rotsteirisaid that "none" of her duties were related to the housing project or Tridel. ; V
She said she was also a.sked, by Starr, to niake out a personal cheque for $250 to the Beaches-Woodbine Liberal Asso-
ciation soon after she started work. She was told that Starr w ould pay her back.
A fewday.sJater. she was reimbursed, but the cheque . was from the Toronto Section's charitable foundation, which Starr controlled and overwhich she had .sole signing authority.
Rotstein said she quesV; Uoned the whole affair but complied because a protest "would make my position there very tenuous." She eventuallv left the job in December 1987. . - Rotstein's boss, former Toronto Section executi\ e director Deri i se- ■ -Bag; Iey. -also testified that-she too was asked to write out personal donation cheques and attend politicr-l dinners.
''I was told it w as gener-< al practice. . . that it had been done for years and years. I really didn't know . whom I was writing a cheques to."
Bagley .said she was •
asked to make contributions either by Starr or by Nita Goldband. the then- presi-' dent of the section and an executive, with Starr and Leslie Miller, of the section'.s charitable foundation. ^
Earlier in the week. Stone testified that everyone who made contributions received government tax credits and that Tridel. reimbursed the Toronto Section for these political donations.
Stone added tliat Toronto Section bookkeeper Shirlee Aron.son had : to . keep a special ledger .so that Tridel could repay the charity,
. Aronson.,Stone went On. "broke down many tipies in "tears when she was accused of- not foflowing Mrs. Starr's orders."
Stone .said Starr "was always in communication" with two top aides in Premier David Peter-
son's oiTice: former principal secretary Hershell Ezrin and Gordon Ash-worth, who ran the premier's office. Ashworth resigned last sumniier after he admitted to receiving free services and a gift from a Tridel company, with Starr acting as go-between.
Also last, week, the inquiry, headed by Mr; Ju.stice Lloyd Houlden. • heard that Starr improperly channelled funds to the following Ontario Liberals: forrnerSkills Development Minister Alvin Curling, former .Solicitor-General Ken Keyes. fornier Culture Minister Lily Oddie Muri-ro. and two MPPs — Brad Nixon and Ron Kanter. Two Tories also received donations: (briiier cabinet minister and leadership hopeful Dennis TimbreJI and. .Gordon • CJiong;. who.' ^ ran:unsuccessfullv in the 1987 election;;
inquiry continues.
the need to start the legal process over again.
In a ruling earlier this year, Callaghan had rejected Christie's legal challenges to the validity of the law. .
Then, in a September letter to Christie and Crown prosecutor Christopher Amerasinghe. Callaghan indicated he was removing himself from the case because he had recently been appt^inted chief justice and his new position took up a great deal of time. He. also said that he is often in contact with the ministry of justice and it would not be appropriate for him to hear the Finta case while dealing frequently With the ministry.
Examining the arguments before him, Campbell said one of the key questions was whether the trial had already begun under Callaghan. In this case, he stated, no steps had been take for commencernent of the trial. No plea had yet been entered, the jury had not been .selected, no evidence heard on the merits of the charges and Finta had not been placed in the charge of the jury.
By any test, he continued, the trial had not begun, therefore there could not be a mistrial.
Turning to Callagh'an's earlier decisio,ns on matters of law. Campbell said they continue to '"stand" because at at the time ..they were made Callaghan was
Imre Finta
the judge before whom Finta was to be tried. Therefore, the associate chief justice had jurisdiction at the tinie and his decisions remain in force.
Agreeing with the arguments advanced by the defence would ^rreate undue delay. Campbell said. It is riot in the interests of justice to delay the matter further, he said, adding he did riot see how such a idc-lay could be in'Finta's interests.,' '
To rehear the legal arguments already dispo.sed of by Callaghan would be a wasteful "duplication of energy" and would in effect gi\e Finta a re\ iew (if the decisions, something he is not .entitled to at, this time.
A publication ban'was ordered by Campbell over much of last-week's coun sessions. They cannot he reported until the jury re--tires. for its deliberations.; • The case continues.
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