The Ontario election took yet another weird turn yesterday, when Renata Ford -- Rob Ford's widow -- sued her two brothers-in-laws for 16.5 million dollars. Kevin Donovan writes in The Toronto Star:
The widow and children of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford are suing his brother Doug Ford, alleging he has deprived them of millions of dollars, including shares in the family business and a life insurance policy left behind to support his family.
In a $16.5-million lawsuit filed Friday in Superior Court, Renata Ford also alleges that former brother-in-law Doug Ford is a “negligent” business manager whose decisions have led to a steady decrease in the value of the Ford company, Deco Labels. Despite setting his sights on a political career, Doug has continued to receive “extravagant compensation,” even though Deco is losing money, Renata claims in her court filings.
Renata Ford alleges that:
when Rob died, she was left with Rob’s shares in Deco. Renata said soon after, brother Doug approached her and suggested they settle the estate without involving lawyers.
“Let’s get rid of the lawyers and settle this on our own,” Renata quotes Doug in her statement of claim. “They will only steal your money. You’re going to lose everything in your savings.”
Renata states in her court filing that she did not follow Doug’s suggestions, nor did she agree to his suggestion that she sell her late husband’s shares to Doug. She says she tried many times to get an accounting of Rob’s estate, but she remains in the dark.
[She claims] that she recently learned that Doug sold Randy Rob’s shares in Deco for a nominal cost of $1. She said she was then provided (the suit does not say who provided it) with a “third party valuation” of the shares and was told they had a “fair market value of zero.”
[She also claims] that when their father ran it, the company was extremely successful, with a market value of $10 million and an “investment portfolio” between $15 million and $20 million.
She alleges that the company has steadily lost value under Doug and Randy, who have been the top officers and directors of Deco since their father died.
“They have so negligently and improperly mismanaged (the business affairs of Deco) as to destroy their value,” she alleges.
According to the statement of claim, financial statements of Deco show Deco Toronto has experienced total losses of about $5 million between 2010 and 2017. Prior to Doug and Randy taking over it was profitable, she said.
Doug's claim to fame is that he knows how to carefully shepherd an economy -- and that, under his leadership, Ontarians will be one big, happy family.
Wanna bet?
Image: Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star
12 comments:
Southfork comes to Ontario, Owen. 'Nuff said.
As I recall, Lorne, life among the Ewings was a circus.
Remember the discussion we had early in the campaign about Doug's lack of education? From Renata Ford's Statement of Claim: "Neither Doug Ford nor Randy Ford have the education and business ability to justify their employment as senior officers of Deco.”
Now I'm not saying you need an MBA to run a business - indeed there are plenty of successful business people without higher education, including Doug Ford Sr. But I find it interesting that Papa Ford ran a multi-million dollar company and raised four children in a tony part of Etobicoke, yet only one of his kids went to university. This was at a time when arts and science programs at most Ontario universities demanded a 64% high school graduating average. Some universities, like Carleton, would let you in with a 60%. The smart one was Rob and he lasted only one year at Carleton. The rest of them were drawn to crime: Kathy was convicted of petty theft and struggled with heroine addiction, Randy was arrested 17 times, and Doug was a drug dealer.
The Fords aren't the sharpest tools in the shed but they are some of the most crooked. And now Doug thinks he can run the province? Get lost!
Cap
A close friend knew the father, Doug Sr., quite well and said he was a great businessman. It was out of regard for the old man and their service together in the Mike Harris government that Jim Flaherty came to support the wastrel children, especially Rob Ford. There's a photo online of the three sons standing in front of a portrait of their father. They look like a bunch of goons.
Usually, as in the case of Timothy Eaton, it's the third generation that destroys the family business. It sounds as though the Ford boys were much quicker off the mark.
You would think, Cap, that common folk would understand that Doug lacks the education and the character to be premier. But it seems that, if someone offers the people tax cuts, they'll cheer his ascension to the throne.
The story of Timothy's grand children provides a cautionary tale, Mound. The message behind the Ford Saga is straightforward. Money corrupts quickly and utterly.
Doug's lack of education and character defects are a plus for an awful lot of the vast Ontario wasteland. He's just like them. They too have sister's in law who break their hearts, histories they're pleased no one knows about, brash, confident, loudly opinionated personalities without a shred of knowledge beyond the kind Donald Trump finds so reassuring.
I'm sorry that many of my Ontario friends and acquaintances - not one of whom will be voting for his deformed, carcinogenic party - are going to be caught up in Ford's destructive tornado. I'm not at all sorry for the fate that awaits the idiots and fools who vote for him and who will by far be the hardest hit by the shitstorm that his premiership will precipitate. But it must also be said that no matter how ghastly and gruesome the catastrophe will be the same fools and idiots will vote for them to be inflicted on them all over again if given the opportunity. My patience with and forbearance for entitled, wilful ignorance is a dead rat.
If you haven't seen this article from the Globe in 2014, it's a real eye-opener.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/news/toronto/doug-ford-at-deco/article21067584/?utm_medium=Referrer%3A%2BSocial%2BNetwork%2B%2F%2BMedia&utm_campaign=Shared%2BWeb%2BArticle%2BLinks&__twitter_impression=true
The common folk as you call them may well see no correlation between formal education and commonsense. I never did. Life taught me that, even as someone who racked up degrees like firewood myself.
Could never understand people around me slaving away pumping stuff into their heads without enjoyment just to ensure future employment. I did it because I enjoy knowing stuff, it intrigues me. Those who did it to spout bureaucratic technocracy like the totally out of touch with people of any kind Wynne illustrate my point. I bet she's the witty life of any party. A Grade 10 student could lay waste to her in a debate - she obviously has never correlated her knowledge together into a cohesive whole, and cannot argue from a set of principles she innately understands.
I find it rather elitist therefore to attack old Dougie on that aspect of his sorry humanity. He's a crook, an opportunist, a bragfart deliberate know-nothing devoid of commonsense lying sack of shite that formal education would not have helped. It's just the way he is.
Beat him back on his lack of knowledge on matters pertaining to government, he's had enough time to learn that in his chosen field, even if formal education wasn't his bag. But like Trump, his intellectual superior and a crafty bugger with his meanness, one-dimensional Doug just bangs the populist gong, figuring that's all there is to it. And he may well be correct.
The real research needed is how perfectly decent people fall for this BS time and again. Then an antidote might be developed.
BM
Thanks for the link, Mound. The genius behind the operation is no genius at all.
I agree, BM, that the central question is why "perfectly decent people" fall for the snake oil. Experience is part ot education. Apparently, the education hasn't taken.
George Santayana's oft repeated axiom -- that those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it -- remains as true as ever, Deacon.
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