Phil Sheegl's lawyer calls claim his client was 'in on it' false, stupid and ill-informed

The lawyer for former Winnipeg chief administrative officer Phil Sheeglsaysallegations about attempts to influence the award of a majorWinnipeg construction contract are false, stupid, ill-informed and defamatory.

TheRCMP investigation into Winnipeg's police headquarters has unearthed emails that officerssuggest show Caspian Constructionowner ArmikBabakhanians said hetried to curry favour withSheegl and others to obtain the$156-million construction contract.

The information wasprovided to a judge in February 2016 in order to obtain bank records and represents a snapshot of a two-year-oldRCMPinvestigation, dubbed Project Dalton.Before police are allowed to search financial records, they are required to present evidence to support their request for institutions to produce documents.

According to prior information presented to a judge in order to obtain a search warrant, the police-HQinvestigation originally involved fraud and forgery allegations.

Last year, the investigation expanded into allegations the principal engineer and architecton the project, as well as Caspian's owner, conspired to offer project director Ossama AbouZeida $600,000 secret commission.

AbouZeid said he never asked for one, was never offered one and he never received one.

"In all my working life I have never asked for monies outside my contractual entitlements,"AbouZeidsaid in a statement.

• RCMP launch criminal probe into Winnipeg police HQ project
• RCMP investigate offer of secret commission to Winnipeg police HQ project director

In the information provided to thejudge, the Mounties allege Babakhaniansclaims he tried to curry favour withSheegland influenceAbouZeidin late 2010 and early 2011 to gain access to construction workBabakhanianssaid his firm did not have the resources to conduct.

SheeglwasWinnipeg's deputy chief administrative officerat the time. He later became CAO and left the city in 2013.

AbouZeidisaconstructionconsultantwho had worked on Investors Group Field before he was named project director forthe policeheadquarters in the middle of 2011.

The police-HQ construction contract was awarded in two phases. The first phase involved$50,000 worth of pre-construction services.The request for proposals for this component closed on Jan. 18, 2011.

The day the bidding closed, according to information RCMP provided to the judge, RCMP Const. ChristopherHaskins states Babakhanians emailed AbouZeid again to sayhe was putting forward a proposal for the job.

Const. Haskinsstates in his sworn affidavit that "Armikfurther said PhilSheegl(Sheegl) is in on it and and if he could getAbouZeid'shelp with the proposal it would be appreciated.AbouZeidresponded 'Nice! Of course I will do what I can ...'"

Phil Sheegl's lawyer calls claim his client was 'in on it' false, stupid and ill-informed

8 years ago

Duration 2:38

The lawyer for former Winnipeg chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl says allegations about attempts to influence the award of a major Winnipeg construction contract are false, stupid, ill-informed and defamatory.

Lawyer: Stupid to saySheeglwas 'in on it'

Robert Tapper, legal counsel forSheegl,described the statements asBabakhanians"running off at the mouth" about his client.

"As little as he [Sheegl] had to do with this transaction, he was never pressured by anyone to do anything and that had somebody come to him and said'I want you to do this for me as a favour,' the answer would have been, 'You will not be doing this deal, period,'" Tapper said in a telephone interview.

"He would never have abdicated his duty or been irresponsibleto his duty."

Tapper further said, "The suggestion he was, quote, 'in on it' is false, it's stupid, it's ill-informed and, I say this advisedly, defamatory."

Claims of influence

The information provided byRCMPin a sworn affidavit includes sections ofemailswhere Caspian'sBabakhaniansasked consultant AbouZeidfor help in securing the police-headquarters construction job.

"I asked you one thing though if you can help meprequalifyand get Police station that will make my day," the construction-company owneremailedfuturepolice-HQproject directorOssamaAbouZeidon Dec. 20, 2010, according to the information provided by theRCMPto the judge.

Construction consultant AbouZeid rejects the claims attributed toBabakhanians in the emailsunearthed by the RCMP.

"Any help I provided Caspian in early 2011 regarding this contract never exceeded providing professional references of their strength based on my previous experience," AbouZeidsaid in a statement to CBC.

'Best buddies'

In his sworn affidavit provided to thejudge, Const. Haskinssaid he believes Babakhaniansclaimed to attempt to use a connection betweenSheegland DannyAkman,a property manager and former director ofAkmanConstruction.

AkmanConstructionbriefly partnered with Caspian Construction on thepolice-HQjob.

On Feb. 10, 2011, the city awarded the $50,000 pre-construction contract to a joint venture between Caspian Projects Inc. andAkman Construction Ltd. The city called the joint venture CAJV.

In the information provided to thejudge, Const. Haskins states in his sworn affidavit that he believes Babakhaniansand AbouZeid spoke after the contract closed about Sheegl's connection toDanny Akman.

Danny Akmanis an official with Akman Management, a property-management company that is separate from Akman Construction. Danny Akmanwas an Akman Constructioncompany director from October 2007 to September 2011, corporate records state.

Const. Haskinssaidin his sworn affidavitthat AbouZeid wroteBabakhanianson Jan. 27, 2011, and stated, "You know himand Danny Akman are best buddies. The same for me and Danny "

"In the contexts of this e-mail, I believe that 'him' referred toSheegl. I believe thatArmik[Babakhanians] wanted to use DannyAkman'sassociation withSheeglto gain consideration for the Phase 1 construction contract," Const. Haskins stated in the affidavit provided to the judge.

"Danny Akman was the representative on behalf of Akman's. He was involved in discussions of setting up the joint venture with [Caspian] for the main construction contract proposal."

Const. Haskinsfurther stated that Babakhanians wrote to his son Shaun via email on Feb. 6, 2011, "and reminded him that Danny Akman and Sheegl are best buddies. Armik[Babakhanians] also commented that they need them (Akman) as they do not have adequate staffing to do this project without them."

Lawyer saysMounties are confused

Tapper, representing Danny Akman, saidthe RCMPare mistaken.

"Danny has never been involved in construction, he was notinvolved in the negotiation of the joint venture or any aspect of it whatsoever," Tapper said.

"Statements about him attributing involvements with the joint venture or Armik Babakhanians are absolutely inaccurate."

Tapper also said Sheeglhas never spoken about the police-HQ construction contract with Danny Akman or his brother Richard Akman, who is president of Akman Construction.

"Danny, as he knows, has nothing to do with construction," Tapper said.

The RCMPsay their investigation into the police headquarters is ongoing.

"The information contained within the production orders obtained by CBC is a snapshot of the Project Dalton investigation up to February 2016," RCMP 'D' Division communications director Robert Cyrenne said in a statement.

"As in any investigation, extensive follow-up work has been done by investigators since that date."

Joint venture splits

On June 14, 2011, the joint venture between Caspian Projects and AkmanConstruction asked the city to award the contract to Caspian alone, according to a 2014 KPMG audit of the Winnipeg police headquarters construction project.

The city approved this request and formally assigned the contract to Caspian, according to the KPMG audit and the RCMP information provided to thejudge.

Const. Haskins also statedthat the departure of Akman Construction caused concern for former City of Winnipeg project manager Abdul Aziz, according to the affidavit.

Aziz told police in a statement "that the loss of one of the joint venture partners could affect the resources and capabilities available to complete the complex reconstruction project," Const. Haskins said.

Audit raised concerns about contract award

In July 2011, city council delegated authority to Phil Sheegl, who had been promoted to CAO,to award the full police headquartersconstruction contract.

Four months later, Caspian was awarded a $137.1-millioncontract for construction and post-construction services, according to the KPMG audit, published in 2014. The initial price was determined through talks between Babakhanians and city officials, including AbouZeid.

The contract was later increased to $156.4 million.

"We observe that the winning proponent of [the request for proposals for police-HQ construction services]was CAJV we note that Caspian did not submit a proposal, and that Caspian was awarded the construction contract," according to the KPMG audit.

Caspian's claim of influence

In the information RCMPprovided to thejudge, Const. Haskins stated Caspian owner Babakhanians wrote his son an emailon Jan. 22 to express his views on the project.

"Remember who designed the Jv [joint venture]with Akmanto prequalify, Then break it up for good of ur company."

The RCMP constable further stated"I believe that he explained to Shaun how he used the CAJV (Danny Akman's relationship with Sheegl to gain favour) for the main construction contract then break it apart for sole [Caspian] control."

In hisstatement to CBC News, AbouZeid said he is angered by the RCMPallegations, which he described as outrageous, slanderousand damaging to hisreputation and integrity.

"My perceived ability to influence the award of a city contract is absurd. I was not even successful to get my self awarded the tender which I submitted with Tower [Engineering] and which wasthe lowest evaluated tender," he states, referring to a cancelled city search for a police-headquarters construction manager.

"Furthermore, my own project management contract took additional 5 months beyond its nominal starting date (from June till Nov 2011)to settle the scope, the compensation and the source of the funds."

No allegations have been proven in court.TheRCMPhave laid no charges in the police-headquarters investigation.

Babakhaniansdid not respond to requests for comment.