Another example ...misuse of our hard earned money

OPG `dream team' paid $40 million
Nuclear experts hired to fix plants

Wages an `obscene abuse:' Minister


JOHN SPEARS AND RICHARD BRENNAN
STAFF REPORTERS

Ontario Power Generation Inc. paid a "dream team" of U.S. nuclear experts nearly $40 million to fix Ontario's under-performing nuclear generators, company documents show.

While the dream team is long gone, the job they were hired to do fixing OPG's nuclear generators still isn't finished and could cost billions of dollars more to complete.

Of the money shelled out to four U.S. experts, $17.5 million was for lump sum pension payouts, although most were only at OPG for three years.

Tucked into the compensation was payment of home maintenance expenses for team leader Carl Andognini in 2001 and 2002, including hydro bills.

A furious Energy Minister Dwight Duncan said the money paid to the so-called dream team "was an obscene abuse of the people of Ontario."

"Forty million dollars to help fix something, which as it turns out the fix was an abject failure," he said. "Forty million dollars could help a lot of people of modest income to deal with the hydroelectricity rate hikes they are faced with this month, resultant in large part to mismanagement of the hydro file over the years by the Harris-Eves government."

Part of the team's job was restoring the mothballed Pickering A nuclear station to service. It is years behind schedule and could run $3 billion over budget if completed. Only one of four units is working, and no decision has been made whether to restart the three remaining units.

Allan Kupcis, former chief executive of Ontario Hydro and the man who hired the team, said the compensation reflected the market rate for specialized nuclear expertise at the time. He acknowledged that "something fell between the stools" in delivering the nuclear restoration program.

Even OPG was deriding the team yesterday.

"The performance (of the team) during the time, and the compensation levels, were divisive within the company and demoralizing to union and management alike," OPG vice-president Chuck Pautler said in an interview.

"It's something that OPG inherited from Ontario Hydro in contracts with the individuals and we honoured those contracts."

The U.S. team, headed by Carl Andognini, was brought in by Kupcis to assess the stumbling performance of Ontario's nuclear generators early in 1997.

They delivered a damning assessment on the state of the nuclear fleet in August 1997, recommending that the Bruce A and Pickering A nuclear stations be shut down so OPG could concentrate on its other reactors.

The day after their report was submitted to the Ontario Hydro board, Kupcis resigned. The executive team was kept in place to fix the problems they had diagnosed.

The following year, Ontario Hydro was broken up with OPG taking over all generating stations.

According to OPG records, Andognini and his team were hired initially as contract consultants. But when Ron Osborne took over as OPG's chief executive, he put the team on staff.

Here's a rundown of what team members were paid:

Carl Andognini:

Andognini received a total of $11.8 million in compensation for service from early 1997 to mid-2000, according to OPG records. The company paid expenses for his house until it was sold in 2002.

Andognini's original contract called for a base annual consulting fee of $650,000 (U.S.) or $888,225 (Cdn) at March, 1997 exchange rates.

He also got a recruitment bonus of $200,000 (U.S.) or $274,000 (Cdn). In addition, he became eligible for a lifetime monthly pension of $12,500 (U.S.) or $17,125 (Cdn) as of March, 2001.

The following year, when Andognini came on staff as executive vice-president, his pension obligation was paid off in a several lump sums totalling $4.8 million.

Documents released under a Freedom of Information request show that when Andognini moved back to Phoenix in 2001, OPG paid moving expenses of $231,906.05.

It also paid him $460,000 for a loss on the sale of his house in November, 2002. The documents don't give the sale price, or explain how the house could have dropped in value.

For 2001 and 2002, OPG paid maintenance totalling $32,419.40 on the house; taxes of $10,614.29; and utilities including $1,471.42 for hydro.

Starting in January, 2000, Andognini reverted to contract status at OPG at a rate of $93,000 (U.S.) a month. OPG records show he received about six months of work.

Andognini and other members of his team were all eligible for long-term incentive plan bonuses. That plan has been killed.

Eugene Preston:

Originally a consultant, Preston became chief nuclear officer and was the longest-serving member of the team, staying until October, 2002.

His total compensation for the period was $14 million, according to OPG records. That included a $6 million lump sum payout of his pension. He got $300,000 relocation expenses to the U.S. after he left OPG. His salary and bonuses totalled $7.5 million.

Preston received $95,000 to compensate him for a loss on the sale of his house in June, 2003. No value is given for the house, nor any explanation how its value could have declined. His moving expenses were $53,660.88.

Richard Machon:

Machon was a senior consultant who then became an "executive" when taken on staff. His total compensation was $8.3 million. Of that, $3.2 million was salary and $4.6 million pension payout.

Warren Peabody

Hired as a senior consultant, then an "executive," Peabody's total compensation was $5.4 million. That included a $2.1 million lump sum for retirement.

Kupcis said he hired Andognini and his team because they had experience in restoring under-performing U.S. nuclear reactors.

"The market for these kind of people all over the States was pretty high," he said. "The board agreed we needed these people to take a look at what had to be done at Pickering.

"I wanted them to do the assessment," Kupcis said, which he estimated would be a six-month job. It was the hydro board that decided to keep them on, since Kupcis left once the assessment was delivered.

Duncan criticized the former Conservative government for hiding the payouts. The Liberals have opened OPG to Freedom of Information requests.

Duncan said no matter how "distasteful" it might be, it is cheaper to abide by the contracts than try to fight them.

"I can't say ... that I can recover this money because there were contracts, but what is incumbent on me and this government now is to get this train back on the tracks. OPG is a mess. These are just symptoms of a bigger problem ... this kind of continued mismanagement is probably the greatest threat to our electricity future and we can't afford that going forward," he said.

NDP MPP Peter Kormos (Niagara Centre) described the payout as "the heist of the century. In days gone by these guys would have had to rob a bank."

"Clearly you are looking at a quartet of government buddies being paid fortunes for gross underperformance and outright incompetence," Kormos said.

Documents released yesterday show the cost of dumping former chief executive Ron Osborne last December. His severance payment, dictated by his contract, totalled $1,526,541.

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"Change before you have to" : Jack Welch

true

Latest from our safe city!!!!
Shot in hallway, man gets no help
Three men attack; three bullets fired
Man found outside Etobicoke building

A man who was shot three times yesterday staggered through the lower floors of an Etobicoke apartment building looking for help but couldn't find any.

The 22-year-old Oshawa man is recovering in hospital after he was finally discovered, and police are appealing for witnesses.

The victim had just stepped out of an elevator on his way to visit a friend just after 1:30 a.m. when he was attacked by three men in the fourth-floor hallway of 6 Auburndale Court, an apartment building near Islington Ave. and Rexdale Blvd.

The victim was shot in the head and the bullet travelled into his neck. He was also shot in the thigh and the shoulder. The men promptly fled while the victim staggered down the hall, banging on doors for help.

Police said nobody, including the person he intended to visit, answered his calls.

One second-floor tenant said someone knocked on her door between 1:30 and 2 a.m., but her husband didn't open it. Peering out the peephole, he saw a black man in the hall knocking on other doors, screaming.

"We heard him say, `Please, somebody help me. I've been shot, I'm dying,'" said the tenant, who did not want her name used. "We didn't see what the guy looked like. We just heard him say he had been shot, so we didn't call (the police)."

It wasn't until the couple heard emergency crews outside that they opened their door and saw blood dripping down the front.

The victim made it outside the apartment building to his vehicle, where a passerby found him leaning against his car. Emergency crews called to the scene found the victim had collapsed on the road. He was breathing and conscious en route to Sunnybrook hospital.

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Hello

Whats new ?

Do read a post by Margo called " good samaritan in Canada" - we desis seem to like this kind of behavior of turning away- why quote this article ?

Are these articles supposed to mean something ? If so then so would these below

http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2004/33197.htm

INDIA (TIER 2 - WATCH LIST)

India is a source, transit, and destination country for women, children, and men trafficked for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. Indian men and women are placed into situations of coerced labor and sometimes slave-like conditions in countries in the Middle East and children may be forced to beg or work as camel jockeys. Bangladeshi women and children are trafficked to India or transit through India en route to Pakistan and the Middle East for purposes of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labor. Nepalese women and girls are trafficked to India for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labor. India is also a growing destination for sex tourists from Europe, the United States, and other Western countries. Internal trafficking of women, men, and children for purposes of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, bonded labor, and indentured servitude is widespread.
The Government of India does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Considerable progress was made in the area of prosecutions this past year, but police efforts continue to be hindered by a lack of coordination among different state police departments, weak interstate networking among the police, and lack of access to information technology for collecting information and surveillance. India needs to disseminate and share information better; create a data collection system for detecting interstate and cross border trafficking; and improve the collection and analysis of data on trafficking-related arrests, prosecutions, convictions, and sentences. Sensitization and anti-corruption training linked to trafficking should be delivered down to the lowest level law enforcement officers. Adoption of comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation, or amending existing legislation to remove sections used to punish victims, would significantly improve India’s fight against trafficking.

India is placed on Tier 2 Watch List this year as the result of its failure to demonstrate increased central government law enforcement response to India's huge trafficking problem and inadequate local prosecutions in Mumbai and Calcutta. Sustained and improved law enforcement efforts at the state level were again not matched by central government efforts to investigate and prosecute the most significant criminal forces behind India's trafficking industry. The vast majority of trafficking in India occurs across state lines, making these crimes inherently difficult for state police agencies to investigate and prosecute without central coordination. Trafficking across India’s international borders remains significant. The central government in New Delhi has not made sufficient efforts to use its national law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute inter-state and international trafficking. There remain no prosecutions of trafficking offenses by the federal government. The Indian Government should recognize trafficking as a federal offense and prosecute it accordingly, bringing its considerable resources to bear against the problem.

Whereas the Government of India’s efforts to combat trafficking in persons is uneven, Indian NGOs are world leaders in their activities to fight trafficking.

Prosecution
The number of local arrests, convictions, prosecutions, and sentences increased considerably in 2003, particularly in New Delhi, and Chennai. There were numerous reports of victims charged as criminals, brothel owners paying bribes to law enforcement officials, tip-offs of upcoming raids by corrupt officials, and border officials turning a blind eye to trafficking. Continued anti-corruption and sensitization training linked to trafficking for law enforcement and government officials in addition to severe penalties for complicity is essential for India to strengthen its law enforcement efforts against traffickers in the future.

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Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, August 28

Two men allegedly involved in the brutal murder of USAID employee Pushkin Chandra and his gay partner have been arrested, the Delhi Police chief said on Saturday.

Commissioner of Police K.K. Paul confirmed the arrests but did not give any details about the two men. "We have arrested two men who have confessed to the crime," Paul said.

Police sources said one man was arrested outside the national capital while the other was picked up from Old Rajinder Nagar in west Delhi.

Sources said the two men were tracked down after a series of raids across the capital. The police achieved the first breakthrough when Chandra's missing car was found abandoned in Paharganj on August 23.

The bodies of Chandra and his partner Kuldeep were found in the first floor annex of the Chandras' sprawling mansion in up market Anand Lok in south Delhi on August 14.

Delhi Police have been hunting for two men - one with Mongoloid features and the other described as tall and dark.

Police have obtained fingerprints of the two arrested men to match them with fingerprints lifted from Chandra's Opel Astra car.

Chandra was reportedly stabbed 13 times after his throat was slashed while Kuldeep was stabbed 30 times.

Over 50 people who knew Chandra were questioned in connection with the murders.

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Two murders in 24 hours
BY A STAFF REPORTER

THE TIMES OF INDIA NEWS SERVICE[ TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2001 01:49:13 AM ]

NEW DELHI: A 24-year-old resident of Sant Nagar in Burari was gunned down by three unidentified persons in his house on Sunday night. The victim, Dalip Kumar, was taken to the nearby trauma centre where he was declared dead on arrival.
Police officials said the incident occurred when Dalip was having dinner with his wife and his younger brother at about 9.30 pm. His wife later told the police that three men came to the house and demanded liquor.
When Dalip refused an altercation reportedly broke out. Suddenly, one of the assailants whipped out a pistol and shot Dalip in the chest from point blank range.
The minute Dalip fell to the ground, the trio escaped. Police officials said that Dalip's wife and brother claimed that they did not recognise the three assailants who appeared to be drunk.
A PCR van later took Dalip to the Sushrut Trauma Centre, but he reportedly succumbed to his injuries on the way. The Timarpur police have registered a case of murder.
The body of an unidentified male was found behind the Kali Mandir on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg. Police officials said that an examination of the body revealed that the victim had been hit on the head with a heavy object, probably a stone which was found near the body.
The police have registered a case of murder and are trying to identify the victim.


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Abhikar Raj, who tried to impersonate an IAS officer and availed the PWD guest house facilities in Sonepat and the hospitality of the Panipat SP, was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ms Ritu Tagore, who remanded him to police custody for six days.

Probe into gang- rape of detainee
Ghaziabad, April 6
The allegation of gang rape of a woman by Babugarh police on the police station premises took a new turn with the Commissioner, Meerut Division, Deepak Singhal, ordering a magisterial inquiry into the incident, obviously not satisfied with the report of the Hapur Circle Officer Ishwer Chand Sharma.

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Man asks SSP to save him from ASI
Rohtak, April 6
Charging the Meham police with committing barbarities, Mr Anant Ram, a resident of Indira Colony here, has appealed to the SSP, Mr A. S. Ahlawat, to intervene and save him from an ASI. In a letter written to the SSP on Friday, he alleged that ASI Mahender Singh, posted at the Meham police station, along with his two sons - Sunil and Naresh, made a murderous attack on him with knives and hockey sticks at his house on March 28.

NCR BRIEFS
Body of woman found near rail tracks
Faridabad, April 6
The police recovered the body of a young woman from the railway tracks near NIT Railway Station on Friday. It is suspected that harassment and victimisation over dowry might have been behind the death. Life imprisonment
3 get life term
Body unidentified
Cop suspended
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Tandoor murder case: Sushil Sharma convicted

Ehtasham Khan in New Delhi | November 03, 2003 15:50 IST
Last Updated: November 03, 2003 20:37 IST


A Delhi court on Monday held former Youth Congress leader Sushil Sharma guilty of killing his wife Naina Sahni and burning her body in the tandoor (oven) of Baghiya Restaurant at the ITDC-owned Ashok Yatri Niwas on July 2, 1995.

The restaurant's manager Keshav Kumar was acquitted of the murder charge (section 302) but was found guilty of helping Sharma destroy the evidence. Both Sharma and Kumar were convicted under section 120 for destruction of evidence.

Additional Sessions Judge G P Thareja however acquitted Jai Prakash Pehlwaan, Rishi Raj Rathi and Ram Prakash Sachdeva, who were accused of harbouring Sharma, for want of evidence.

He also directed the chief metropolitan magistrate to prosecute senior IAS officer D K Rao, the then Resident Commissioner of Gujarat Bhawan for allegedly harbouring Sharma after the gruesome murder.

All the accused were present in the court when Thareja read out the verdict. Arguments on the quantum of sentence would be heard on November 5.

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SIT arrests ex-commissioner R S Sharma

rediff.com Newsdesk | December 01, 2003 17:12 IST
Last Updated: December 02, 2003 01:10 IST


The Special Investigation Team probing the fake stamp paper racket on Monday arrested former Mumbai police commissioner R S Sharma, who retired on November 30.

He allegedly shielded prime accused in the case Abdul Karim Telgi.

Sharma was removed from the commissioner's post on November 18 after an SIT report pointed out the lapses on his part in the investigation into the racket, and posted as additional director general of police (administration) in the state police headquarters.

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The Stamp Paper Scam: The Full Coverage

On November 24 he was appointed as chief security officer of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation.

The Maharashtra government also instituted a departmental inquiry against him and charged him with contravening the All-India Service (Conduct) Rules by not maintaining absolute integrity and devotion to his duties.

On November 25, Sharma was served a charge sheet, which mentioned the following shortcomings on his part:

* On July 9, 2002, the additional commissioner of police (crime) and joint commissioner of police scuttled a proposal to apply the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act in a case registered by the Pune police, then headed by Sharma, with his knowledge.

* ACP (crime) had brought to Sharma's notice in writing on October 16, 2002, the inclusion and deletion of certain names from the charge sheet (against prime accused Abdul Karim Telgi) without rational correlation with evidence on record. Yet he did not look at the case papers personally.

* Subsequently, Sharma failed to discipline both officers and also did nothing to rectify the defects in the charge sheet even after October 16, 2002.

* Sharma did not remove ACP M C Mulani from the investigating team formed on September 6, 2002, even after being informed by then additional secretary (home) Asoke Basak that Mulani had demanded a bribe from Telgi.

* While serving as Pune police commissioner, he failed to restore command and control when there was a dispute between the additional commissioner (crime) and the investigating officer (in the Telgi case).

* Subodh Jaiswal and Sri Kumar, top officers of the SIT in Maharashtra and Karnataka, respectively, had personally briefed Sharma about Telgi enjoying the comforts of his home in Cuffe Parade in Mumbai when they raided the place on January 9, 2003. At the time, Sharma was Mumbai police chief. He orally ordered the suspension of Assistant Police Inspector Dilip Kamat, but failed to ensure compliance of his orders.

* Sharma failed to take any action when serving as chairman of the Special Task Force formed to track down cases registered against Telgi in Mumbai. Sharma was then the Mumbai police commissioner. The Pune police had provided information about these cases to his deputy, then joint commissioner of police (crime) S S Vagal.

* As Mumbai police chief, Sharma failed to take charge of the situation and purge contaminated elements in the department even after Jaiswal and Sri Kumar personally briefed him.

* Sri Kumar had informed Sharma about the bail granted to Telgi in the fake stamp paper cases registered in Mumbai. Sharma merely acknowledged Sri Kumar's letter, which later went to Vagal.

* Sharma failed to promptly neutralise the functionaries responsible for allowing Telgi to get bail on flimsy grounds.

The charge sheet said Sharma failed to exercise himself to the utmost both as commissioner of police in Mumbai and, earlier, Pune. His approach and response to specific and strong signals regarding subversion by the crime syndicate allegedly headed by Telgi were not professional and not of the quality expected of an officer of his accomplishment, standing and position. "He is therefore guilty of dereliction of duty, poor professional response, and failure to personally intervene and take immediate correctives in several such situations," the charge sheet said.

Sharma was asked to reply to these charges by December 4.

Earlier on Monday, Mumbai Police Commissioner P S Pasricha called an emergency meeting with Joint and Deputy Commissioners of Police.

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Excise Commissioner Ajwani arrested

Saturday, 25 September , 2004, 19:30

Mumbai: Central Excise Commissioner P K Ajwani was arrested by the CBI on Saturday in connection with the ongoing probe into the assets disproportionate to his know sources of income, filed against him earlier this week.
The CBI on Saturday opened two lockers of P K Ajwani in nationalised banks in south Mumbai and seized valuables worth over Rs 42 lakh including Rs 15 lakh cash.

CBI teams, headed by DIG Karan Singha, searched Ajwani’s lockers at the Napean Sea Road branches of Union Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra, in south Mumbai during the day, the agency sources said.

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Telgi net catches petro IAS officer
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
Posted online: Sunday, April 18, 2004 at 0000 hours IST

NEW DELHI, APRIL 17: Investigations in the Telgi scam have exposed the rampant corruption in Petroleum Ministry’s Anti-Adulteration Cell (AAC) with CBI raids resulting in the arrest of AAC’s Regional Director, North, Sandeep Garg.

Searches have pegged the assets of the 1991 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre at Rs 3 crore. The seizure included Rs 1.7 crore in bank and Rs 12 lakh at Garg’s residence besides properties and other investments. The officer had been habitually taking illegal gratifications and amassed huge illegal wealth, alleged the CBI.

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Sorry BL, this may have taken up quite a bit of space - sorry for that.
Will delete it later.

So what did it prove finally ?

Regards

SF

Inspite of all these bad things in Canada so many Indians are pouring into Canada like ants everyday.

Any explanation

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You know you are a desi when ........ You spew forth the virtues of India, but don't want to live there...............You've never had a tanning salon membership

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Orginally posted by Loser

Inspite of all these bad things in Canada so many Indians are pouring into Canada like ants everyday.

Any explanation

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Orginally posted by Loser

Inspite of all these bad things in Canada so many Indians are pouring into Canada like ants everyday.

Any explanation

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This is a free forum. Everyone has right to say his opinion whether it is wrong or right. The other members have to listen to everything. Not just what feels good to them.

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Orginally posted by Wonder_ballon

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Orginally posted by crenshaw

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Orginally posted by Loser

Inspite of all these bad things in Canada so many Indians are pouring into Canada like ants everyday.

Any explanation

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Hey Loser

Elementary......its worse in India.......

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Why you talk India is like this or like that, everyone knows that. But when some one is telling something about Canada you really get wild. Are you an Indian or Desi? I doubt? You hate to hear bad about canada but you want to talk bad of India.

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"Ever dance with the devil in the pale moon light?"
"I always ask that of all my prey."
"I just like the sound of it."