Bribe allegation in $5.1M suit is false, Shindico vice-president testifies

The vice-president of Winnipeg commercial real estate firm Shindico testified in court Tuesday an allegation his company bribed a former City of Winnipeg official is false.

On the seventh day of a trial in a civil lawsuit launched by former Shindico broker John Pearson, Shindico executive vice-president Robert Shindleman told Manitoba Court of King's Bench Justice Sadie Bond an allegation Pearson raised in court on Oct. 23 is false.

Shindleman made the brief comment during cross-examination by Simon Bieber, a lawyer for Pearson, who is suing Robert and his brother, Shindico president and CEO Sandy Shindleman, for $5.1 million over the dissolution in 2022 of several decades-long business relationships.

The trial began on Oct. 21. In court, Pearson has attempted to demonstrate he and the Shindleman brothers had a partnership that required unanimous agreement by all three parties before major decisions were made. The Shindlemans are trying to demonstrate no such agreement existed.

Testimony of this nature — most of it involving the details of ownership and oversight of specific properties — has made up the bulk of the trial to date.

Pearson has also argued he chose to end his association with the Shindlemans in 2022 partly because of negative media attention and allegations the Shindlemans "were alleged to be involved in political corruption," according to Pearson's statement of claim.

The Shindlemans denied those claims, both in court and in a statement of defence.

"There's been a lot of wrong things written," Robert Shindleman told the court Tuesday.

On Oct. 23, the third day of the trial, Pearson testified he's seen documents indicating Sandy Shindleman paid an $85,000 bribe to former senior public servant Phil Sheegl related to the construction of a fire-paramedic station in Winnipeg.

"It's documented in the productions that you provided, to his company FSS Financial Support Services of $85,000 related to the Sage Creek fire hall," Pearson testified, citing documents provided by the Shindlemans during the discovery process prior to the trial.

"It was in documents as early as 2009 and still showed on the books, according to your productions, as late as 2023 without being repaid."

The allegation has not been proven in court. Legal counsel for the Shindlemans did not immediately comment. Sheegl, who served as Winnipeg's deputy CAO in 2009, did not respond to requests for comment by CBC News.

On Oct. 24, lawyer Bieber attempted to enter into evidence the documents Pearson testified about. 

Jason Kendall, a lawyer for the Shindlemans, objected on the basis what Pearson learned in 2023 or 2024 through the discovery process is not germane to a decision he made in 2022 to end his business partnership with the brothers.

Justice Bond agreed and denied Bieber's request to enter the documents into evidence.

The trial is slated to continue through the end of the week. Closing arguments are slated for January.