After a four-year investigation, the Ontario Provincial Police announced on March 15 that no criminal charges will be laid over the Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry.
The Leasing Inquiry, established in 2002 by Toronto City Council, suggested an improper financial relationship between former city councillor Tom Jakobek and MFP Financial Services salesman Dash Domi.
The inquiry report showed that Domi withdrew $25, 000 from his bank account on Nov. 1, 1999. Two days later, Jakobek made a payment of $21,000 using his credit card.
Dash testified that the $25,000 withdrawal was used for a birthday gift for his brother, Tie Domi, former Toronto Maple Leafs player. Jakobek testified the $21, 000 payment came from his father-in-law, former Metro Toronto councillor Ken Morrish, to help pay for a family trip to Disney World.
Jakobek said now that the scandal is over, he has nothing else to say about it.
“I’m not an open target,” he said. “People made an accusation that was really bad, and the police have said there was no evidence to support it. So what more am I supposed to say?”
Former city councillor Tom Jakobek believes that when public figures are falsely implicated in the media, their reputation is automatically ruined.
[audio:http://torontoobserver.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Jakobek-Audio-Clip.mp3]Jakobek, who retired from politics in 2000, claims the scandal ruined his chances of becoming mayor of Toronto.
But he has remained a community leader in West Hill.
Jakobek is currently the landlord of the Highland Creek Plaza, among other areas.
“I don’t live here, but I have a business here,” he said. “Because of the business I have here, I participate. Why do I participate? Because I’m a community leader.”
Jakobek said he has done several good deeds in the community, such as holding an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, cleaning up walls vandalized with graffiti, funding an annual heritage parade and sponsoring local hockey and baseball teams.
Tenants and workers at the plaza say he is an important asset to the community, despite what has been said about him in the media.
“For us, it’s what Tom does for this plaza,” said Aliscia Razack, a worker at Benjamin Moore in the plaza. “We don’t care about his personal life. The tenants are happy here in the plaza, so we don’t care about anything else.”
Although community members praise Jakobek as a landlord and leader, he is aware of those who aren’t his biggest fan.
“If you hang out here long enough, you’ll probably find someone who doesn’t like me. But those are the people who are all over the place,” he said.
Now that the scandal has ended, he is hoping for an optimistic future, Jakobek said.
“I understand politics well enough to know that people do what they do, and I can’t do anything about it other than state my position and hope that eventually enough people will understand.”