if there are errors, please e-mail me with corrections:
Opening comments - more at end.
To make things easier all articles for this subject are on this one web-page.
Index of Starr articles;
Correction
Mississauga News - Nov. ??, 2000 -
Judge wants Starrs' in court
Dec. 26, 2001 - Mississauga News
Clarification
Apr. 10, 2002 - after
Camp chair's fraud charges dropped
Toronto Star - Apr. 16, 2002 - By - B3.
Charges dropped against Starr, daughter
Mississauga News - Apr. 17, 2002 - By Louie Rosella
Free to go?
Mississauga News - Apr. 17, 2002 - Editorial
Mississauga News - Nov. ??, 2000 -
Correction
In an article in the Nov. 8 edition ,
of The Mississauga News, a head-
line stated Ron Starr has resigned
as the head of Hydro. In fact, Ron
Starr has stepped down as the head
of Hydro. We regret the error.
Dec. 26, 2001 - Mississauga News - By ?
Judge wants Starrs in court
Former City councillor Ron Starr and his daughter Deanna Michele could both be issued bench warrants next month if they fail to appear for their next court date.
Justice of the Peace Leon Fayolle issued a bench warrant "with discretion" Wednesday after the two were again absent from Brampton court.
This warns the Starrs that if they are absent for their next court date on.
January 28, the judge can issue a bench warrant, giving police the right to arrest them.
The Starrs were jointly charged last October with the solicitation and improper use of funds from three different sources, including the Ontario Lottery Corporation, City of Mississauga-licensed bingos and Aga-Ming Optimist Youth Camp.
Ron Starr, a prominent Mississauga businessman who was interim president of Hydro Mississauga Corporation until he "stepped aside" from the position more than a year ago, is charged separately with defrauding Human Resources Development Canada in relation to grants for summer employment programs.
Deanna Michele Starr faces a separate charge relating to City lottery licenses.
It is not known when a trial date will be set.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, who laid most of the charges, are remaining tight-lipped until the matters are settled in court.
"It's a long process, and it has to wind its way through the courts," said spokesperson Ab Campion. "It's in the court's hands now."
Apr. 10, 2002 - after
Due to an editing error, an April 10, 2002 article published in
The Mississauga News
suggested that a judge had warned Ronald Starr and Michele Starr that
a bench warrant could be issued if they failed to appear in court.
In fact, Madam Justice Katherine MacLeod stated only that a discretionary
bench warrant for the Starrs was still in place at that time.
The Mississauga News regrets the error.
Toronto Star - Apr. 16, 2002 - By Mike Funston, Peel - Halton Bureau - B3.
Camp chair's fraud charges dropped
Fraud charges against former Hydro Mississauga chair-man Ron Starr and his daughter were withdrawn in a Brampton courtroom yesterday. ...........Mississauga News - Apr. 17, 2002 - By Louie Rosella, staff - top of front page.
Charges dropped against Starr, daughter
"You're free to go," Madame Justice Katherine McLeod told Starr, following his two-minute appearance.
Deanna Michele did not appear.
Crown attorney David King told McLeod he had reviewed witness statements and other documents and weighed "the reasonable possibility of a conviction," along with the public interest, in proceeding with the charges.
"Given the information provided, the conclusion was...that the Crown will not proceed with this prosecution," King said.
The Starrs were jointly charged in October 2000 with the solicitation and improper use of funds from three different sources, including the Ontario Lottery Corporation, City of Mississauga-licensed bingos and Aga-Ming Optimist Youth Camp.
The Starr family, including Ron, his wife, and Deanna Michele, were the board members of the foundation that operates the camp.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were contacted initially when members of the Optimists Club said the Starrs refused to hand over records about the camp's operations.
Ron Starr, who was interim president of Hydro Mississauga Corporation until he "stepped aside" from the position 18 months ago, was charged separately with defrauding Human Resources Development Canada in relation to grants for summer employment programs.
Deanna Michele Starr faced a separate charge relating to City lottery licenses.
Outside the courtroom, just minutes after the charges were withdrawn Monday, Starr expressed his contentment.
"Our family can now get back on with our lives," Starr told The News. "Myself, my daughter, the Optimist Club...we can all do the things that we always have done in the community and for the community, and we're going to continue doing that once again without this cloud over us."
The Starrs' attorney, David Porter, said he was under no obligation to provide the Crown with witness statements and other documents relating to the charges.
"We provided that information voluntarily, and the Crown assessed all the evidence in this case and made the proper decision," he said. "This amounts to a total vindication for Ron and Michele."
Mississauga News - Apr. 17, 2002 - Editorial"You're free to go."
Welcome words to Ron Starr and his daughter, Deanna Michele, no doubt, but not entirely accurate ones. Free implies no cost, but surely the price paid by all involved was exorbitant.
Anyone ever involved in the process of litigation knows the costs add up with every phone call placed, letter sent or court session attended, while hours spent on research and deposing witnesses add significantly to the final tally.
The financial costs are borne by those on both sides of the witness bench — taxpayers will pick up the tab for an exhaustive investigation by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), the Crown's time and the Court's involvement, while the Starrs have had to dig deeply into their own pockets — but those costs pale in comparison to the emotional currency extracted from the two accused and their family.
While the judge termed the judicial process "expeditious", the 18-month ordeal likely seemed grueling and drawn out to the Starr family as they watched their reputations and personal finances dwindle day by day.
This case poses several questions unlikely to be answered.
If an eight-month investigation by the AGCO (which falls under the umbrella of the Ontario Provincial Police) failed to produce enough evidence to convict the Starrs, as Crown attorney David King told the Court Monday, why did it take the Crown a year-and-a-half to make that determination?
Did the money, time and resources spent on this fruitless endeavor satisfy anyone or serve any purpose?
Ron Starr says he and his family are now free to resume their lives, but will they ever truly be free of the stigma attached to the charges?
The Starrs and the taxpayers deserve some answers.