Joseph Marrese
Encyclopedia
Joseph A. Marrese is a former realtor and politician in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. He was a member of the Metropolitan Toronto Separate School Board for most of the period from 1966 to 1983, and was its chair from 1972 to 1975. His political career ended following a criminal conviction in November 1983.
His son, Fred Marrese, was an alderman
in North York
.
, and moved to Canada
with his family during the mid-1920s at the age of two. He was a successful realtor in Metropolitan Toronto before entering political life.
Marrese was first elected to the Separate School Board's thirteenth ward in 1966
, at age forty-three, and was re-elected without opposition in 1969
. By 1971, he was chairman of the board's planning and development committee. During the 1971 provincial election
, he encouraged Catholic residents of York—Forest Hill to support Liberal
candidate Philip Givens
, because of his support of separate school funding.
In January 1972, Marrese was selected without opposition as chairman of the Separate School Board. Following his selection, Marrese argued that the children of immigrants should start their education in their first language. He also articulated a pro-life
position on behalf of the board, and forwarded the board's correspondence on abortion
with Premier
Bill Davis
to all Catholic hospitals in Ontario.
Marrese was again returned without opposition in 1972
and 1974
. His disputes with the Toronto Board of Education over school-sharing were frequently covered in the local media in this period. In early 1975, he was replaced as Separate School Board chairman by Joseph Grittani.
candidate in the 1975 provincial election
. He acknowledged that the Conservatives had been considered a "WASP
party" in the past, but argued that this image was no longer accurate. He received 4,637 votes (24.63%), finishing third against New Democratic Party candidate Tony Grande
in Oakwood
.
in the 1976 municipal election
, and finished third against Mario Gentile
in the city's second ward. During this election, there were allegations that representatives from the Marrese campaign tried to persuade Gentile and a third candidate to withdraw from the contest. Some speculated that the provincial Progressive Conservatives trying to influence the result of the election. Both Marrese and the Conservatives denied the charges.
Marrese was re-elected to the Metro Separate School Board in 1978
, representing Ward Twenty-One in the Jane and Finch
area. During the campaign, he argued that too many board decisions were made in private session and said that he would work to ensure continued cooperation with the North York School Board. He was re-elected in 1980
, and unsuccessfully challenged Paul Duggan for the chairmanship of the board in November 1981.
In December 1981, Marrese argued that members of the North York Public School Board and the Metro Separate School Board should be appointed to North City's city planning board. He said that this step would be necessary to ensure the proper sale of school properties in later years.
re-election bid was marked by two separate controversies. He was arrested on 16 June 1982 on charges of "breach of trust, and as a public official seeking to accept a reward and agreeing to vote for consideration" relating to the sale of the school board's former headquarters on Laird Drive.
Around the same time, fellow trustee Antonio Signoroni suggested that Marrese may have been in a conflict-of-interest by voting to give school board contracts to his cousin Peter Caruso, a trustee on the North York Board of Education with whom Marrese shared an office. Marrese acknowledged that the contracts in question were awarded to Caruso, but denied any wrongdoing and said that he had never shown preference to his cousin. He also questioned Signoroni's motives in raising the matter, noting that another of his relatives was challenging Signoroni in the 1982 election.
Notwithstanding these controversies, Marrese was again re-elected for Ward Thirteen in the 1982 Toronto municipal election. Both Caruso and Signoroni were defeated.
Marrese's trial took place in late 1983. He was formally charged with one count of breach of trust and six counts of accepting a benefit. His accuser, John Lonergan, testified that Marrese approached him in June 1982 and "asked to be paid $30,000 for ensuring that the [separate school] board accepted a $1,925,000 offer". Marrese pleaded not guilty to all charges. His lawyer argued that Marrese had been set up by Lonergan, a charge that Lonergan denied.
The six acceptance charges against Marrese were dismissed on a legal technicality in mid-October 1983, when the judge ruled that a school trustee cannot be considered a municipal official. Defending himself against the remaining breach-of-trust charge, Marrese told the court that he had only agreed to make an improper financial arrangement with Lonergan to procure evidence that the realtor was trying to bribe him. He also testified that he had been planning to take his evidence to the next board meeting in order "to reveal the bribe and vote against Lonergan's offer"; this course of action was, he added, made impossible by his arrest. In his closing remarks, the Crown council described Marrese's explanation as "unmitigated lies" and "nonsense". The judge agreed, describing Marrese's testimony as "untruthful" and "a total fabrication". He was found guilty of breach-of-trust on November 7, 1983.
Marrese's criminal conviction meant that he immediately lost his seat on the separate school board. Jack Graham, the board's acting chairman, described the conviction as the most embarrassing incident in the history of Catholic education in Ontario. On November 23, Marrese was stripped of his real estate license and sentenced to a year in prison. He was also forced to resign from the Ontario Mortgage Corp. and the Ontario Land Corp.
At the time of his arrest, Marrese served as director of the Toronto Columbus Lions Club, and vice-president of the Italian-Canadian Benevolent Fund.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He was a member of the Metropolitan Toronto Separate School Board for most of the period from 1966 to 1983, and was its chair from 1972 to 1975. His political career ended following a criminal conviction in November 1983.
His son, Fred Marrese, was an alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
in North York
North York, Ontario
North York is a dissolved municipality within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the central part of the northern section of Toronto. As of the 2006 Census, it has a population of 635,370. The official 2001 census count was 608,288...
.
Early political career
Marrese was born in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and moved to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with his family during the mid-1920s at the age of two. He was a successful realtor in Metropolitan Toronto before entering political life.
Marrese was first elected to the Separate School Board's thirteenth ward in 1966
Toronto municipal election, 1966
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Canada, on December 5, 1966. The elections were the first for Toronto after its merger with several smaller suburban communities on January 1, 1967. Forest Hill and Swansea were annexed by the City of Toronto, Leaside was merged with the Township of East...
, at age forty-three, and was re-elected without opposition in 1969
Toronto municipal election, 1969
Municipal elections were held in Toronto, Canada, on December 1, 1969. Across Metro Toronto there were few surprising results, and city of Toronto incumbent mayor William Dennison was easily re-elected...
. By 1971, he was chairman of the board's planning and development committee. During the 1971 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1971
The Ontario general election of 1971 was held on October 21, 1971, to elect the 117 members of the 29th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
, he encouraged Catholic residents of York—Forest Hill to support Liberal
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
candidate Philip Givens
Philip Givens
Philip Gerald Givens, QC was a Mayor of Toronto, Canada, Member of Parliament and judge.Raised in Toronto, Givens attended Harbord Collegiate Institute....
, because of his support of separate school funding.
In January 1972, Marrese was selected without opposition as chairman of the Separate School Board. Following his selection, Marrese argued that the children of immigrants should start their education in their first language. He also articulated a pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
position on behalf of the board, and forwarded the board's correspondence on abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
with Premier
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
Bill Davis
Bill Davis
William Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
to all Catholic hospitals in Ontario.
Marrese was again returned without opposition in 1972
Toronto municipal election, 1972
The 1972 Toronto municipal election was held December 4, 1972 to elect the governments of Toronto, the five other boroughs, and the government of Metro Toronto as well....
and 1974
Toronto municipal election, 1974
The 1974 Toronto municipal election was held on December 2, 1974 in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mayors, controllers, city councillors and school board trustees were elected in the municipalities of Toronto, York, East York, North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough.David Crombie was...
. His disputes with the Toronto Board of Education over school-sharing were frequently covered in the local media in this period. In early 1975, he was replaced as Separate School Board chairman by Joseph Grittani.
Provincial campaign
He resigned from the school board to campaign as a Progressive ConservativeProgressive Conservative Party of Ontario
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...
candidate in the 1975 provincial election
Ontario general election, 1975
The Ontario general election of 1975 was held on September 18, 1975, to elect the 125 members of the 30th Legislative Assembly of Ontario of the Province of Ontario, Canada....
. He acknowledged that the Conservatives had been considered a "WASP
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant or WASP is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry. The group supposedly wields disproportionate financial and social power. When it appears in writing, it is usually used to...
party" in the past, but argued that this image was no longer accurate. He received 4,637 votes (24.63%), finishing third against New Democratic Party candidate Tony Grande
Tony Grande
Anthony William Grande was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1987, as a member of the New Democratic Party .-Background:...
in Oakwood
Oakwood (electoral district)
Oakwood was a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada. It was created for the 1975 provincial election, and was retained until redistribution in 1999. It was abolished into Davenport, Eglinton—Lawrence, York South—Weston and St. Paul's...
.
Return to municipal politics
Marrese ran for an aldermanic position in North YorkNorth York, Ontario
North York is a dissolved municipality within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the central part of the northern section of Toronto. As of the 2006 Census, it has a population of 635,370. The official 2001 census count was 608,288...
in the 1976 municipal election
Toronto municipal election, 1976
The Toronto municipal election of 1976 was held on December 6, 1976 in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mayors, city councillors and school board trustees were elected in the municipalities of Toronto, York, East York, North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough.Toronto Mayor David Crombie and...
, and finished third against Mario Gentile
Mario Gentile
Mario Gentile is a former municipal politician in Toronto, Canada. He served as a councillor and city controller in North York, and was also a member of the Metropolitan Toronto council. His political career ended with a criminal conviction in 1994....
in the city's second ward. During this election, there were allegations that representatives from the Marrese campaign tried to persuade Gentile and a third candidate to withdraw from the contest. Some speculated that the provincial Progressive Conservatives trying to influence the result of the election. Both Marrese and the Conservatives denied the charges.
Marrese was re-elected to the Metro Separate School Board in 1978
Toronto municipal election, 1978
The Toronto municipal election of 1978 held on Monday, November 13, 1978, was the first seriously contested mayoralty race in Toronto, Canada, since David Crombie took office in the 1972 election...
, representing Ward Twenty-One in the Jane and Finch
Jane and Finch
Jane and Finch is a neighbourhood located in northwestern North York, a district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area is roughly bounded by Highway 400 to the west, Driftwood Avenue to the east, Grandravine Drive to the south, and Shoreham Drive to the north...
area. During the campaign, he argued that too many board decisions were made in private session and said that he would work to ensure continued cooperation with the North York School Board. He was re-elected in 1980
Toronto municipal election, 1980
The 1980 Toronto municipal election was held on November 10, 1980 in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mayors, controllers, city councillors and school board trustees were elected in the municipalities of Toronto, York, East York, North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough.Art Eggleton narrowly...
, and unsuccessfully challenged Paul Duggan for the chairmanship of the board in November 1981.
In December 1981, Marrese argued that members of the North York Public School Board and the Metro Separate School Board should be appointed to North City's city planning board. He said that this step would be necessary to ensure the proper sale of school properties in later years.
Controversy and conviction
Marrese's 1982Toronto municipal election, 1982
The 1982 Toronto municipal election was held on November 8, 1982 in Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mayors, controllers, city councillors and school board trustees were elected in the municipalities of Toronto, York, East York, North York, Etobicoke and Scarborough.Art Eggleton was...
re-election bid was marked by two separate controversies. He was arrested on 16 June 1982 on charges of "breach of trust, and as a public official seeking to accept a reward and agreeing to vote for consideration" relating to the sale of the school board's former headquarters on Laird Drive.
Around the same time, fellow trustee Antonio Signoroni suggested that Marrese may have been in a conflict-of-interest by voting to give school board contracts to his cousin Peter Caruso, a trustee on the North York Board of Education with whom Marrese shared an office. Marrese acknowledged that the contracts in question were awarded to Caruso, but denied any wrongdoing and said that he had never shown preference to his cousin. He also questioned Signoroni's motives in raising the matter, noting that another of his relatives was challenging Signoroni in the 1982 election.
Notwithstanding these controversies, Marrese was again re-elected for Ward Thirteen in the 1982 Toronto municipal election. Both Caruso and Signoroni were defeated.
Marrese's trial took place in late 1983. He was formally charged with one count of breach of trust and six counts of accepting a benefit. His accuser, John Lonergan, testified that Marrese approached him in June 1982 and "asked to be paid $30,000 for ensuring that the [separate school] board accepted a $1,925,000 offer". Marrese pleaded not guilty to all charges. His lawyer argued that Marrese had been set up by Lonergan, a charge that Lonergan denied.
The six acceptance charges against Marrese were dismissed on a legal technicality in mid-October 1983, when the judge ruled that a school trustee cannot be considered a municipal official. Defending himself against the remaining breach-of-trust charge, Marrese told the court that he had only agreed to make an improper financial arrangement with Lonergan to procure evidence that the realtor was trying to bribe him. He also testified that he had been planning to take his evidence to the next board meeting in order "to reveal the bribe and vote against Lonergan's offer"; this course of action was, he added, made impossible by his arrest. In his closing remarks, the Crown council described Marrese's explanation as "unmitigated lies" and "nonsense". The judge agreed, describing Marrese's testimony as "untruthful" and "a total fabrication". He was found guilty of breach-of-trust on November 7, 1983.
Marrese's criminal conviction meant that he immediately lost his seat on the separate school board. Jack Graham, the board's acting chairman, described the conviction as the most embarrassing incident in the history of Catholic education in Ontario. On November 23, Marrese was stripped of his real estate license and sentenced to a year in prison. He was also forced to resign from the Ontario Mortgage Corp. and the Ontario Land Corp.
At the time of his arrest, Marrese served as director of the Toronto Columbus Lions Club, and vice-president of the Italian-Canadian Benevolent Fund.