A 16-year-old boy is under arrest and Toronto Police are searching for three others in connection with the robberies of two pharmacies.

Members of the Toronto Police Hold Up Squad said on March 3 officers responded to two pharmacies that were robbed in the Burnhamthorpe Road and Renforth Drive area.

Police said in each incident four males arrived at the store in a stolen car and approached the employees.
“They took physical control of the employees and made demands for narcotics and cash,” police said in a release. “They took a quantity of narcotics and cash.”
The suspects fled the store in the stolen car and drove to a second pharmacy.

“At the second robbery, they attempted to flee in the stolen car but were unable to drive away from the scene so they all fled the area on foot,” according to police.

The accused was located by police and arrested. He cannot be identified because he is a young offender.

He was charged with eight counts related to robbery, having a disguise and possession of property obtained by crime.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7350, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, online on our Facebook Leave a Tip page, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).

 

A Toronto man has been charged in connection with two sexual assaults in the High Park area.

The suspect was arrested on March 14 between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the High Park subway station, in the Bloor Street West and Quebec Avenue area, according to police.

Police allege the accused was walking in the area when he sexually assaulted two women.

Jahmore Walker-White, 29, of Toronto, is charged with two counts of sexual assault.

He was slated for an appearance at Old City Hall court on March 15.

 

On any given day more than 60 Mimico residents can show up at a local church for free piping hot soup and no one is ever turned away.

Thanks to the efforts of area residents Iris Schweiger and Emma Latham, volunteers of the Martin Luther Evangelical Lutheran Church, at 2379 Lakeshore Blvd. W., that residents can have a free steaming bowl of soup, which is part of a church Bowls and Blessings program.

Area residents can also leave food that can be accessed by the needy in a community pantry, which contains some the essentials.

Those in need can also obtain nice warm jackets and other accessories to help them stay warm.

“There were people coming for the soup who were wearing no coats in the winter-time,” says Schweiger. “Our pantry door is always open so people can leave or take non-perishable foods.”

One person had earlier left some stuffed toys for children, she notes.

The pantry, clothing and soup servings take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday starting at 12 noon until the soup is gone.

Latham says many people in the Mimico area look forward to the soup and conversations.

“A lot of people stop by to see us,” she explains. “Many just want to talk to someone.”

The church will be holding an online fundraising Bazaar from April 27 to May 6, when items can be purchased online. The items can be picked up on May 8.

You can take a look at the items for sale here: https://pin.it/5KZeVPc

 

 

There was a time when vinyl LP records were king and streaming had to do with a river.

There were several record stores in the community and Keith Pope, the owner of one of the last remaining, Village Vinyl Emporium and Cafe, at 2925 Lake Shore Blvd. W., remember those heady days when top bands were presented with beautifully framed records to recognize their sales of large quantities of records.

The framed discs of superstars Lionel Richie, who had sold 100,000 records; a signed Jann Arden and Michael Crawford still glitter on a shelf. The items bring back a lot of history and nostalgia.

“I had an Elvis but that went fast,” Pope says. “These framed records were highly regarded by artists and in the industry at one time.”

“These are a piece of history and nostalgia. They meant a lot back in the day,” he says.

The plaques once belonged to Toronto music philanthropist Kroum Pindoff, who with wife, Eva, founded Music World in 1970. The company in its prime had 110 outlets nationwide and employed 1,000 staffers to sell their records.

Kroum started Pindoff Record Sales in 1960 by selling records on consignment to a variety of stores in Toronto. It was a hit and a decade later they founded Music World, which was popular with young people.

Music World Limited was eventually sold, the buyer suffered the same fate as many record stores and was eventually liquidated. The outlets closed in February 2008.

Pindoff was a war child who was born in Greece, but raised in Bulgaria. Eva was born in Germany. They vowed when they arrived in Canada in 1955 as immigrants to make enough money to help innocent victims of war. That they did and more.

In 1998 the Toronto Star carried a front page story about the couple giving $5 million to the Canadian Red Cross to help land mine survivors rebuild their lives.

“I have been in war, seen what it can do,’’ the then 82-year-old said then.

“The destruction caused by landmines to innocent people trying to struggle from one day to the next is shocking and heartbreaking,’’ he told the newspaper.

The couple, who were married for 50 years, gave millions of dollars to the Red Cross to help landmine victims, drought and famine victims in Africa and Asia. They contributed more than 20,000 food parcels to seniors in Bulgaria following the implosion of the Eastern Bloc in 1991.

While amassing a fortune selling records, it is estimated they donated more than $20 million to the Red Cross and War Child Canada to help young victims of war.

They also built a home for 100 children in Gasinci, Croatia.

After the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in South Asia, the Pindoffs’ gave $5 million toward Canadian Red Cross relief and recovery efforts. It was the largest ever personal contribution to a Canadian Red Cross disaster appeal at the time.

A man is listed in critical condition in hospital after being stabbed in Long Branch on Saturday night.

Police were called to a stabbing in the area of Lake Shore Blvd. W., and Twenty Fifth Street, just west of Kipling Avenue, on March 12 around 10:45 p.m.

Officers found a man with a stab wound at the scene.

The victim was transported to a hospital in critical condition.

No arrests have been made or suspect description released.

 

 

 

There are calls for Canada to seize and sell a $90 million Russian cargo plane to help shell-shocked Ukrainians as they try to survive from constant bombardment.

Some members of the Ukrainian community in Toronto are demanding that Canadian authorities seize Russia’s largest cargo plane that has been grounded at Pearson Airport due to that country’s brutal attack on Ukraine.

The Antonov An-124 Volga-Dnepr has been impounded since February 28 when a ban on airspace against Russian aircraft was imposed by Canada and other NATO countries due to the deadly Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine.

The freighter, which was the second largest cargo plane in the world, had flown to Pearson on February 27 with a load of COVID-19 tests from China when grounded due to the international sanctions.

The plane, which has flown missions to more than 100 countries, has been parked on Taxiway N with a large Russian flag visible on its tail. It can be seen from Silver Dart Road.

It has a crew of up to nine members who are staying in an airport area hotel so they can fly the jet home when sanctions are lifted and that can take a while. There are concerns that some of the crew may claim refugee status in Canada.

The megaplane, which first went into service in 1982 costs up to $90 million U.S. depending on the model. It is described as a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union.

The plane is listed as the world’s heaviest gross weight production airplane and heaviest operating cargo aircraft, only behind its larger brother, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, the largest cargo plane in service that was bombed on the start of the Russian war with Ukraine.

Volga-Dnepr Airlines operates 11 An-124s, with three now in service.

Canadian government officials said the plane will remain grounded until NATO lifts an airspace ban against Russia. The company also has to pay for parking costs at the airport.

Members of the Canadian Ukrainian community have been asking for the $90 million U.S. craft to be seized since Russia has illegally launched a deadly war against Ukraine and sanctions are in place.

Some community leaders in Etobicoke are asking for the aircraft to be resold with all funds going to help the more than two million refugees and rebuilding of Ukraine.

“Seize and resell that aircraft right now,” one man said. “Give some of the money to the people who are getting shelled and are suffering.”

Volga-Dnepr officials said they have been working to secure the aircraft’s return. The company said in a statement that it is engaging in the “settlement of all formalities to be able to fly to its home base.”

The huge Antonov-124-100 has two loading entrances, at the nose and tail of the aircraft, both equipped with expanding loading ramps. For loading of non-standard cargo the cabin is equipped with two electric winches of three tonnes traction each and four electric hoists of carrying capacity up to 30 tonnes.

 

Karma Norgyal and his sister, Tenzin Dolkar, have travelled a long way from their native Nepal to open a restaurant in Mimico.

They enjoy cooking and it took the siblings six years before they opened their Mr. MoMo restaurant, at 2453 Lakeshore Blvd., W., near Mimico Avenue.

“We have been looking for a place around here for about six years,” Norgyal says. “We wanted to open our restaurant here because of the large Tibetan population.”

He says more than 7,000 Tibetans have resettled in the Mimico area, due in large part to the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre, on Titan Road.

City statistics show there is a growing Tibetan community in South Etobicoke. Almost 3,000 Tibetans moved to Toronto from 1998 to 2008 making the city the home of the largest Tibetan Canadian community in North America.

There were 6,035 Tibetan-Canadians living in the Greater Toronto Area by 2016, with thriving communities in Parkdale and South Etobicoke.

Norgyal says only fresh spices, meats and other ingredients are used to make their tasty momos.

“Everything is made by hand and is nice and fresh,” he explains

They offer six types of momos including; beef, pork, chicken, potato, vegetables and soya for non-meat eaters.

The restaurant is tucked away in an open plaza across from Mimico Avenue and is clean and comfortable. A small photo of spiritual leader Dalai Lama looks over the dining room.

Norgyal emigrated to the Parkdale area from Tibet more than 10-years ago. He worked as a nutritionist at St. Joseph Medical Centre while saving and searching for a location to open their restaurant.

“It took us a long time to find this place,” he recalls. “I am a very passionate cook and wanted my customers to be happy and to enjoy our food when they leave.”

Dolkar is also actively working to help the community.

She and others from the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre were out feeding hundreds of meals to the elderly and those at risk during the COVID outbreak.

“We were very busy helping others during COVID,” Dolkar says. “We wanted to promote our culture and help those who are isolated and suffering.”

She says their recipe for making momos was passed down through four generations of family members.

“People here and all over the world love momos,” Norgyal agrees. “It is like a national food of Tibet and we have been getting good support from the community.”

Mr. Momo can be reached at 647-309-9683.

 

 

This former federal government IT worker lived the high life until Canadian and U.S. police came knocking.

A Quebec man has pleaded guilty in Brampton Court for his role in one of Canada’s largest bitcoin seizures in which $35 million U.S. was seized by police.

An international task force made up of the RCMP and FBI arrested and charged Sebastien Vachon Desjardins, of Gatineau, with four offences in relation to his activity as part of the Netwalker Ransomware Group.

He was charged with mischief in relation to computer data, unauthorized use of a computer, extortion and participating in a criminal organization.

The RCMP and FBI searched his home in January 2021 and seized 719 Bitcoins, worth about $35 million and $790,000 in Canadian currency.

“The success of this particular investigation can be attributed to the dedication and hard work of the RCMP Cybercrime Investigative Team and the partner agencies involved,” said Supt. Kelly Bradshaw, Acting Director General, Federal Policing Criminal Operations.

Investigators seized more than 20 Terabytes of data from Desjardins’ computing and storage devices.

“The investigation identified 17 Canadian companies targeted by Desjardins,” according to police.

The RCMP said the accused plead guilty to three of the four charges last January in Brampton court.

Justice G. Paul Renwick sentenced Desjardins to seven years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 680 Bitcoins, most of the seized computing devices and $742,840 in Canadian funds.

Renwick also ordered the restitution of more than $2.6 million in Canadian funds to businesses that were affected by the criminal activity.

Desjardins was also ordered extradited to the U.S. to face charges there.

Media reports state that he previously worked as an IT consultant for Public Works and Government Services in Canada.

U.S. police said NetWalker ransomware has impacted numerous victims, including companies, municipalities, hospitals, law enforcement, emergency services, school districts, colleges, and universities. Attacks have specifically targeted the healthcare sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking advantage of the global crisis to extort victims.

 

 

An elderly man is dead and a woman fighting for her life following a terrible crash in the underground parking garage of a high-rise condo on The West Mall.

Police said the fatal collision occurred on March 10 about 11:30 a.m. at 451 The West Mall, near Burnhamthorpe Road.

A 93-year-old man was operating a 2016 Toyota RAV4 when he entered an underground parking garage.

“He drove into a concrete pillar causing severe damage,” according to police news release. “As a result, the man was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and later succumbed to those injuries.”

An 83-year-old female passenger was also rushed to hospital suffering from life-threatening injuries, according to police.

Police are asking local residents, businesses, and drivers, who may have witnessed the collision or have security or dash camera footage of the area or incident, to contact investigators.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-1900, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, online on our Facebook Leave a Tip page, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).

 

 

 

 

 

Toronto Police are trying to figure out how a woman from the Six Nations Reserve ended up dead near the bank of the Humber River more than 100 kilometres away.

The homicide unit was called in after the body of Ruth Ann Longboat, 56, of Six Nations Reserve, was found March 8 in the area of the Humber River, south of Dundas Street West.

Police said it is an active investigation and officers are in the area carrying out inquiries to establish the full circumstances of the occurrence.
Anyone who may have seen Ruth Ann, have heard, or witnessed anything suspicious on or after Saturday, March 5, 2022, is urged to contact Homicide detectives.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, online on our Facebook Leave a Tip page, or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).