Joseph Marrese

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.

Early political career

Marrese was born in Italy, and moved to Canada with his family during the mid-1920s at the age of two. ["3 who went to Italy with Davis now running as PCs", "Toronto Star", 20 August 1975, A3.] 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, ["Separate school board contestants", "Toronto Star", 3 December 1966, p. 9.] and was re-elected without opposition in 1969. By 1971, he was chairman of the board's planning and development committee. ["Catholics, North York discuss sharing school", "Toronto Star", 20 October 1971, p. 49.] 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. ["Five separate school trustees urge Catholics to vote for Givens", "Toronto Star", 21 October 1971, p. 49.]

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. ["Board chairman would start education in mother tongue", "Toronto Star", 5 January 1972, p. 85.] 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. ["Abortions opposed by Catholic trustees", "Toronto Star", 23 August 1972, p. 56.]

Marrese was again returned without opposition in 1972 and 1974. ["Catholic boards want to share facilities", "Toronto Star", 4 January 1973, p. 39.] His controversies with the Toronto Board of Education in this period over school-sharing were frequently covered in the local news media. [See for instance Elaine Carey, "530 separate students to quit shared school", "Toronto Star", 24 January 1975, A1.] In early 1975, he was replaced as Separate School Board chairman by Joseph Grittani. [Marrese is listed as chairman in Elaine Carey, "530 students" (see above); "Grittani is mentioned as chairman in Elaine Cary, "Sharing school rejected", "Toronto Star", 29 January 1975, B01. It is assumed that the changeover occurred in this period.]

Provincial campaign

He resigned from the school board to campaign as a Progressive Conservative 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. ["School chairman Tories' choice", "Toronto Star", 30 May 1975, A4.] He received 4,637 votes (24.63%), finishing third against New Democratic Party candidate Tony Grande in Oakwood.

Return to municipal politics

Marrese ran for an aldermanic position in North York 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. [Warren Potter, "Candidates claim pressure to withdraw", "Toronto Star", 18 November 1976, B02.]

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. [David Vienneau, "Few upsets expected for separate school board", "Toronto Star", 11 November 1978, A14.] He was re-elected in 1980, and unsuccessfully challenged Paul Duggan for the chairmanship of the board in November 1981. ["Struggle on for top job at separate school board", "Toronto Star", 19 November 1981, A19.]

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. ["Planners-school board liaison necessary, trustee", "Toronto Star", 8 December 1981, NR22.]

Conviction

Marrese's 1982 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, who was also a school trustee on the North York Board of Education and with whom Marrese shared an office. Marrese acknowledged that the contracts 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, observing that another of his relatives was challenging Signoroni in the 1982 election. [John Spears, "Catholic trustee shrugs off conflict-of-interest claim", "Toronto Star", 22 October 1982, A06.] Notwithstanding his arrest and the subsequent controversy, Marrese was again re-elected in Ward Thirteen. 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. [Ross Laver, "Trustee sought money, court told", "Globe and Mail", 5 October 1983, P4.] His lawyer argued that Marrese had been set up by Lonergan, a charge that Lonergan denied. [Ross Laver, "Kickback trial is told trustee was set up", "Globe and Mail", 7 October 1983, P3; Wendy Darroch, "realtor denies he tried to 'set up' school trustee", "Toronto Star", 7 October 1983, B15. Newspaper reports from the period listed Marrese as 61 years old.]

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. ["6 charges dismissed against trustee on technicality", "Toronto Star", 25 October 1983, A4.] 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. [Wendy Darroch, "Bribe talks an attempt to trap man, trustee says", "Toronto Star", 26 October 1983, A24.] In his closing remarks, the Crown council described Marrese's explanation as "unmitigated lies" and "nonsense". [Wendy Darroch, "Trustee's version of bribe attempt a 'nonsense' tale, prosecutor says", "Toronto Star", 4 November 1983, F10.] 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. [Kelly McFarland, "Convicted trustee loses his seat, board's acting chairman says", "Toronto Star", 8 November 1983, A6.] 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. [Wendy Darroch, "School trustee jailed a year in bribe case", "Toronto Star", 24 November 1983, A8.]

At the time of his arrest, Marrese was director of the Toronto Columbus Lions Club, and vice-president of the Italian-Canadian Benevolent Fund. [Barroch, "School trustee jailed a year".]

Late career

Marrese worked as a real estate broker following his release. In 1986, he made an unsuccessful bid to purchase the rights for property development on a North York city block surrounded by Yonge, Princess, Empress and Doris Streets. [Michael Best, "Lastman vows new look at $10 million land deal", "Toronto Star", 12 November 1986, A6. Marrese offered to pay $21 million for land valued at $10 million, an offer that North York Mayor Mel Lastman described as "ludicrous". See Michal Best, "Civic land sale is North York's biggest ever", "Toronto Star", 9 December 1986, NR1 for details on the outcome.]

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