1. Joe Fontana was a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1987 to 2006, and mayor of London, Ontario from 2010 until his 2014 convictions for fraud and forgery.
18 Facts About Joe Fontana
1. 2.
Joe Fontana was born in Cellara, Cosenza, Italy in 1950, and moved to Canada with his parents at the age of four.
3.
Joe Fontana studied chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo, but left school after becoming the drummer in a rock band.
4.
Joe Fontana later moved to London and briefly returned to school at the University of Western Ontario, but left to work in real estate and the insurance industry.
5.
Joe Fontana opposed the building of a federal prison in London and soon became involved in local politics.
6.
Joe Fontana formed the band "True Grit" with several Liberals including Roger Gallaway and future prime minister Jean Chretien.
7.
Joe Fontana became the Ontario chair of the Liberal caucus and was involved in the Task Force on Via Rail and the Task Force on the Economy and Recession.
8.
Joe Fontana was re-elected in 1993 and became parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Transport, playing a key role in, among other things, the introduction of the National Airports Policy.
9.
Joe Fontana served as Minister of Labour in Paul Martin's minority government until February 6,2006, when Stephen Harper was sworn in as Prime Minister.
10.
Joe Fontana was re-elected in 1997,2000,2004, and 2006.
11.
On September 8,2006, Joe Fontana announced that he would run for mayor in London against mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best.
12.
On September 20,2006, Joe Fontana formally resigned his seat in the House of Commons in order to run for mayor.
13.
Joe Fontana subsequently announced he would run in the 2010 London mayoral election, again against DeCicco-Best.
14.
On November 21,2012, the London detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police issued a press release announcing that Joe Fontana had been charged with breach of trust by a public officer; fraud under $5,000; and uttering forged documents.
15.
On November 22,2012, Joe Fontana offered to resign from the London Police Services Board and his resignation was formally accepted.
16.
Joe Fontana was found guilty of the charges by the Ontario Superior Court on June 13,2014, and sentenced to serve 4 months under house arrest and 18 months on probation.
17.
On June 16,2014, Joe Fontana announced he would be stepping down as mayor of London.
18.
Joe Fontana formally resigned on June 19, and was temporarily succeeded by Ward 3 city councillor Joe Swan as acting mayor until a council vote the following week selected Joni Baechler as his formal successor until the 2014 municipal election.