A former lawyer for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) has been arrested after being found in contempt of court, for refusing a court order to turn over records showing what happened to $3.7 million in union funds he is alleged to have misappropriated, according to court documents obtained by the Star.
It’s the latest twist in a saga that began in 2022. Mark Mendl, who was the OPSEU’s external legal counsel from 2017 to 2022, allegedly received $3.7 million in payments from the union leading up to a union election, according to the statement of claim filed in a civil action in April. When these payments were discovered by the new OPSEU leadership in an audit following the election, Mendl “evaded the union’s requests” for records explaining where the funds had gone, the documents say.
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