HALTON TRANS NSMISSION dentistoakville.com den 905-842-6030 90 www.carstaroakville.com 547 Tr T afalgar Rd. (905) 559 SPEERS R ROAD, UNIT #3 842-0725 AVA I L A B L E Business Real Estate Broker BROKERAGE JOHN VAIL JohnVail.com 905-8457579 SNA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2010 ONTARIO'S TOP NEWSPAPER - 2005-2008 Beaver Trails 2212 Wyecroft Rd. 905-847 -2595 905.842.8690 A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 49 No. 122 "USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES" THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2011 40 Pages $1.00 (plus tax) Disbarred lawyer charged with fraud By Curtis Rush TORONTO STAR A former lawyer has been arrested after police say almost $5 million was embezzled from his clients. Richard Chojnacki, 61, of Oakville, was arrested Friday and charged with defrauding the public, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday. Chojnacki was disbarred last year by the Law Society of Upper Canada for allegedly misappropriating $3 million in funds. Prior to that, he had a law practice on Mississauga Road in Mississauga. According to the Law Times, the law society found Chojnacki to have misappropriated more than $3 million from funds held in trust for two toy company clients, including $500,000 applied to pay his law practice and personal expenses. During the hearing, the lawyer testified that he had a recurring addiction to Percocet since a serious car crash in 1984. Police say the current investigation focused on client funds that were supposed to be held in trust, or as short-term personal loans known as promissory notes. The clients later discovered that their notes were worthless and that their money had disappeared. Police say they have identified six victims who lost a total of $4.8 million between 2003 and 2010, but believe that others may have also been defrauded. Anyone with information or concerns is asked to contact the Fraud Bureau at 905-453-2121, ext. 3350. TED BROWN / METROLAND PEEL MEDIA GROUP ROLL 'EM: In an effort to reach Grades 7-12 students with its message, Oakville-based Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is producing its ninth film to be shown to more than one million young people next fall through MADD's School Multi-Media Assembly Program. Here, director of photography Barry Stone captures simulated tragic action on a location shoot in north Halton. MADD film to reach out to youths By Kathy Yanchus METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP It's a myth that MADD Canada steadfastly continues to dispel. Since its inception, Oakville-based Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been tenacious in its quest to rid the roads of impaired drivers and reduce alarming statistics that estimate almost half of all teen traffic deaths involve alcohol. But most young people view marijuana as a harmless drug and far less dangerous than alcohol. Subsequently, MADD's focus over the years has become two-fold: separating both drinking and drugs from driving. With Canadians between the ages of 14 and 25 having one of the highest rates of f cannibas use in the world, MADD's awareness and education campaign is designed to de-bunk misinformation that driving under the influence of marijuana is risk-free. See Youths page 3