"O'Leary's spokesman" is answering the questions, now.
Does this guy look guilty of something, of what?
Does this guy look guilty of something, of what?
O'LEARY BOAT TRAGEDY: Loved ones mourn, want answers after American killed
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Does video exist in deadly Kevin O'Leary boat crash?
Joe Warmington
Published:
September 13, 2019
Updated:
September 13, 2019 12:25 PM EDT
Businessman Kevin O'Leary behind the wheel of one of his boats on Lake Joseph.SCREENGRAB
Does video evidence exist that backs up Kevin O’Leary’s assertion he was not at the helm of the boat involved in a tragic crash that killed two people last month?
Sources say yes.
In fact, people close to O’Leary tell the Toronto Sun the Shark Tank star is adamant video will illustrate he was a passenger in the boat on Lake Joseph.
The OPP have said they were told O’Leary’s wife, Linda, was the one driving the boat and she had passed a breathalyzer test.
O’Leary has also said the boat hit by his family’s watercraft did not have its lights operating at the time of the collision.
WARMINGTON: Kevin O’Leary weighs-in on federal election
Family of American killed raising funds for Uxbridge victim’s kids
O’LEARY CRASH: Answers in Muskoka tragedy could be ‘weeks or months’ away
One neighbour on the lake told the Sun Thursday that the people on the second boat were “floating in the area watching the stars” after a fireworks show in a nearby bay.
The OPP are still investigating the Aug. 24 crash that resulted in the deaths of Gary Poltash, 64, and Susanne Brito, 48, and no charges have been laid.
Uxbridge mother Suzana Brito, right, and American Gary Poltash are pictured in Muskoka. Both died after an Aug. 24, 2019 boating accident involving celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary. (GoFundMe)
Police have not commented on the existence of video or on any aspect of their examination into the tragedy. The Sun’s Brad Hunter reported this week that the investigation could take months as experts deconstruct the crash and analyze the damage to the boats. On Friday, the National Post reported that the process is more complicated than a car accident because water does not leave the same evidence as a highway.
While O’Leary did talk about politics Thursday and was on the set in Los Angeles to film new Shark Tank episodes, he declined to discuss the case.
Sources familiar with O’Leary’s life up in the Lake Joseph and Lake Rosseau area have told media the businessman and TV star has retained a video enhancement firm to try to improve the visibility challenges the darkness of night have created.
Linda and Kevin OLeary. His rep said she was driving the boat. GETTY IMAGES
I have asked O’Leary himself, and people close to him, to provide us with this video. The possibility this may happen has not been rejected or ruled out.
O’Leary himself has not addressed the crash with the Sun but has said previously he was “devastated” by it. He has also said he is fully co-operating with the OPP.
American gossip site TMZ also reported Thursday night they have been told there is a video “that captures the area where the crash occurred” that is “so far away it’s not clear to the naked eye” but that O’Leary has “hired a company that specializes in video enhancement” to help “determine if the other boat had its lights on.”
TMZ, which posted a picture of O’Leary at LAX Thursday waiting for a ride to the ABC Shark Tank studio, also reported the crash has not been talked about on the set.
jwarmington@postmedia.com
http://tmz.com/2019/09/12/kevin-oleary-shark-tank-set-after-fatal-boat-crash
http://torontosun.com/news/provincial/does-video-exist-in-deadly-kevin-oleary-boat-crash
Joe Warmington
Published:
September 13, 2019
Updated:
September 13, 2019 12:25 PM EDT
Businessman Kevin O'Leary behind the wheel of one of his boats on Lake Joseph.SCREENGRAB
Does video evidence exist that backs up Kevin O’Leary’s assertion he was not at the helm of the boat involved in a tragic crash that killed two people last month?
Sources say yes.
In fact, people close to O’Leary tell the Toronto Sun the Shark Tank star is adamant video will illustrate he was a passenger in the boat on Lake Joseph.
The OPP have said they were told O’Leary’s wife, Linda, was the one driving the boat and she had passed a breathalyzer test.
O’Leary has also said the boat hit by his family’s watercraft did not have its lights operating at the time of the collision.
WARMINGTON: Kevin O’Leary weighs-in on federal election
Family of American killed raising funds for Uxbridge victim’s kids
O’LEARY CRASH: Answers in Muskoka tragedy could be ‘weeks or months’ away
One neighbour on the lake told the Sun Thursday that the people on the second boat were “floating in the area watching the stars” after a fireworks show in a nearby bay.
The OPP are still investigating the Aug. 24 crash that resulted in the deaths of Gary Poltash, 64, and Susanne Brito, 48, and no charges have been laid.
Uxbridge mother Suzana Brito, right, and American Gary Poltash are pictured in Muskoka. Both died after an Aug. 24, 2019 boating accident involving celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary. (GoFundMe)
Police have not commented on the existence of video or on any aspect of their examination into the tragedy. The Sun’s Brad Hunter reported this week that the investigation could take months as experts deconstruct the crash and analyze the damage to the boats. On Friday, the National Post reported that the process is more complicated than a car accident because water does not leave the same evidence as a highway.
While O’Leary did talk about politics Thursday and was on the set in Los Angeles to film new Shark Tank episodes, he declined to discuss the case.
Sources familiar with O’Leary’s life up in the Lake Joseph and Lake Rosseau area have told media the businessman and TV star has retained a video enhancement firm to try to improve the visibility challenges the darkness of night have created.
Linda and Kevin OLeary. His rep said she was driving the boat. GETTY IMAGES
I have asked O’Leary himself, and people close to him, to provide us with this video. The possibility this may happen has not been rejected or ruled out.
O’Leary himself has not addressed the crash with the Sun but has said previously he was “devastated” by it. He has also said he is fully co-operating with the OPP.
American gossip site TMZ also reported Thursday night they have been told there is a video “that captures the area where the crash occurred” that is “so far away it’s not clear to the naked eye” but that O’Leary has “hired a company that specializes in video enhancement” to help “determine if the other boat had its lights on.”
TMZ, which posted a picture of O’Leary at LAX Thursday waiting for a ride to the ABC Shark Tank studio, also reported the crash has not been talked about on the set.
jwarmington@postmedia.com
http://tmz.com/2019/09/12/kevin-oleary-shark-tank-set-after-fatal-boat-crash
http://torontosun.com/news/provincial/does-video-exist-in-deadly-kevin-oleary-boat-crash
O'LEARY BOAT TRAGEDY: Owners, drivers could face $1M lawsuits
Graeme Gordon
Published:
September 14, 2019
Updated:
September 14, 2019 2:55 PM EDT
Kevin O'Leary driving one of his boats on Lake Joseph back in 2013. (YouTube/Screengrab)
Drivers and owners involved in the tragic Lake Joseph boat crash involving Kevin O’Leary could face more than the stark prospect of possible criminal charges.
Marine and legal experts told The Toronto Sun whopping lawsuits could come in the wake of the boat accident that shocked Muskoka and left two people dead.
The tally from the crash could soar as high as $1 million per boat, the maximum amount a smaller private vessel can be sued for loss of life or personal injury under Canada’s Marine Liability Act.
“Where the loss is caused by the fault of two or more persons or ships, their liability is proportionate to the degree of their respective fault or negligence, if the degrees of fault or neglect can’t be determined, their liability is equal,” Halifax-based marine lawyer Eric Machum of Metcalf & Company told the Sun.
Does video exist in deadly Kevin O’Leary boat crash?
KEVIN O’LEARY BOAT TRAGEDY: Conflicting stories on fatal collision
KEVIN O’LEARY: Cops tight-lipped on fatal boat crash probe
Machum added that the 2018-revised Act still doesn’t require smaller pleasure crafts to be insured, but he’d be surprised if the parties involved in the Lake Joseph fatalities didn’t have boating insurance.
A picture of American Gary Poltash and Uxbridge mother Suzana Brito on the weekend they were both tragically killed in a Lake Joseph boating accident. The picture was posted on a GoFundMe campaign Poltash’s family set up to raise money for Brito’s young children’s education funds. (GoFundMe/Screengrab)
When the August 24 boat crash became public, O’Leary made a public statement claiming the driver of the other boat didn’t have its lights on and “fled” the scene. An O’Leary flack added that O’Leary’s wife was driving the boat — reportedly a Cobalt speedboat — and passed an alcohol/drug test.
The OPP have not ruled out booze as a factor and said both boats rushed from the scene in order to get emergency medical assistance.
“It doesn’t clear the fact that alcohol (may have been) a factor, but I’m not saying that alcohol was a factor either,” said Staff-Sgt. Carolle Dionne. The OPP investigation involves looking at the boaters injuries and forensics to determine where everyone was sitting in each boat during the crash.
Otherwise, OPP have been tight-lipped on what happened that night as they continue their investigation, which University of Western Ontario criminology professor and former cop Michael Arntfield said could take months.
Linda and Kevin OLeary. His rep said she was driving the boat. GETTY IMAGES
“I would raise that argument if there is an allegation the person was drinking and there was evidence to the effect that the breathalyzer confirmed (they) had alcohol in (their) system and they were the operator of the boat (even if they blew a warning),” said Rajiv Haté of Kotak Personal Injury Law.
The end of Hamer Bay where the O’Leary boat reportedly rushed to the Rocky Crest Golf Course that was hosting a wedding at the time. The boat was eventually taken to the Hamer Bay Marina nearby. (Google Maps/Screengrab)Sources told the Sun‘s Joe Warmington and TMZ that O’Leary is trying to get grainy video of the crash from a cottage’s surveillance system enhanced to show the other boat didn’t have its lights on.
The location of the crash was near Emerald Island at the mouth of Hamer Bay on Lake Joseph. (Google Maps/Screengrab)
The crash happened near the mouth of Hamer Bay by Emerald Island. Sources with knowledge of the crash told the Sun the passengers on the larger boat say the O’Leary boat was “flying” and had its “bow up.”
Boating expert and retired U.S. Coast Guard Commander David Smith said speedboats are designed to hydroplane or “skim across the surface.”
“Normally that’s what happens, the stern drops and the bow comes up,” Smith said, explaining what happens when the driver slows down a speedboat. “A boat has no brakes.”
“Lights blend if there are a number of buildings on the shore … (especially if the boat isn’t moving).”
Machum says small pleasure crafts don’t typically have a voyage data recorder that’s found on larger vessels but the OPP may be able to get satellite data.
The larger 13-passenger-capacity wakeboarding boat was reportedly drifting after watching fireworks at the time of the crash.
TMZ reported on Thursday the boat was brand new with “state-of-the-art technology” that would likely show if its lights were on.
“If you’re not moored, if you’re not anchored, you’ve got to have all your lights on,” said Smith.
In a now-ominous tweet and Instagram post made in the summer of 2017, O’Leary expressed his reservations about night boating, “Boating at night freaks me out but it (feels) good when I see the lights of the boathouse!”
Boating at night freaks me out but it fells good when I see the lights of the boat house!… https://t.co/7VHC06Un8K
— Kevin O'Leary (@kevinolearytv) July 21, 2017
http://postmediatorontosun.wordpres...be8&post_format=standard&_thumbnail_id=668870
http://torontosun.com/news/national/oleary-boat-tragedy-owners-drivers-could-face-1m-lawsuits
Graeme Gordon
Published:
September 14, 2019
Updated:
September 14, 2019 2:55 PM EDT
Kevin O'Leary driving one of his boats on Lake Joseph back in 2013. (YouTube/Screengrab)
Drivers and owners involved in the tragic Lake Joseph boat crash involving Kevin O’Leary could face more than the stark prospect of possible criminal charges.
Marine and legal experts told The Toronto Sun whopping lawsuits could come in the wake of the boat accident that shocked Muskoka and left two people dead.
The tally from the crash could soar as high as $1 million per boat, the maximum amount a smaller private vessel can be sued for loss of life or personal injury under Canada’s Marine Liability Act.
“Where the loss is caused by the fault of two or more persons or ships, their liability is proportionate to the degree of their respective fault or negligence, if the degrees of fault or neglect can’t be determined, their liability is equal,” Halifax-based marine lawyer Eric Machum of Metcalf & Company told the Sun.
Does video exist in deadly Kevin O’Leary boat crash?
KEVIN O’LEARY BOAT TRAGEDY: Conflicting stories on fatal collision
KEVIN O’LEARY: Cops tight-lipped on fatal boat crash probe
Machum added that the 2018-revised Act still doesn’t require smaller pleasure crafts to be insured, but he’d be surprised if the parties involved in the Lake Joseph fatalities didn’t have boating insurance.
A picture of American Gary Poltash and Uxbridge mother Suzana Brito on the weekend they were both tragically killed in a Lake Joseph boating accident. The picture was posted on a GoFundMe campaign Poltash’s family set up to raise money for Brito’s young children’s education funds. (GoFundMe/Screengrab)
When the August 24 boat crash became public, O’Leary made a public statement claiming the driver of the other boat didn’t have its lights on and “fled” the scene. An O’Leary flack added that O’Leary’s wife was driving the boat — reportedly a Cobalt speedboat — and passed an alcohol/drug test.
The OPP have not ruled out booze as a factor and said both boats rushed from the scene in order to get emergency medical assistance.
“It doesn’t clear the fact that alcohol (may have been) a factor, but I’m not saying that alcohol was a factor either,” said Staff-Sgt. Carolle Dionne. The OPP investigation involves looking at the boaters injuries and forensics to determine where everyone was sitting in each boat during the crash.
Otherwise, OPP have been tight-lipped on what happened that night as they continue their investigation, which University of Western Ontario criminology professor and former cop Michael Arntfield said could take months.
Linda and Kevin OLeary. His rep said she was driving the boat. GETTY IMAGES
“I would raise that argument if there is an allegation the person was drinking and there was evidence to the effect that the breathalyzer confirmed (they) had alcohol in (their) system and they were the operator of the boat (even if they blew a warning),” said Rajiv Haté of Kotak Personal Injury Law.
The end of Hamer Bay where the O’Leary boat reportedly rushed to the Rocky Crest Golf Course that was hosting a wedding at the time. The boat was eventually taken to the Hamer Bay Marina nearby. (Google Maps/Screengrab)Sources told the Sun‘s Joe Warmington and TMZ that O’Leary is trying to get grainy video of the crash from a cottage’s surveillance system enhanced to show the other boat didn’t have its lights on.
The location of the crash was near Emerald Island at the mouth of Hamer Bay on Lake Joseph. (Google Maps/Screengrab)
The crash happened near the mouth of Hamer Bay by Emerald Island. Sources with knowledge of the crash told the Sun the passengers on the larger boat say the O’Leary boat was “flying” and had its “bow up.”
Boating expert and retired U.S. Coast Guard Commander David Smith said speedboats are designed to hydroplane or “skim across the surface.”
“Normally that’s what happens, the stern drops and the bow comes up,” Smith said, explaining what happens when the driver slows down a speedboat. “A boat has no brakes.”
“Lights blend if there are a number of buildings on the shore … (especially if the boat isn’t moving).”
Machum says small pleasure crafts don’t typically have a voyage data recorder that’s found on larger vessels but the OPP may be able to get satellite data.
The larger 13-passenger-capacity wakeboarding boat was reportedly drifting after watching fireworks at the time of the crash.
TMZ reported on Thursday the boat was brand new with “state-of-the-art technology” that would likely show if its lights were on.
“If you’re not moored, if you’re not anchored, you’ve got to have all your lights on,” said Smith.
In a now-ominous tweet and Instagram post made in the summer of 2017, O’Leary expressed his reservations about night boating, “Boating at night freaks me out but it (feels) good when I see the lights of the boathouse!”
Boating at night freaks me out but it fells good when I see the lights of the boat house!… https://t.co/7VHC06Un8K
— Kevin O'Leary (@kevinolearytv) July 21, 2017
http://postmediatorontosun.wordpres...be8&post_format=standard&_thumbnail_id=668870
http://torontosun.com/news/national/oleary-boat-tragedy-owners-drivers-could-face-1m-lawsuits
Probably guilty of writing grammatically correct sentences or something equally hateful.
Kevin O'Leary's wife, other driver charged in fatal Muskoka boat crash
Brad Hunter
Published:
September 24, 2019
Updated:
September 24, 2019 5:08 PM EDT
Linda and Kevin OLeary. GETTY IMAGES
The wife of brazen businessman Kevin O’Leary has been charged in the tragic boat crash in Muskoka that killed two people in August.
OPP say Linda O’Leary, 56, of Toronto, has been charged with careless operation of a vessel and will appear in a Parry Sound court on Oct. 29.
The driver of the other boat involved in the collision — Richard Ruh, 57, of Orchard Park, N.Y. in suburban Buffalo — has been charged with failing to exhibit navigation lights while underway.
Kevin O’Leary driving one of his boats on Lake Joseph back in 2013. (YouTube/Screengrab)
O’Leary has claimed that the other boat involved in the crash did not have its lights on.
The tragedy occurred just before midnight on Aug. 24, when the two boats collided on Lake Joseph after watching fireworks over the water.
Killed in the crash were Gary Poltash, a 64-year-old retired accountant from Florida, and Suzana Brito, a 48-year-old mother of three from Uxbridge.
Uxbridge mother Suzana Brito, right, and American Gary Poltash are pictured in Muskoka. Both died after an Aug. 24, 2019 boating accident involving celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary. (GoFundMe)
Three other people were taken to hospital and released, the OPP said.
O'LEARY BOAT TRAGEDY: Owners, drivers could face $1M lawsuits
Does video exist in deadly Kevin O'Leary boat crash?
Family of American killed raising funds for Uxbridge victim's kids
As the Canada Shipping Act is a federal responsibility, the OPP said the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) will be managing the ensuing court processes.
Linda O’Leary’s lawyer, Brian Greenspan, told The Canadian Press the incident was “a terrible tragedy.”
“But we find it regrettable that the OPP has chosen to charge Mrs. O’Leary under the shipping regulations in circumstances where the person has always been a cautious and certainly experienced boater, came in a collision with an unlit craft on a dark and moonless night on Lake Joseph,” he said.
The crash made international headlines due to O’Leary’s stardom on TV reality show Shark Tank.
In the wake of the tragedy, the 65-year-old was quick out of the dock doing damage control.
Through his spokesman, he claimed that the second boat had “fled,” didn’t have navigational lights and that it was, in fact, his wife who was driving the vessel.
Cops said both boats left the scene to get medical help.
Sources in Muskoka told the Toronto Sun that the OPP has video footage from at least one local cottage in their possession.
Brito died two days after the collision in hospital while Poltash was killed instantly.
“Late Saturday night I was a passenger in a boat that had a tragic collision with another craft that had no navigation lights on and then fled the scene of the accident. I am fully co-operating with authorities,” O’Leary said in a carefully crafted statement.
“Out of respect for the families who have lost loved ones and to fully support the ongoing investigation, I feel it is inappropriate to make further comments at this time. My thoughts are with all the families affected.”
A spokesman for Kevin O’Leary said his wife passed a drug and alcohol test.
O’Leary is also well-known as a former bombastic Dragon on CBC’s Dragons’ Den and previously co-hosted The Lang and O’Leary Exchange.
http://torontosun.com/news/provinci...er-driver-charged-in-fatal-muskoka-boat-crash
Brad Hunter
Published:
September 24, 2019
Updated:
September 24, 2019 5:08 PM EDT
Linda and Kevin OLeary. GETTY IMAGES
The wife of brazen businessman Kevin O’Leary has been charged in the tragic boat crash in Muskoka that killed two people in August.
OPP say Linda O’Leary, 56, of Toronto, has been charged with careless operation of a vessel and will appear in a Parry Sound court on Oct. 29.
The driver of the other boat involved in the collision — Richard Ruh, 57, of Orchard Park, N.Y. in suburban Buffalo — has been charged with failing to exhibit navigation lights while underway.
Kevin O’Leary driving one of his boats on Lake Joseph back in 2013. (YouTube/Screengrab)
O’Leary has claimed that the other boat involved in the crash did not have its lights on.
The tragedy occurred just before midnight on Aug. 24, when the two boats collided on Lake Joseph after watching fireworks over the water.
Killed in the crash were Gary Poltash, a 64-year-old retired accountant from Florida, and Suzana Brito, a 48-year-old mother of three from Uxbridge.
Uxbridge mother Suzana Brito, right, and American Gary Poltash are pictured in Muskoka. Both died after an Aug. 24, 2019 boating accident involving celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary. (GoFundMe)
Three other people were taken to hospital and released, the OPP said.
O'LEARY BOAT TRAGEDY: Owners, drivers could face $1M lawsuits
Does video exist in deadly Kevin O'Leary boat crash?
Family of American killed raising funds for Uxbridge victim's kids
As the Canada Shipping Act is a federal responsibility, the OPP said the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) will be managing the ensuing court processes.
Linda O’Leary’s lawyer, Brian Greenspan, told The Canadian Press the incident was “a terrible tragedy.”
“But we find it regrettable that the OPP has chosen to charge Mrs. O’Leary under the shipping regulations in circumstances where the person has always been a cautious and certainly experienced boater, came in a collision with an unlit craft on a dark and moonless night on Lake Joseph,” he said.
The crash made international headlines due to O’Leary’s stardom on TV reality show Shark Tank.
In the wake of the tragedy, the 65-year-old was quick out of the dock doing damage control.
Through his spokesman, he claimed that the second boat had “fled,” didn’t have navigational lights and that it was, in fact, his wife who was driving the vessel.
Cops said both boats left the scene to get medical help.
Sources in Muskoka told the Toronto Sun that the OPP has video footage from at least one local cottage in their possession.
Brito died two days after the collision in hospital while Poltash was killed instantly.
“Late Saturday night I was a passenger in a boat that had a tragic collision with another craft that had no navigation lights on and then fled the scene of the accident. I am fully co-operating with authorities,” O’Leary said in a carefully crafted statement.
“Out of respect for the families who have lost loved ones and to fully support the ongoing investigation, I feel it is inappropriate to make further comments at this time. My thoughts are with all the families affected.”
A spokesman for Kevin O’Leary said his wife passed a drug and alcohol test.
O’Leary is also well-known as a former bombastic Dragon on CBC’s Dragons’ Den and previously co-hosted The Lang and O’Leary Exchange.
http://torontosun.com/news/provinci...er-driver-charged-in-fatal-muskoka-boat-crash
O'Leary boat crash charges little comfort to victim's brother
Liz Braun
Published:
September 25, 2019
Updated:
September 25, 2019 11:17 AM EDT
Gary Poltash. (Facebook)
Larry Poltash was hoping it would all be attributed to an accident.
After his brother, Gary Poltash, and Suzana Brito, a mother of three, were killed in a boat crash on Lake Joseph last summer, Poltash’s devout hope was that it was all just a mishap that couldn’t be avoided.
But now charges have been laid against both Linda O’Leary, who was driving one boat, and Richard Ruh, who was piloting the vessel that was struck.
Kevin O’Leary driving one of his boats on Lake Joseph back in 2013. (YouTube/Screengrab)
The OPP charged O’Leary, 56, wife of celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary, with careless operation of a vessel. Her husband was a passenger on the boat his wife was driving on the night of the accident.
Police also charged New York resident Richard Ruh, 57, with failing to exhibit a navigation light while underway. The accident happened on Lake Joseph in Muskoka, near Emerald Island, at 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 24.
Reached at home, Larry Poltash had not yet heard that charges were laid, but expressed some relief that the blame allegedly rested with both parties. Poltash has been relying on his Catholic faith to get him through the loss of his brother, and he does not wish to harbour hatred or anger toward anyone involved in the accident.
The boat driven by Richard Ruh was identified early in the investigation as belonging to Dr. Irv Edwards, who was a close friend of the dead man.
Kevin O'Leary's wife, other driver charged in fatal Muskoka boat crash
O'LEARY BOAT TRAGEDY: Owners, drivers could face $1M lawsuits
Does video exist in deadly Kevin O'Leary boat crash?
Larry Poltash said Tuesday that he had seen Edwards at his brother’s funeral, at which time Edwards had told him he wasn’t driving the boat when the accident happened.
“He was in terrible shape,” said Poltash of Edwards. “All I could do was put an arm around him and say, ‘It was bad luck. Don’t beat yourself up about it.’ From the beginning, I had hoped it was just bad luck and no one was at fault.”
Poltash is doing his best to continue putting one foot in front of the other in the wake of his brother’s death. He said was doing OK, but described the loss as “so final.”
lbraun@postmedia.com
http://torontosun.com/news/local-news/boat-crash-charges-little-comfort-to-brother-of-victim
Liz Braun
Published:
September 25, 2019
Updated:
September 25, 2019 11:17 AM EDT
Gary Poltash. (Facebook)
Larry Poltash was hoping it would all be attributed to an accident.
After his brother, Gary Poltash, and Suzana Brito, a mother of three, were killed in a boat crash on Lake Joseph last summer, Poltash’s devout hope was that it was all just a mishap that couldn’t be avoided.
But now charges have been laid against both Linda O’Leary, who was driving one boat, and Richard Ruh, who was piloting the vessel that was struck.
Kevin O’Leary driving one of his boats on Lake Joseph back in 2013. (YouTube/Screengrab)
The OPP charged O’Leary, 56, wife of celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary, with careless operation of a vessel. Her husband was a passenger on the boat his wife was driving on the night of the accident.
Police also charged New York resident Richard Ruh, 57, with failing to exhibit a navigation light while underway. The accident happened on Lake Joseph in Muskoka, near Emerald Island, at 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 24.
Reached at home, Larry Poltash had not yet heard that charges were laid, but expressed some relief that the blame allegedly rested with both parties. Poltash has been relying on his Catholic faith to get him through the loss of his brother, and he does not wish to harbour hatred or anger toward anyone involved in the accident.
The boat driven by Richard Ruh was identified early in the investigation as belonging to Dr. Irv Edwards, who was a close friend of the dead man.
Kevin O'Leary's wife, other driver charged in fatal Muskoka boat crash
O'LEARY BOAT TRAGEDY: Owners, drivers could face $1M lawsuits
Does video exist in deadly Kevin O'Leary boat crash?
Larry Poltash said Tuesday that he had seen Edwards at his brother’s funeral, at which time Edwards had told him he wasn’t driving the boat when the accident happened.
“He was in terrible shape,” said Poltash of Edwards. “All I could do was put an arm around him and say, ‘It was bad luck. Don’t beat yourself up about it.’ From the beginning, I had hoped it was just bad luck and no one was at fault.”
Poltash is doing his best to continue putting one foot in front of the other in the wake of his brother’s death. He said was doing OK, but described the loss as “so final.”
lbraun@postmedia.com
http://torontosun.com/news/local-news/boat-crash-charges-little-comfort-to-brother-of-victim
You Russian colluders really suck Mr Fakenews CUCK HOLE STAR.
You can sure tell Yorgie never sailed a boat in his a hole lyin life. The only class you have yorgie weener is low.
When I cruise at night I just troll back to my spot. I've only boated 3 times at night in the last year and I know the depths and whose drunk pretty well. 
I sailed a series of double handed "300" mile races on Lake Ontario, back in the early 1990s (you actually end up sailing about 450 miles). They were "all sails" races in big keel boats and essentially single handed races as your partner was usually sleeping when you were sailing. Night sailing in conditions like that is bizarre ... when you're fatigued, maybe wet and a bit cold. You start to halucinate and everyone does. The key is to keep the presence of mind to know when you're halucinating.When I cruise at night I just troll back to my spot. I've only boated 3 times at night in the last year and I know the depths and whose drunk pretty well.
This was just before the GPS era and we were relying on a capricious Loran technology to keep us oriented. It's quite easy to talk yourself into navigational errors when you're fatigued and I know of at least one competitor who sailed on a reciprocal course (180 deg. in the other direction) for a whole night. We called him "Wrong Way" forever more.
Running into other boats was always a possibility, although you tend to spread yourself out over such a large body of water. Being run down by freighters is a district danger and I had a couple of close shaves. Two racers might have died that way one year although the Coast Guard's report was inconclusive. Sailing at night is not easy. Power boats travel very fast and you must be EXTREMELY ALERT to do that. Any sort of substance use is STRICTLY VERBOTTEN in a busy waterway, especially at night.
I got my first hand held gps in 1991.......it simply gave your location in latitude and longitude and since maps were in utm co-ordinates, or vice versa.... you needed to carry a calculator and ruler and and a compass to get to where you wanted to go ....and don't forget spare batteries...
They were around and some boaters had them. A curious thing happened in 1991 with those early GPSs. During the First Gulf War, the American military de-tuned the civilian GPS network, I guess so that Sadam's great rocket fleet couldn't make use of their chips as guidance systems. Anyway, a GPS that at the time that was accurate to within about four feet was dumbed down to about 100 foot resolution.I got my first hand held gps in 1991.......it simply gave your location in latitude and longitude and since maps were in utm co-ordinates, or vice versa.... you needed to carry a calculator and ruler and and a compass to get to where you wanted to go ....and don't forget spare batteries...
The GPS sets were pretty dear and we all had a too much dough tied up in our Loran sets, so we didn't stampede to the stores to buy them until a few years later. That was another big waste of money, seeing as how you get one built into the humblest phone or car, these days.
Do remember, though that GPS is suceptible to intentional manipulation, hacking, military attack and, most the likely one to shut it down, big solar storms. You still have to know how to navigate like Magellan, did.
My father, by the way, was a WWII Coastal Command pilot flying in the Indian Ocean and they used to patrol back and forth across the Equator in complex box search zig-zags, 18 hours at a stretch with zero electronic navigational aids. It was all done with dead reconning, sextant sun and star shots and tip-top math done without computers by hand and head. He was a great mathematician all of his life and eventually became a Statistician.
O'LEARY TRAGEDY: Shark Tank star's wife now facing fine, not jail time, after fatal boat crash
Reuters
Published:
October 11, 2019
Updated:
October 11, 2019 1:27 PM EDT
Businessman and television personality Kevin O'Leary and his wife Linda arrive at the 2014 Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Party in West Hollywood, California March 2, 2014.GUS RUELAS / REUTERS
TORONTO — The wife of Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary is now facing a fine and no jail time after she was charged with careless operation of a vehicle following a boat crash that caused two deaths and three injuries, Canadian prosecutors said on Friday.
Linda O’Leary was charged two weeks ago for the crash, which took place in late August in Muskoka, a part of Ontario popular for its lakeside cottages.
Police originally said the maximum penalty she faced was a C$1 million fine and 18 months in jail, but the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said on Friday they “reconsidered the position” and reduced it to a C$10,000 fine.
Kevin O'Leary's wife, other driver charged in fatal Muskoka boat crash
O'LEARY TRAGEDY: Shark Tank star reportedly hires top legal eagle
KEVIN O'LEARY: Cops tight-lipped on fatal boat crash probe
Brian Greenspan, O’Leary’s lawyer, could not be reached for comment.
Linda O’Leary will appear in court on Oct 29.
The driver of the second boat, Richard Ruh, 57, of Orchard Park, New York, was also charged with failing to exhibit navigation lights, but Ruh is not required to make a court appearance as it was a lesser charge, the police said.
http://torontosun.com/news/national...ing-fine-not-jail-time-after-fatal-boat-crash
Reuters
Published:
October 11, 2019
Updated:
October 11, 2019 1:27 PM EDT
Businessman and television personality Kevin O'Leary and his wife Linda arrive at the 2014 Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Party in West Hollywood, California March 2, 2014.GUS RUELAS / REUTERS
TORONTO — The wife of Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary is now facing a fine and no jail time after she was charged with careless operation of a vehicle following a boat crash that caused two deaths and three injuries, Canadian prosecutors said on Friday.
Linda O’Leary was charged two weeks ago for the crash, which took place in late August in Muskoka, a part of Ontario popular for its lakeside cottages.
Police originally said the maximum penalty she faced was a C$1 million fine and 18 months in jail, but the Public Prosecution Service of Canada said on Friday they “reconsidered the position” and reduced it to a C$10,000 fine.
Kevin O'Leary's wife, other driver charged in fatal Muskoka boat crash
O'LEARY TRAGEDY: Shark Tank star reportedly hires top legal eagle
KEVIN O'LEARY: Cops tight-lipped on fatal boat crash probe
Brian Greenspan, O’Leary’s lawyer, could not be reached for comment.
Linda O’Leary will appear in court on Oct 29.
The driver of the second boat, Richard Ruh, 57, of Orchard Park, New York, was also charged with failing to exhibit navigation lights, but Ruh is not required to make a court appearance as it was a lesser charge, the police said.
http://torontosun.com/news/national...ing-fine-not-jail-time-after-fatal-boat-crash
Kevin O'Leary, wife being sued for wrongful death in boat crash
Postmedia News
Published:
November 6, 2019
Updated:
November 6, 2019 12:31 PM EST
Businessman and television personality Kevin O'Leary and his wife Linda arrive at the 2014 Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Party in West Hollywood, California March 2, 2014.GUS RUELAS / REUTERS
Bombastic Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary and his wife, Linda, are being sued for wrongful death by the family of one of the victims in last summer’s crash in Muskoka.
On Aug. 24, Linda O’Leary was driving a boat on Lake Joseph when it crashed into another boat just before midnight.
Retired accountant Gary Poltash, 64, of Florida, and Susanne Brito, 48, of Uxbridge, were both killed.
Three others were hospitalized but later released.
Uxbridge mother Suzana Brito, right, and American Gary Poltash are pictured in Muskoka. Both died after an Aug. 24, 2019 boating accident involving celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary. (GoFundMe)
In late September, the OPP charged Linda O’Leary with careless operation of a vessel under the Canada Shipping Act. It is not a criminal charge, and if found guilty, she will be fined but not jailed.
Story continues below
Now, Susanne Brito’s parents, Rosa and Antonio Ragone, and sister Paula Brito are taking action against the O’Learys. The family is seeking punitive, exemplary and aggravated damages for wrongful death.
Also being sued is Richard Ruh, the driver of the other boat, who the OPP charged with failure to exhibit a navigation light while underway, and Irv Edwards, the vessel’s owner.
“For this grieving family, it is about obtaining civil justice so as to prevent these types of deaths and curtailing reckless and dangerous behaviour from continuing on our lakes,” Patrick Brown, of law firm McLeish Orlando LLP, said in a news release.
A funeral was held for Suzana Vieira Brito, 48, at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Uxbridge on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019. The mother of three is one of two victims killed in a boat crash in Muskoka a week earlier. (Jack Boland/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network)
The statement quoted the dead woman’s mother, Rosa: “Our family has lost a beautiful, loving person. We are devastated. We sincerely hope that through this process, that justice is served and that steps are taken so that innocent victims like Suzie, are not seriously injured and killed and that other families do not have to go through such pain and loss.”
Linda O’Leary’s case is next set to be heard on Nov. 21.
Initially, prosecutors, said O’Leary faced a maximum penalty of 18-months’ imprisonment and a $1-million fine.
Shark Tank star's wife now facing fine, not jail time
http://torontosun.com/news/local-news/boat-crash-charges-little-comfort-to-brother-of-victim
Kevin O'Leary's wife, other driver charged in fatal Muskoka boat crash
But that interpretation of the Shipping Act was challenged by Brian Greenspan, O’Leary’s lawyer, and prosecutors later amended their view to say O’Leary faces a maximum $10,000 fine and no jail time.
The O’Learys are longtime summer residents of Lake Joseph, a playground for celebrities, sports stars and the country’s financial elite.
http://torontosun.com/news/provincial/kevin-oleary-wife-being-sued-for-wrongful-death-in-boat-crash
Postmedia News
Published:
November 6, 2019
Updated:
November 6, 2019 12:31 PM EST
Businessman and television personality Kevin O'Leary and his wife Linda arrive at the 2014 Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Party in West Hollywood, California March 2, 2014.GUS RUELAS / REUTERS
Bombastic Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary and his wife, Linda, are being sued for wrongful death by the family of one of the victims in last summer’s crash in Muskoka.
On Aug. 24, Linda O’Leary was driving a boat on Lake Joseph when it crashed into another boat just before midnight.
Retired accountant Gary Poltash, 64, of Florida, and Susanne Brito, 48, of Uxbridge, were both killed.
Three others were hospitalized but later released.
Uxbridge mother Suzana Brito, right, and American Gary Poltash are pictured in Muskoka. Both died after an Aug. 24, 2019 boating accident involving celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary. (GoFundMe)
In late September, the OPP charged Linda O’Leary with careless operation of a vessel under the Canada Shipping Act. It is not a criminal charge, and if found guilty, she will be fined but not jailed.
Story continues below
Now, Susanne Brito’s parents, Rosa and Antonio Ragone, and sister Paula Brito are taking action against the O’Learys. The family is seeking punitive, exemplary and aggravated damages for wrongful death.
Also being sued is Richard Ruh, the driver of the other boat, who the OPP charged with failure to exhibit a navigation light while underway, and Irv Edwards, the vessel’s owner.
“For this grieving family, it is about obtaining civil justice so as to prevent these types of deaths and curtailing reckless and dangerous behaviour from continuing on our lakes,” Patrick Brown, of law firm McLeish Orlando LLP, said in a news release.
A funeral was held for Suzana Vieira Brito, 48, at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Uxbridge on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019. The mother of three is one of two victims killed in a boat crash in Muskoka a week earlier. (Jack Boland/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network)
The statement quoted the dead woman’s mother, Rosa: “Our family has lost a beautiful, loving person. We are devastated. We sincerely hope that through this process, that justice is served and that steps are taken so that innocent victims like Suzie, are not seriously injured and killed and that other families do not have to go through such pain and loss.”
Linda O’Leary’s case is next set to be heard on Nov. 21.
Initially, prosecutors, said O’Leary faced a maximum penalty of 18-months’ imprisonment and a $1-million fine.
Shark Tank star's wife now facing fine, not jail time
http://torontosun.com/news/local-news/boat-crash-charges-little-comfort-to-brother-of-victim
Kevin O'Leary's wife, other driver charged in fatal Muskoka boat crash
But that interpretation of the Shipping Act was challenged by Brian Greenspan, O’Leary’s lawyer, and prosecutors later amended their view to say O’Leary faces a maximum $10,000 fine and no jail time.
The O’Learys are longtime summer residents of Lake Joseph, a playground for celebrities, sports stars and the country’s financial elite.
http://torontosun.com/news/provincial/kevin-oleary-wife-being-sued-for-wrongful-death-in-boat-crash