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![\"Ruth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3993221_web1_260217-Sheegl-court-4-.jpg\")
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Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press<\/p>\n
Phil Sheegl<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the City of Winnipeg caused a petition to recognize and enforce a Manitoba judgment in Arizona, correct?\u201d Finlayson asked Sheegl.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you contested that. There was a contest about whether the City of Winnipeg should be allowed to have a judgment against you in Arizona. Correct?\u201d Finlayson asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect,\u201d Sheegl replied.<\/p>\n
Details about the order were revealed as Finlayson grilled Sheegl about a land deal in Arizona that he had arranged with Caspian Construction owner Armik Babakhanians. Caspian was awarded the contract to build the police HQ on Graham Avenue and Smith Street.<\/p>\n
Records filed in the Maricopa County Superior Court confirm City of Winnipeg lawyers filed a notice of a foreign country judgment in August 2023, alerting officials there to the Manitoba ruling that ordered Sheegl to pay compensation.<\/p>\n
In June 2024, Judge Brian Palmer issued a judgment against Sheegl and two companies that ordered payment of about US$838,300, plus US$48,500 in court costs from the Manitoba court of King\u2019s Bench, records obtained by the Free Press show.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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In an email, a city spokesman confirmed the city took the action \u201cthrough external counsel engaged in Arizona on behalf of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a result of these efforts, the city received full satisfaction of the judgment against Mr. Sheegl early in 2026,\u201d David Driedger wrote.<\/p>\n
Sheegl was the city\u2019s top bureaucrat as it negotiated construction contracts with Caspian to complete the police HQ project, which exceeded its budget by nearly $80 million.<\/p>\n
\u2014with files from Joyanne Pursaga and Erik Pindera<\/p>\n
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Tyler Searle Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press\u2019s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic\u2019s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022.\u00a0Read more about Tyler<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
Reporter
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