Threats, slashed tires: How cities are trying to rein in clothing donation bin chaos

In the final part of a four-part investigation into the seedy underbelly of the lucrative clothing donation bin industry, CTV W5 correspondent Jon Woodward and producer Joseph Loiero look at how some cities are trying to rein in the chaos.

One Ontario city staff member faced threats and even had her tires slashed while leading a crackdown on unlicensed clothing bins that may be connected to organized criminals, a former deputy mayor told W5.

But the City of Markham didn’t back down, and physically removed many of what it called “rogue” clothing donation bins that were popping up unasked for on city property and shopping plazas, said former Markham deputy mayor Jack Heath.

“You shouldn’t let people who are making threats, criminal threats, to stop the kinds of initiatives that make for a better city,” Heath said in an interview.

It’s a call to action that Heath is hoping other cities follow amid a W5 investigation into what’s behind some clothing donation bin operations.

Trackers sewn into clothing and placed into bins that promised direct charity for local needy people ended up in commercial operations and even 7,400 kilometres away in the North African country of Tunisia.

W5 placed a jacket with a concealed GPS tracker inside this bin. The jacket ended up 7,400 kilometres away in Tunisia, Africa (January 2024 / W5 Joseph Loiero)

One tracker also showed items placed in a bin that appeared to belong to a charity called the Canadian Community Support Foundation but was headed to a local thrift store to be sold.

That charity has long since had its status revoked after an audit showed it provided an “undue private benefit” worth $29,200 to a numbered company, a letter from the Canada Revenue Agency showed.

And documents obtained by W5 show Toronto-area police linked assaults, stabbings and arsons to a turf war between rival organized crime groups looking to carve out a piece of the multimillion-dollar used clothing market.

Over in Toronto, a freedom of information request filed by W5 shows that in the last four years, almost one in five city licences bear the names of people who have faced criminal charges or are family members of convicted criminals.

One of those people was Giuseppe Siggia, who has drug trafficking and conspiracy to distribute cocaine convictions from the 1980s and 1990s. He also was charged in 2013 for smashing in the car windows of a bin industry competitor and later entered into a peace bond.

His wife, Milda Romanoff, was a director of the Canadian Community Support Foundation.

Siggia himself told W5 over the phone that he believes other people are using the bins of the Canadian Community Support Foundation, and he and his wife are no longer involved.

“No, I’m not involved in the bin business for years and years,” he said.

When told his family names were on City of Toronto licences, he said, “I don’t know why you keep goddamn insisting I’m still in the business. … listen, I don’t want to talk to you. Call the police and do what the f*** you want to. You have a good day,” and hung up.

The presence of names connected to Siggia on the City of Toronto’s licensed bin system is a sign that something’s wrong, said Kate Bahnen of Charity Intelligence.

“I don’t know how the City of Toronto has permitted this without doing its due diligence,” Bahnen said.

Toronto Coun. Anthony Perruzza says he’ll look into whether the city needs to do more.

“I wasn’t aware that we are granting actual licences to people that are in a for-profit activity and allowing people to sort of, you know, pretend to be a charity and, you know, to be charitable in some way. And if that’s what we’re doing, we should review that,” he said.

W5 looked into the company whose name was on the bin where we interviewed Perruzza. We found that a 2014 York Regional Police report suggests two of the company’s directors were part of an “enforcement crew” hired to take over other competitor’s bins.

They were present one evening in 2013 when a confrontation broke out in an Orangeville parking lot and two other men had their car windows smashed in with baseball bats.

Further research found the brother of one of the directors was charged for robbing a bank in Mississauga in 2013. One of the directors himself was also charged with possession of stolen property in Hamilton. The charges were withdrawn last year.

Meanwhile, the City of Markham has removed most of its rogue bins – about 200 in the past five years. Its licensed bins can be spotted by the city logo on them.

Heath says his city stood tall against the threats and cleaned up the industry.

“The most important [thing] is to go ahead and do it. You can do it,” he said, a call he hopes other cities answer.

For tips on donation bins or any other story, please email Jon Woodward or call 416 859 8617

A clothing bin in Toronto. City of Toronto Coun. Anthony Perruzza says this bin has been placed on school property without permission (September 2024 / W5 Kirk Neff)