Bob Mackin
At least two people left in an ambulance from a Halloween party in the Billionaires’ Row mansion owned by David Sidoo, the ex-CFL star jailed last year for his role in the U.S. college admissions scandal.
Const. Tania Visintin said Vancouver Police officers were called to deal with a crowd of around 200 people while paramedics treated two people unconscious by either booze or drugs at the party. The two were taken to hospital.
David Sidoo (left) and Justin Trudeau in 2016 (PMO)
Shannon Miller of BCEHS said there were multiple calls for help in the wee hours of Oct. 31 to the $32.78 million mansion.
“Shortly after 1:30 a.m., five ambulance units responded to the scene for multiple reports of overdoses,” Miller said. “Three paramedic crews transported patients to hospital. BCEHS was called again to the address at 3:40 a.m. for an intoxicated patient.”
Visintin said nobody was arrested.
What were the substances that caused the overdoses and how did the partygoers obtain them?
Why did Sidoo allow a party at his mansion during the pandemic?
theBreaker.news wanted to ask Sidoo those questions and more. He answered the phone but hung up when this reporter identified himself. Sidoo did not respond to a subsequent email query.
One of his sons, Jordan Sidoo, later phoned and claimed responsibility for the party. He said his father was not involved in the event.
“He was not in the house, nor was he in town,” Jordan Sidoo told theBreaker.news.
He said the the premises were rented to Sole Vodka and permitted via city hall, but he declined to show a copy of the permit.
David Sidoo spent Halloween 2020 behind bars at the SeaTac Federal Detention Center in Tacoma after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The University of British Columbia booster paid bribes so his sons could attend prestigious California universities instead.
Five days before his 61st birthday in July 2020, Sidoo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and went to jail for 90 days.
In 2011 and 2012, Sidoo paid $200,000 to consultant Rick Singer’s “side door” scheme that saw tennis pro Mark Riddell use false identification to pose as Jordan Sidoo and brother Dylan to ace their college entry exams. On two occasions, the Floridian flew to B.C. to write exams.
Dylan Sidoo was accepted to Chapman University, and later transferred to the University of Southern California. Jordan Sidoo entered University of California Berkeley. They both graduated.
UC Berkeley opened an investigation into the scandal. theBreaker.news asked Jordan Sidoo whether he still holds his diploma, but he declined to answer.
Dylan (left), David and Jordan Sidoo (Facebook)
David Sidoo told a judge in July 2020 that the scheme was a “terrible mistake that has deeply affected our family.” He apologized to his former teammates and those that he said look up to him.
“You are quite evidently an intelligent, hardworking very successful businessman who overcame many hardships in your life, in fact a pillar of your community, and yet you have committed a crime that displays an unbelievable lack of integrity, morality and common sense,” Federal Judge Nathaniel Gorton said in the Zoom sentencing hearing.
“You have let your selfish desire, your pride, and your enormous wealth overcome all of what you apparently want to stand for by your works of charity.”
David Sidoo originally pleaded not guilty after his March 2019 arrest in San Jose, Calif. He initially faced charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, but copped a plea bargain in early 2020 to avoid a jail sentence of up to 20 years.
His name was removed from Thunderbird Stadium at UBC, his Order of B.C. revoked and he withdrew his name from the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame.
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