CORNWALL, Ontario – There is a Cornwall connection in the case of a 101-year-old veteran who was allegedly tied up and left for dead by a man who once worked at Domtar Papers in the Seaway City.
Ian Bush was arrested by Ottawa police and faces six charges related to the robbery this week of Ernest Côté, a retired colonel and Second World War veteran.
Bush is now self-employed as a human resources consultant but spent time in the 1970s and 1980s at Domtar in Cornwall.
Those who worked with him, who did not wish to be named, indicated Bush is not from Cornwall but has relatives from here.
His LinkedIn profile suggests he spent 11 years as a senior labour relations officer at the mill in Cornwall that employed hundreds of people before closing nearly 10 years ago.
None of the charges against Bush have been proven in court.
Police charged him Friday evening with attempted murder, robbery with violence, forcible confinement, break and enter and two counts of using a credit card obtained by crime.
Police said a man gained access to Côté’s apartment building on Thursday morning by pretending to be a City of Ottawa employee. He allegedly forced his way into Côté’s apartment, placed a plastic bag over the man’s head and robbed him.
Côté eventually freed himself and called 911.
The case made headlines across the country and even Prime Minister Stephen Harper lept to Twitter Saturday to thank police officers for thir swift work in making an arrest.
