Tony Cuzzocrea

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Tony Cuzzocrea (born 1942 or 1943) is an Italian-Canadian financial advisor, the founder of Planmar Financial Corp and Planmar Foundation, a co-founder of Love First, and the biggest individual financial supporter of The United People of Canada.

Early life and education[edit]

Cuzzocrea was born in 1942 or 1943 in Italy to poor parents.[1] At the age of ten years his parents relocated his family, including his three siblings, to Canada.[1] In Canada, his father worked as a street sweeper.[1] Cuzzocrea's first job was shining shoes at the age of eleven years; as a child he also worked in a bowling alley and had summer jobs picking tobacco in Mount Brydges and working for his father doing residential renovations.[1]

He studied production management at Ryerson Polytechnic University.[1]

Career and philanthropy[edit]

After graduation Cuzzocrea worked at General Motors, but was laid off after three months.[1] After fourth months studying and getting accreditation, he started a fifteen years stint as an employee in the financial industry before launching his own firm, Planmar Financial Corp.[2][1][3] He founded the Planmar Foundation around 1998[1] and co-founded the Love First group in 2016.[4] As of 2022 he rented offices former St. Peter's School on Clarence Street, London, Ontario.[3]

Cuzzocrea is the largest single financial supporter of The United People of Canada not for profit organisation which tried to buy Saint Brigid’s Church in Ottawa in 2022.[5]

Personal life[edit]

Cuzzocrea has four children (Peter, Lisa, Ann, and Mary) and, as of 2013, has nine grandchildren.[1] He was a friend of Arpad Horvath, who was killed by serial-killer nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer[6] in 2014.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pedro, Kelly (October 27, 2013). "And you are?: Tony Cuzzocrea, President of Planmar Financial Corp". Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
  2. ^ "A Fighting Chance". London Business Monthly Magazine. 3 (12): 44. February 1, 1990. ProQuest 214539085.
  3. ^ a b Shaw, Brian (December 1, 1997). "The mutual maze". London Business Magazine. 11 (8): 36. ProQuest 214542468.
  4. ^ Inaugural love first awards to recognize compassionate, kind londoners. in Postmedia Network Inc [database online]. London, 2019 (accessedNovember 23, 2022).
  5. ^ Deachman, Bruce (July 28, 2022). "London financier downplays link to convoy organizers in purchase of former Ottawa church". lfpress. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  6. ^ "Nursing Home Murders". CTV National News. October 25, 2016. ProQuest 1832065518.
  7. ^ "Meurtre de huit personnes gées dans le sud-ouest de l'Ontario : l'infirmière aurait admis ses crimes" [Murder of eight elderly people in southwestern Ontario: the nurse would have admitted her crimes]. RadioJournal (in Canadian French). October 26, 2016. ProQuest 2719404754.