Six of the month’s best long reads from The Spec
The long weekend is the perfect time to kick back and relax, sit outside in the sunshine and hang out with family and friends.
It's also a great time to catch up on what's been happening in the world and your community.
For those looking for something to read, look no further than these exceptional stories from our very own Spectator journalists.
A must read for any true-crime or mafia fanatics, this three-part series tells the story of the man who murdered Hamilton Mob boss Johnny Papalia. At times empathetic, award-winning Jon Wells weaves the compelling life story of how a tormented child grew up to be a notorious hitman and the demons that continue to plague Ken Murdock decades later.
Crisis in health care
Health-care reporter Joanna Frketich details the tragedy of Ken O'Leary's final months. Admitted to Joseph Brant Hospital for aggressive behaviour related to dementia, it would be four short months before O'Leary's family would be hosting his funeral. Overuse of a chemical restraint was followed by rapid decline of the Burlington man's health, including pneumonia, C. difficile, and a painful bedsore the size of an avocado.
Could we see the end of coal-fired steel in our lifetime? In a three-part series, Matthew Van Dongen takes a look at the green steel" revolution happening at Dofasco and what that means for cancer-causing pollution, climate change and the health of lower-city residents.
Burned alive
The Dundas arson murder trial caught and held the attention of readers for its cruel and disturbing content. Richard Taylor, deeply in debt and lying to everyone about it, crept into his mother and stepfather's Greening Court home, poured accelerant all over the base of their bed, lit a match and burned them alive. How could a son do something so heinous to his own mother? Susan Clairmont reported on the gruesome trial, horrors the jurors were subjected to and hours of police interrogation videos.
Secrets and lies
For years, the city was lying to residents about the safety of the Red Hill Valley Parkway. The city hid - and denied the existence of - a friction report on the dangerous slippery asphalt of the Red Hill Valley Parkway, prioritizing liability ahead of safety and transparency on the parkway where six people had lost their lives by 2019. All the more damning, the decision to release the documents wasn't a choice, rather the city was legally forced by a Spectator freedom-of-information request. The Spec's Nicole O'Reilly digs into the truth.
Construction magnate
Croatian-born Darko Vranich came to Canada with a dream. From working in a Thorold tavern, Vranich saved money and bought his first house, then built a second ... and third. So began the businessman's adventure into real estate and the gut feeling" to invest and build highrises and hotels in the downtown core. This is the story of the multimillionaire megadeveloper.
Delaney Caulfield is a Hamilton-based web editor at The Spectator. Reach her via email: dcaulfield@thespec.com