Mayor Ousted Over Concert Fiasco

A failed Michael Jackson tribute concert that left Summerside, Prince Edward Island, on the hook for $1.3 million has been cited as the reason the town’s former mayor was recently voted out during municipal elections.

Photo: Pat Roque, File/AP

Performing the first of two concerts in Manila during the HIStory World tour.

Basil Stewart served as Summerside’s mayor for 29 years and called the concert one of his biggest regrets, according to CBC News.

The show was supposed to feature stars like Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé. The city council voted in 2009 to send two payments of $650,000 to Katrina Berg Sussmeier at Starlink Productions, one-time MJ manager Frank Dileo and related business entities. But the concert never took place and the city sued the promoters for fraud to get its money back.

Stewart explained Summerside had worked with Starlink before so officials felt comfortable forwarding the unsecured deposits, the CBC reported.

“From the information that council had at the time, that is why council supported it. They had dealt with that company before for John Fogerty. The information we were presented with at the time, council felt that it would be a big-time pay off and that didn’t work,” he said. “We were dealing with crooks. There is legal paperwork in place. If the dollars come back in that area we will get it back.”

He added that he now realizes the money shouldn’t have been sent “without it being in trust. That was a mistake that happened, not by council but by senior management.”