A branch of the FBI in Georgia has made an arrest in connection to the murder of Paul Maasland, the founder and president of Toronto-based systems integrator Daedalian eSolutions Inc.
Todd Howley, age 48, of Bracebridge, Ont. was arrested on Tuesday of this week by the Cleveland Field Office of the FBI in Dalton, Georgia, which is close to the Tennessee border.
Maasland was found dead near his cottage home in Bracebridge, Ont., according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) back in June of 2010.
FBI Special Agents in Charge Brian D. Lamkin and Stephen D. Anthony made the announcement of the Howley arrest. Howley was arrested at a hotel parking lot in Dalton without incident by agents and officers of the FBI, the Dalton Police Department, the Calhoun Police Department, and the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office.
Howley is wanted by the OPP for first-degree murder. A Federal District Court Provincial Warrant was obtained in Cleveland after it became clear that Howley had fled Canada to the U.S., the FBI agents said.
Howley made an appearance yesterday at the U.S. Magistrate Judge in Rome, Georgia for his initial appearance and possible extradition back to Canada.
The FBI agents wanted to remind the public that the Howley arrest are merely allegations and all persons are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The OPP opened an investigation into the mysterious Maasland death almost immediately after finding his body. The police would not say how Maasland, 55, died, however.
Maasland’s remains were found on August 30 near a public boat launch on Morrow Road in Bracebridge. Two days later on Sept. 1 a post mortem examination of the body was performed at the Ontario Chief Coroners building in Toronto where it was determined that Maasland was a victim of murder.
The Peel Regional Police Service recovered Maasland’s vehicle; a blue 2009 Subaru Forester on August 31, in the Mississauga, Ont. area.
What CDN has learned is that Maasland and Howley knew each other. Maasland after selling Daedalin to Telus in 2001 for an estimated $29 million in stock, started Verdant Financial Partners Inc., a capital pool company. In May of last year, Verdant entered into a non-binding letter of intent to acquire certain assets owned by Howley. They are Inergy Power Corp., Invantage Manufacturing Inc., and Trinergy Power Inc.
The deal to acquire these assets involved a cash payment of $200,000 and a three-year employment contract for Howley, who was listed as based in Oakville, Ont., at the time of this deal. Howley’s companies manufactured bioreactors used to grow algae as feed for fish farms in the U.S. and Canada.
Maasland was one of the true visionary of e-commerce in the Canadian channel. Daedalin was one of the first to offer e-solutions.
