http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/02/04/senate_scandal_rcmp_expected_to_charge_harb_brazeau_with_fraud_breach_of_trust.html
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/RCMP+charge+Harb+Patrick+Brazeau+Senate+expenses/9467339/story.html
불법비용청구, Breach of Trust혐의로 조사받아오던, 연방 상원의원들 기소당해.
지난 1년여간 거짖비용청구에 관련된 스캔달로 연방경찰(RCMP-Royal Canadian Mounted Police)의 조사를 받아오던 상원의원들에 대해 기소당했다는 뉴스다.
자유당소속 Mac Harb전 상원의원, 정직중이던 전 보수당 상원의원 Patrick Brazeau이, 화요일 신뢰추락혐의와 사기혐의로 연방경찰에 의해 기소당한 것이다.
RCMP의 부책임자 Gilles Michaud는 다른 두명의 전직 보수당 출신 상원의원인 Mike Duffy와 Pamela Wallin 에 대한 수사도 현재 진행중에 있다고 밝혔다.
수사관들은 이들 혐의자들에 대한 지난 일년간 언론의 시선을 집중시켰던 사건에 대한 조사를 조용히 해왔었으며 이제는 거의 수사를 마무리 하는 단계에 와 있는것 같다.
Harb의원의 혐의 내용은 Ottawa Valley에 있는 그의 집Mortgage대출이 정상적인 절차를 밟지 안은것에 대한 결과와 그리고 생활비와 여행경비를 상원에 청구한 내용을 조사 받았었는데, 상원의 품격을 떨어뜨리는 결과를 초래한 점이 Breach of Trust죄목에 걸린것 같다.
이들이 기소됐다고 해서 유치장신세를 지는것은 아니고, 또 재판정에 변호인들이 출두하고, 본인들을 직접 출두하지 않을수도 있는가운데 재판을 진행 할수도 있게 된다.
보수당 출신의 Brazeau상원 역시 거주하는 집으로 등록된 내용이 실제로 거주하고 있는 집과 같은것으로 서류를 꾸며 생활비를 청구한 혐의를 받아 조사를 받았었다. 또 다른 두명의 보수당 출신 의원들인 Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy에 대해 조사를 해 왔었으며, Mike Duffy의원은 이사건외에 성학대 혐의로 추가 조사를 받아 왔었다.
Harb 은 총 $230,000달러, Duffy는 $90,000달러를 부당하게 지출받았다는 내용이 언론에 알려지자 해당의원들은 자진해서 반환을 한것으로 발표됐었다.
이사건에 연관된 상원의원은 자유당의원 1명 보수당의원 3명이다. 이추문으로 보수당의 명예에 치명적인 타격을 받아 앞으로 1년후에 치러질 연방의회의원 선거에서 많은 곤욕을 치르게 될것으로 보인다. 또 지난해 자유당 당수로 선출된 Justin Trudeau는 지금 국민들의 지지가 계속 높아가고 있으며, 그는 젊고 또 전직 수상 트루도의 큰 아들인점도 국민들의 시선을 그곳에 모으게 하고 있다.
이들이 완전 사기불법이 아닌 약간의 비정상적인 절차를 통해 비용 청구한 내용이나 그액수를 보면서 한국의 국회에서 국민들의 혈세로 놀고 있는 정치꾼들과 자연적으로 비교 하지 않을수 없다.
한국의 정치꾼들은 수십억을 꿀꺽 하고도, 수사기관의 조사를 받게 될경우, 쥐새끼처럼 법망을 잘 빠져 나가면서, 정치적 탄압을 받고 있다는 핑계를 대고, 자신들은 가장 깨끗한 것 처럼 행세하고 권력을 휘둘러 대는데.....또 한국의 언론도 같이 합세하는 쪽으로 보도를 하여 국민들의 귀와 눈 역활을 제대로 하지 못하고 있는 것으로 이사건을 보면서 비교 이해된다.
Pamela와 Duffy는 상원으로 임명되기전까지는 유명한 TV 앵커로 국회의원들을 취재 하면서 그들을 쥐락펴락하던 유명 언론인들이었었다. 현 보수당 정권의 Harper총리가 이들을 발탁, 상원의원으로 천거하여 국회에 입성 했었다. 그들에 대한 국민들의 기대로 남달랐었다.
그러나 그들은 기대를 져버리리고 RCMP의 조사를 받는 불명예를 안게 된것이다.
한국돈으로 환산하면 불과 수천만원으로 한국의 정치꾼들의 말을 빌리면 껌값에도 미치지 못하는 작은 액수이지만, 적법치 않은 방법으로 수령한게 이들이 기소된 혐의임을 보면서 마냥 캐나다가 부럽게만 느껴졌다.
조국 대한민국의 정치꾼들이 정부의 정책을 비난하고, 종북을 옹호하는듯한 행동을 할때, 항상 그들은 선진국의 예를 들어 비교 하여 압박을 가했었다. 지난 연말에 국회가 휴회에 들어 갔을때 그들은 다음날 가방을 꾸려 해외여행들을 "선진국의회시찰"이라는 명목의 구실을 부쳐, 여야 의원들은 언제 정치적 아군 적군이었었나를 의심할 정도로 한통속이 되여 김포공항 검색대를 빠져 나갔다는 뉴스를 보면서, 또 국민들의 혈세가 저들의 유흥성이 포함된 여행경비로 지출되는구나하는 안타까움을 금할수 없었던 기억이 겹쳐진다. 그들이 여행후 결과보고를 했다는 뉴스는 접해본 기억이 아직까지 없다.
이곳에서 그런 비슷한 의원들의 국고를 낭비하는 해외여행이 있었다면 그들은 정치적 생명은 물론이고, RCMP의 뒷조사를 감당하기에 진땀을 뺄것이다. 그런 엄격한 Rule이 지위고하를 막론하고 엄격하게 집행되기 때문에 의원들은 한국의 의원들이 아무렇치도 않게 저지르는 불법은 아예 생각도 못하는 것이다.
Senate scandal: Mac Harb, Patrick Brazeau charged with fraud, breach of trust
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/RCMP+charge+Harb+Patrick+Brazeau+Senate+expenses/9467339/story.html
불법비용청구, Breach of Trust혐의로 조사받아오던, 연방 상원의원들 기소당해.
지난 1년여간 거짖비용청구에 관련된 스캔달로 연방경찰(RCMP-Royal Canadian Mounted Police)의 조사를 받아오던 상원의원들에 대해 기소당했다는 뉴스다.
자유당소속 Mac Harb전 상원의원, 정직중이던 전 보수당 상원의원 Patrick Brazeau이, 화요일 신뢰추락혐의와 사기혐의로 연방경찰에 의해 기소당한 것이다.
RCMP의 부책임자 Gilles Michaud는 다른 두명의 전직 보수당 출신 상원의원인 Mike Duffy와 Pamela Wallin 에 대한 수사도 현재 진행중에 있다고 밝혔다.
수사관들은 이들 혐의자들에 대한 지난 일년간 언론의 시선을 집중시켰던 사건에 대한 조사를 조용히 해왔었으며 이제는 거의 수사를 마무리 하는 단계에 와 있는것 같다.
Harb의원의 혐의 내용은 Ottawa Valley에 있는 그의 집Mortgage대출이 정상적인 절차를 밟지 안은것에 대한 결과와 그리고 생활비와 여행경비를 상원에 청구한 내용을 조사 받았었는데, 상원의 품격을 떨어뜨리는 결과를 초래한 점이 Breach of Trust죄목에 걸린것 같다.
이들이 기소됐다고 해서 유치장신세를 지는것은 아니고, 또 재판정에 변호인들이 출두하고, 본인들을 직접 출두하지 않을수도 있는가운데 재판을 진행 할수도 있게 된다.
보수당 출신의 Brazeau상원 역시 거주하는 집으로 등록된 내용이 실제로 거주하고 있는 집과 같은것으로 서류를 꾸며 생활비를 청구한 혐의를 받아 조사를 받았었다. 또 다른 두명의 보수당 출신 의원들인 Pamela Wallin, Mike Duffy에 대해 조사를 해 왔었으며, Mike Duffy의원은 이사건외에 성학대 혐의로 추가 조사를 받아 왔었다.
Harb 은 총 $230,000달러, Duffy는 $90,000달러를 부당하게 지출받았다는 내용이 언론에 알려지자 해당의원들은 자진해서 반환을 한것으로 발표됐었다.
이사건에 연관된 상원의원은 자유당의원 1명 보수당의원 3명이다. 이추문으로 보수당의 명예에 치명적인 타격을 받아 앞으로 1년후에 치러질 연방의회의원 선거에서 많은 곤욕을 치르게 될것으로 보인다. 또 지난해 자유당 당수로 선출된 Justin Trudeau는 지금 국민들의 지지가 계속 높아가고 있으며, 그는 젊고 또 전직 수상 트루도의 큰 아들인점도 국민들의 시선을 그곳에 모으게 하고 있다.
이들이 완전 사기불법이 아닌 약간의 비정상적인 절차를 통해 비용 청구한 내용이나 그액수를 보면서 한국의 국회에서 국민들의 혈세로 놀고 있는 정치꾼들과 자연적으로 비교 하지 않을수 없다.
한국의 정치꾼들은 수십억을 꿀꺽 하고도, 수사기관의 조사를 받게 될경우, 쥐새끼처럼 법망을 잘 빠져 나가면서, 정치적 탄압을 받고 있다는 핑계를 대고, 자신들은 가장 깨끗한 것 처럼 행세하고 권력을 휘둘러 대는데.....또 한국의 언론도 같이 합세하는 쪽으로 보도를 하여 국민들의 귀와 눈 역활을 제대로 하지 못하고 있는 것으로 이사건을 보면서 비교 이해된다.
Pamela와 Duffy는 상원으로 임명되기전까지는 유명한 TV 앵커로 국회의원들을 취재 하면서 그들을 쥐락펴락하던 유명 언론인들이었었다. 현 보수당 정권의 Harper총리가 이들을 발탁, 상원의원으로 천거하여 국회에 입성 했었다. 그들에 대한 국민들의 기대로 남달랐었다.
그러나 그들은 기대를 져버리리고 RCMP의 조사를 받는 불명예를 안게 된것이다.
한국돈으로 환산하면 불과 수천만원으로 한국의 정치꾼들의 말을 빌리면 껌값에도 미치지 못하는 작은 액수이지만, 적법치 않은 방법으로 수령한게 이들이 기소된 혐의임을 보면서 마냥 캐나다가 부럽게만 느껴졌다.
조국 대한민국의 정치꾼들이 정부의 정책을 비난하고, 종북을 옹호하는듯한 행동을 할때, 항상 그들은 선진국의 예를 들어 비교 하여 압박을 가했었다. 지난 연말에 국회가 휴회에 들어 갔을때 그들은 다음날 가방을 꾸려 해외여행들을 "선진국의회시찰"이라는 명목의 구실을 부쳐, 여야 의원들은 언제 정치적 아군 적군이었었나를 의심할 정도로 한통속이 되여 김포공항 검색대를 빠져 나갔다는 뉴스를 보면서, 또 국민들의 혈세가 저들의 유흥성이 포함된 여행경비로 지출되는구나하는 안타까움을 금할수 없었던 기억이 겹쳐진다. 그들이 여행후 결과보고를 했다는 뉴스는 접해본 기억이 아직까지 없다.
이곳에서 그런 비슷한 의원들의 국고를 낭비하는 해외여행이 있었다면 그들은 정치적 생명은 물론이고, RCMP의 뒷조사를 감당하기에 진땀을 뺄것이다. 그런 엄격한 Rule이 지위고하를 막론하고 엄격하게 집행되기 때문에 의원들은 한국의 의원들이 아무렇치도 않게 저지르는 불법은 아예 생각도 못하는 것이다.
Senate scandal: Mac Harb, Patrick Brazeau charged with fraud, breach of trust
The RCMP has laid charges of breach of trust and fraud against former Liberal senator Mac Harb and former Conservative senator Patrick Brazeau.
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SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO
OTTAWA — After a 10-month investigation, the RCMP has laid the first but possibly not the last criminal charges over the Senate expense scandal.
Former Liberal senator Mac Harb and suspended Senator Patrick Brazeau, a former Conservative, were both charged Tuesday with one count each of breach of trust and fraud.
RCMP assistant commissioner Gilles Michaud promised that the force will “continue our work on other significant files.” Court documents previously released have described active RCMP investigations into two other suspended senators, former Conservatives Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin.
But for now, Brazeau and Harb are the first shoes to drop in the politically charged scandal that has dominated headlines for the past year.
“These investigations were carried out with rigour and the evidence examined carefully,” said Michaud, commanding officer of the force’s national division, which handles sensitive political investigations.
Investigators looked at hundreds of documents, bank records and expense claims, Michaud said during a press conference Tuesday in Ottawa.
The maximum penalties Harb and Brazeau would face upon a conviction are five years in jail for breach of trust and 14 years in jail for fraud.
For Harb, there was a sliver of good news: Michaud said that while the force had investigated the financing of Harb’s homes in the Ottawa Valley, there was not enough evidence to support charges over potential mortgage fraud alluded to in court documents released last year.
Michaud did not give more detail about the specific charges laid Tuesday but referred to documents called Information to Obtain production orders filed by the RCMP that gave detailed summaries of their investigations.
Harb’s defence lawyer, Sean May, said he was told Monday that charges would be coming. He passed on the news to Harb.
“He’ll be pleading not guilty and very strongly asserting his innocence,” May said.
“He’s determined to assert his position that there were no criminal acts. His reaction is he is prepared to respond and defend it vigorously.”
On Tuesday afternoon, May was expecting to receive the summons formally laying out the charges against his client. The document will set a first court date and begin the process of the Crown disclosure of evidence to the defence.
The charges did not require the physical arrest of either Harb or Brazeau and they may not have to attend initial court proceedings.
Brazeau could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
For Harb, 60, the charges come after a year of public and police scrutiny of living and travel expenses he charged to the Senate.
At issue were expenses he claimed for time he said he was staying in Ottawa on Senate business while maintaining a primary residence outside the city. Senators are allowed to claim up to $22,000 in living expenses annually for time in the National Capital Region if their primary residence is more than 100 kilometres from Parliament Hill.
The Citizen first raised questions about Harb’s residency in December 2012, noting that he claimed $31,237 in residency expenses while claiming to live in Westmeath, Ont., near Pembroke, since 2010.
The Citizen found that Harb was registered to vote in Ottawa Centre, the riding he represented as an MP, and he used the address of an Ottawa condominium he owned in legal correspondence.
Brazeau faced similar questions about expenses he claimed while listing his primary residency in Maniwaki, Que., when he was charging expenses for time he spent in Gatineau.
A CTV News report in 2012 found that Brazeau had listed his father’s apartment in Maniwaki as his primary home.
Brazeau was kicked out of the Conservative party caucus and was suspended from the Senate along with fellow former Conservatives Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy, who are also under RCMP investigation. He is also facing sexual assault charges over an unrelated incident last year.
Court documents show the RCMP is looking at the $90,000 payment made to Duffy by Nigel Wright, then the prime minister’s chief of staff, so that he could pay back his expense claims.
The auditor general is also conducting an audit of all senators’ expense claims.
For the Conservative government, battered by the Senate scandal, the charges against Harb will help mitigate an affair that has reflected poorly on the government. But Harb, a former Ottawa alderman and former Liberal MP, was elevated to the Senate by then-prime minister Jean Chrétien in 2003. Brazeau, Duffy and Wallin were all appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
After an audit of Harb’s expenses by the accounting firm Deloitte in May, the Senate’s committee on internal economy demanded he repay more than $230,000 in living and travel expenses, plus interest, dating back eight years.
Harb then left the Liberal party caucus but continued to deny any wrongdoing. He even launched a lawsuit in an Ontario court claiming that the committee had unfairly applied a test of residency retroactively and claiming that all his expense claims had been approved by Senate finance officials.
Harb alleged in the lawsuit that Clerk of the Senate Paul Belisle had cleared him to claim expenses in Ottawa.
In June, court documents revealed that the RCMP had expanded its breach of trust and fraud investigation of expenses claimed by Duffy to include Harb. Michaud said Tuesday that Harb and Brazeau had been under investigation since last March.
In the course of the “Project Amble” investigation, the RCMP interviewed neighbours, contractors and others to test Harb’s claim he was living primarily in Cobden, Ont., and later in Westmeath.
Investigator Cpl. Greg Horton said he didn’t believe Harb really lived in these homes.
“I believe he has lived primarily in the NCR, and as such was not entitled to collect a housing allowance claiming the residence as secondary,” Horton wrote in an ITO.
Real estate documents uncovered by the Mounties showed that Harb had transferred 99.99 per cent ownership of one of his homes to a diplomat from Brunei, a transaction they allege put the mortgage holder, Royal Bank of Canada, at risk.
In August, Harb abruptly resigned from the Senate, abandoned the lawsuit and repaid $231,000 to the Senate.
NDP MP Charlie Angus called on Harper and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to say whether they know if any of the senators affiliated with their parties have wrongly claimed expenses.
Last week, Trudeau kicked all the Liberal senators out of his party’s caucus so they may sit as Independents.
The RCMP should be told if Trudeau or Harper know of any wrongdoing, Angus said. The New Democrats do not have any members in the Senate and want it abolished.
“If people were misappropriating money, they ought to be named,” Angus said.
Sen. David Smith, a Liberal until he was bounced out of caucus last week, said he didn’t think the charges against Harb would come back to hurt his party.
“They’re entitled to their day in court,” he said of the two charged.
“I’m happy to see the RCMP is doing their work, as they should, and now the matter is before the courts and the courts will decide,” said Conservative Sen. Marjory LeBreton, who was the government House leader during the imbroglio over the Deloitte audits.
”But clearly people who misuse public funds should pay the consequences. But we’ll let the court decide.”
Former Liberal senator Mac Harb and suspended Senator Patrick Brazeau, a former Conservative, were both charged Tuesday with one count each of breach of trust and fraud.
RCMP assistant commissioner Gilles Michaud promised that the force will “continue our work on other significant files.” Court documents previously released have described active RCMP investigations into two other suspended senators, former Conservatives Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin.
But for now, Brazeau and Harb are the first shoes to drop in the politically charged scandal that has dominated headlines for the past year.
“These investigations were carried out with rigour and the evidence examined carefully,” said Michaud, commanding officer of the force’s national division, which handles sensitive political investigations.
Investigators looked at hundreds of documents, bank records and expense claims, Michaud said during a press conference Tuesday in Ottawa.
The maximum penalties Harb and Brazeau would face upon a conviction are five years in jail for breach of trust and 14 years in jail for fraud.
For Harb, there was a sliver of good news: Michaud said that while the force had investigated the financing of Harb’s homes in the Ottawa Valley, there was not enough evidence to support charges over potential mortgage fraud alluded to in court documents released last year.
Michaud did not give more detail about the specific charges laid Tuesday but referred to documents called Information to Obtain production orders filed by the RCMP that gave detailed summaries of their investigations.
Harb’s defence lawyer, Sean May, said he was told Monday that charges would be coming. He passed on the news to Harb.
“He’ll be pleading not guilty and very strongly asserting his innocence,” May said.
“He’s determined to assert his position that there were no criminal acts. His reaction is he is prepared to respond and defend it vigorously.”
On Tuesday afternoon, May was expecting to receive the summons formally laying out the charges against his client. The document will set a first court date and begin the process of the Crown disclosure of evidence to the defence.
The charges did not require the physical arrest of either Harb or Brazeau and they may not have to attend initial court proceedings.
Brazeau could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.
For Harb, 60, the charges come after a year of public and police scrutiny of living and travel expenses he charged to the Senate.
At issue were expenses he claimed for time he said he was staying in Ottawa on Senate business while maintaining a primary residence outside the city. Senators are allowed to claim up to $22,000 in living expenses annually for time in the National Capital Region if their primary residence is more than 100 kilometres from Parliament Hill.
The Citizen first raised questions about Harb’s residency in December 2012, noting that he claimed $31,237 in residency expenses while claiming to live in Westmeath, Ont., near Pembroke, since 2010.
The Citizen found that Harb was registered to vote in Ottawa Centre, the riding he represented as an MP, and he used the address of an Ottawa condominium he owned in legal correspondence.
Brazeau faced similar questions about expenses he claimed while listing his primary residency in Maniwaki, Que., when he was charging expenses for time he spent in Gatineau.
A CTV News report in 2012 found that Brazeau had listed his father’s apartment in Maniwaki as his primary home.
Brazeau was kicked out of the Conservative party caucus and was suspended from the Senate along with fellow former Conservatives Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy, who are also under RCMP investigation. He is also facing sexual assault charges over an unrelated incident last year.
Court documents show the RCMP is looking at the $90,000 payment made to Duffy by Nigel Wright, then the prime minister’s chief of staff, so that he could pay back his expense claims.
The auditor general is also conducting an audit of all senators’ expense claims.
For the Conservative government, battered by the Senate scandal, the charges against Harb will help mitigate an affair that has reflected poorly on the government. But Harb, a former Ottawa alderman and former Liberal MP, was elevated to the Senate by then-prime minister Jean Chrétien in 2003. Brazeau, Duffy and Wallin were all appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
After an audit of Harb’s expenses by the accounting firm Deloitte in May, the Senate’s committee on internal economy demanded he repay more than $230,000 in living and travel expenses, plus interest, dating back eight years.
Harb then left the Liberal party caucus but continued to deny any wrongdoing. He even launched a lawsuit in an Ontario court claiming that the committee had unfairly applied a test of residency retroactively and claiming that all his expense claims had been approved by Senate finance officials.
Harb alleged in the lawsuit that Clerk of the Senate Paul Belisle had cleared him to claim expenses in Ottawa.
In June, court documents revealed that the RCMP had expanded its breach of trust and fraud investigation of expenses claimed by Duffy to include Harb. Michaud said Tuesday that Harb and Brazeau had been under investigation since last March.
In the course of the “Project Amble” investigation, the RCMP interviewed neighbours, contractors and others to test Harb’s claim he was living primarily in Cobden, Ont., and later in Westmeath.
Investigator Cpl. Greg Horton said he didn’t believe Harb really lived in these homes.
“I believe he has lived primarily in the NCR, and as such was not entitled to collect a housing allowance claiming the residence as secondary,” Horton wrote in an ITO.
Real estate documents uncovered by the Mounties showed that Harb had transferred 99.99 per cent ownership of one of his homes to a diplomat from Brunei, a transaction they allege put the mortgage holder, Royal Bank of Canada, at risk.
In August, Harb abruptly resigned from the Senate, abandoned the lawsuit and repaid $231,000 to the Senate.
NDP MP Charlie Angus called on Harper and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau to say whether they know if any of the senators affiliated with their parties have wrongly claimed expenses.
Last week, Trudeau kicked all the Liberal senators out of his party’s caucus so they may sit as Independents.
The RCMP should be told if Trudeau or Harper know of any wrongdoing, Angus said. The New Democrats do not have any members in the Senate and want it abolished.
“If people were misappropriating money, they ought to be named,” Angus said.
Sen. David Smith, a Liberal until he was bounced out of caucus last week, said he didn’t think the charges against Harb would come back to hurt his party.
“They’re entitled to their day in court,” he said of the two charged.
“I’m happy to see the RCMP is doing their work, as they should, and now the matter is before the courts and the courts will decide,” said Conservative Sen. Marjory LeBreton, who was the government House leader during the imbroglio over the Deloitte audits.
”But clearly people who misuse public funds should pay the consequences. But we’ll let the court decide.”
With files from Lee Berthiaume, Postmedia News
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