| Bouncing Bettys | 01-28-2019 02:36 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manic!
(Post 8937676)
| In the short term perhaps. In the long term, they might easily win a majority if anything comes of this investigation: Quote:
B.C. legislature probe could become biggest political scandal in Canadian history: official
The B.C. Speaker’s Chief of Staff Alan Mullen made the explosive prediction in an exclusive interview. 'We are talking about a lot of money. ... A lot of taxpayer money'
The investigation into alleged financial wrongdoing and mismanagement at the provincial legislature could balloon into the largest political scandal this country has seen, says the B.C. Speaker’s chief of staff.
Alan Mullen made the explosive prediction in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with Postmedia three days after Speaker Darryl Plecas released a bombshell report into alleged financial concerns at the legislature. Mullen said he and Plecas will continue to investigate allegations about misuse of taxpayer money, and that the public should expect more reports in the future.
“We are not stopping. I wouldn’t assume we are done — we aren’t even close to being done. I think this could turn into the single biggest item in Canadian political history,” said Mullen. “We are talking about a lot of money. A lot of money. A lot of taxpayer money.”
After conducting a year-long investigation, Plecas on Monday released a report that accused suspended Clerk Craig James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz of “flagrant overspending” that included inappropriate expenses, lavish foreign trips that involved little work, and questionable retirement and pay benefits. The allegations have not been proven in court, and James and Lenz deny any wrongdoing.
Mullen said earlier this week that the report was merely a grenade, and that the big bombs were still to come. When asked Thursday what he meant by this, he cited a parallel investigation by police and the fact that two special prosecutors have been assigned to the file.
“I can’t remember a case in British Columbia where two special prosecutors are assigned, usually it is only one,” said Mullen, a former correctional administrator and prosecutor, including at Kent Institution where he met Plecas, who was a criminology professor and worked part-time as a federal prison judge before his election in 2017.
“There are two special prosecutors because this is so big, and so important and affects every single British Columbian. They just felt that one special prosecutor wasn’t enough. This is too much information.”
Mullen would not say whether criminal charges would be laid, noting that is up to police and prosecutors, but he has said Plecas provided the RCMP with more allegations beyond what is contained in the first report on alleged inappropriate expenses and personal payments.
“I could certainly confirm that the police are looking at expenses, but they are looking at a lot more stuff too. They are preparing production orders, i.e. search warrants. They are all over this. And it is not just about: ‘You claim per diems when you get a free meal,’” he said.
“I would say (police) are working around the clock.”
When asked for an example of issues that police could be investigating, he declined to comment, but suggested the public may hear more from police by the end of February or early March.
Plecas’ first report focused mainly on James and Lenz, with brief mentions of former speakers Linda Reid and Bill Barisoff. When asked if future reports could include additional people, potentially other politicians, Mullen was non-committal.
“It is possible, but it is too early to say at this point,” he said. “There are already some implications about others, but we are not going to be saying anything negative until we are sure.”
The first report focuses on the past 18 months, and Mullen estimates it documents a couple million dollars in alleged inappropriate spending when vacation payouts, benefits, and expenses are included.
After reviewing the report, MLAs from all parties voted unanimously for a forensic audit at the legislature, which Mullen would like to see go back to at least 2012 — when it is alleged James received a $257,000 “retirement allowance” for which he may not have been entitled. If the audit goes back six or so years, Mullen believes the total amount of misspent money could be in the tens of millions.
Issues that could be the focus of future reports, he said, could range from the alleged inappropriate termination of legislative employees who raised concerns about financial irregularities, to the alleged misuse of severance packages.
The first report includes an odd exchange between Plecas and James, in which the Speaker — who made enemies with the Liberals and was expelled from the party after taking the Speaker’s job — said he knows his expenses would always be scrutinized. Plecas claims James then told him not to worry because the clerk had “so much dirt on the Liberals” that he could threaten to “stop paying their legal bills” or “quit paying their severance payments.”
When asked about this exchange, Mullen alleged that some employees of the Liberal party received three severance payments after the 2017 election — when the government changed to the NDP, when the party’s interim leader was named, and when the new leader started.
“You can’t do that. Unless, of course, you just do it anyway,” he said.
These allegations have not been tested in court.
For now, it is unclear what will happen next.
“As frustrating as it is for the public and for us, we have to be patient and let the police do their job and let the special prosecutors do theirs, and we’ll see if there will be charges or not,” Mullen said.
https://nationalpost.com/news/politi...b-6cdbd3de745d
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