Director of the Liberals' Quebec wing from 1999 to 2000 pleads guilty to fraud.

Benoit Corbeil, director of the Liberals' Quebec wing from 1999 to 2000 has plead guilty to fraud and influence peddling charges. Corbeil, who was also implicated in the sponsorship scandal was accused of using false invoices to bilk more than $100,000 from the federal government and the LPC.

It is a sad day when you trust someone to help bilk money from the sponsorship slush fund for your party and they end up taking money from your own party instead. What is this world coming to.


FYI: Info from the Gomery commission on Corbeil.

• Denied receiving between $75,000 and $100,000 from Michel Béliveau in 1997.
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• Maintains he only received two cash payments from Béliveau in 1997, one for $5,000 for MP Denis Coderre's Bourassa riding, and $4,000 for Yvon Charbonneau's eastern riding of Anjou-Rivière-des-Prairies.
• Confirmed he got $50,000 from Brault through Commando Communications Marketing and $50,000 cash to pay eight Liberal workers during 2000 election.
• Corbeil's allegations spur a series of denials from campaign workers, including Daniel Dezainde who testified he never received $3,000 cash.
• Claims Gagliano knew about underground fundraising scheme.
• Denies pocketing any money for his personal use.

Update: Ignatieff is not going to be happy about this.

However, Corbeil says he will reveal who profited from the scam, suggesting more names will come out in connection with the scandal.