Defence seeks no prison time for ex-Liberal convicted in sponsorship fraud

MONTREAL — The lawyer for an ex-Liberal party organizer convicted for his role in the sponsorship scandal is arguing his elderly client should avoid prison.

Gerald Souliere told the court today Jacques Corriveau should serve his sentence in the community.

Corriveau, 83, was convicted of fraud against the government, forgery and laundering proceeds of crime between 1997 and 2003 during what became known as the sponsorship scandal.

The federal government inquiry that looked into the sponsorship program found that firms were winning contracts based on donations to the federal Liberals, with little work being done.

Souliere says Corriveau didn’t cause the value of the contracts to be inflated.

He also says his client’s advanced age and considerably large donations over the years to charities should factor in to a lesser sentence.

The Crown has suggested that Corriveau should spend up to five years in prison.

The Canadian Press

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This news article is kindly supported by the Voice of English-speaking Québec