..that causes their ministers to do weird stuff with money
The cabinet minister who has mounted the vigorous defence of the Liberal government over Adscam is himself snared in a nasty money dispute with his old Conservative riding association that prompted a complaint to the RCMP, Sun Media has learned. For more than a year, Public Works Minister Scott Brison has been asked to provide receipts or invoices to the King-Hants Conservative riding association to account for a $4,400 cheque given to him in 2003, while he was a Tory MP.
“It’s still not properly accounted for,” said Debbie Janzen, who sat on the board of Brison’s old Progressive Conservative Party riding association.
The cheque, which Brison assistant Dale Palmeter says was used to help pay down debts from his failed bid for the PC leadership in 2003, was made out to Brison on July 31 that year.
But it wasn’t cashed until Dec. 11 – the day after he defected to Paul Martin’s Liberals.
The money was deposited into Brison’s personal bank account in Wolfville, N.S., and the contribution does not show up on the list of contributors to his campaign.
I just happen to have a copy of that check. (click on it to enlarge)
People send me such cool stuff.
Kings-Harts Conservative press release. (PDF)
Adscam Defender Has Cash Issues Of His Own
Kate at Small Dead Animals discovered that Scott Brison, the former Tory MP who defected to the Liberals in 2003 and has passionately defended them during the Adscam crisis, has his own small contribution scandal brewing. Friday’s Toronto Sun notes…
Except, as you know, that their works have nothing to do with the public, Kate. On the oxymoronic nature of the name under Liberal governments, see http://www.civitatensis.ca/archives/2005/04/04/liberales-delendae-sund/
That’s one Scotty who needs to be beamed up.
Oh, and watch a $4,400 suddenly appear deposited into the KH Liberal constituency association. It’ll take some work, but give them a little time.
People DO send you such neat stuff! LOL!
Poor misunderstood Scotty…
Got anything good on Screechin’ Annie yet? Please?
Ouch!
Speaking of public works — tangentially — Alphonso Gagliano is an interesting person. If you look in one direction, you see Dima Messina, who worked for Don Vito Rizzuto. This Bonnano affiliation includes Filippo Vaccarello and his connection to a controlled delivery of 58 kilos of heroine.
If you look in the other direction, you see Agostino Cuntrera, nephew of Pasquale Cuntrera, implicated in the hit on Paolo Violi, boss of the Cotroni family. Which of course eventually leads to the Cuntrera-Caruana family.
Connections lead back to the old Montreal smuggling route from Sicily and Marseilles, and how Carmine Galante, underboss of the Bonnanos, got assassinated after one of his zips backed off and let the hit go down. (Cesare Bonaventure was read his rights in regards to the hit and was later whacked himself.)
Carmine wasn’t sharing the dope profits. Probably Rusty Rustelli, the acting boss of the Bonnanos, ordered the hit, but we can assume that taking out a mob boss would require the OK of the “Commission.”
So you look one way, you see dope. You look the other way, you see dope. Ill-gotten gains don’t just wind up in somebody’s pension plan. The cash is put to work and has a multiplier effect. Who knows? The quickest way to a great payday would be to increase profits by narcotics.
You know, “everybody’s earnin’, nobody’s gettin’ hurt, everybody’s happy.”
Dope was “found” on/in a freighter owned by Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) which is in a blind trust, as PM P. Martin tells us.
Just an accident is the received wisdom on that story(Search).
Scotty stiffed the party.There’s a lesson here.Never give the money to the person, but to the riding, or his campaign fund, and if it isn’t cashed in 15 days, cancel the cheque.
Scotty can always call for another.
“Dope was “found” on/in a freighter owned by Canada Steamship Lines (CSL)”
PM Martin: I didn’t know that hole was in the back of the ship…uh …. maybe I did…we used to service somthing back there….uh…. no I’ve never been back there…uh.
..I can’t remember.
I wonder if this is true or false? Surely, the FBI isn’t out to frame the Crimerals too?
Love the “Screechin Annie” handle from Candace!
As for Scott, since he deposited the dough into his personal account, and being the upstanding beacon of honesty and integrity that we are all sure he MUST BE as an MP and Minister of the Crown, he must surely and undoubtedly have reported it as income on his 2003 return right?
ROTFLMAO
This is one big oops and the timing is even funnier, cashing the cheque the day after he leaves the party. I actually think Canadians need to have it laid out for them what happens to money given in elections. I know I have lots of questions.
1) Money to the party is pretty well understood and barring illegal activity, like now, it is trackacble
2) Money given to the riding association….that too is well understood and monitored, subject to laws and audits. more importantly many people watch it
3) Money given to persoanl re-election campaigns. I have no idea how this is monitored. What uses can it be put to? Does it feather the bed of the person when they retire? Isnt this effectively a bribe? anyone have any insight?
‘Scuse me … have to go the john/can/washroom..
Ya, it’s over there to the left of the kitchen.
Now, doncha open this envelope.
What brown envelope?
Don’t see a brown envelope, do you Alfonso?
Na
Martin, aka Brushman, has called a May by-election for May in the Nfld./Labrador area.
Blood on the ice-floes, I think. Brigitte, where are you?
Donations, please. We Liberals will not steal your money. Trust me. (Mr. Dithers).
Great Editorial on why Martin formed the Gomery commission:
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Lorrie_Goldstein/2005/04/17/1000684-sun.html
What statuate of limitations? I had a student loan that I paid to a Collection’s outfit hired by the gov’t. The payment didn’t hit the books and I was sent a 20 year old bill plus intrest. I had saved enough back up to prove the bill had been paid but it took me three years. These people took my wages and my tax refunds 20 years later – with no proof. Come on Canadians – they MUST be charged, assets seized and they scum bags must be forced to work for free, for us, from a maximum security jailhouse. With the disgrace of Power Corp, the shame we feel for renouncing our next door neighbour who would not listin to or back up that criminal submersive outfit at the U.N. …..All the pieces are fitting together now and Canada is ending up in the “most dispised” trash heap of the world. Non of the people in the Sudan or China (the people who are the victums of the Communists), or anywhere else will be very willing to forgive us for allowing this to happen. You can all thank the people who started the Reform Party for the accountability we have now – we need an election so we can get rid of this STENCH. Stephen Harper is an honest, intellegent, good Man. He will get a HUGE majority for in spite of their spineless stupididty, most Canadians did not reap much from the Liberals, they got public service jobs but paid HUGE taxes on their incomes. We have been going downhill as a country for a long time and most Canadians know it. We cannot get rid of rotton, STINKING, batch of Liberals soon enough for me.
Cashed the cheque the day after he became a Liberal, you say. Perhaps he didn’t feel comfortable taking the money until became a Liberal.
BTW I’ve noticed that the first 4 in $ 4400 seems to be squeezed in, but I’m sure it’s just me. Or perhaps it was a sudden burst of generosity as the cheque was being written.
As to whether good ole Scottie did anything wrong, I’ve checked with Howard Wilson and he assures me that in cashing the cheque from the Conservative Riding Association good ole Scottie was just doing his job as an ordinary Liberal M.P.
Hey…let’s not forget the famous “Poppy Photo” where a beaming Scott Brison is shown being held by Paul Martin AFTER joining his new Party. Problem is….they’re both wearing Poppies, indicating the embrace occurred BEFORE Nov. 11th. One can surmise old Scottie was collecting money from Conservative supporters AFTER he decided to stab them in the back. It seems old Scotties Liberal ethics were ingrained before he even BECAME a Liberal.
Oh well….at least by his defection from the Conservatives to the Liberals Mr. Brison has managed to raise the average level of ethics in BOTH parties.
The Liberals appear to have trotted out Volpe to test market a new campaign strategy, as reported here .
Maybe national unity is at stake, but, hey, guess what Liberals? I don’t give a rat’s ass! I will brook no further extortion from our abusive spouse called Quebec. I’m calling their bluff. Better think of another campaign strategy. English Canada is fed up, and will not pay just any price to appease PQ anymore.
Re Volpe on CTV:
The Unity scare tactic rings hollow this time. Canadian unity is in jeopardy BECAUSE THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT HAS PLACED IT ON THE BRINK THROUGH THEIR CORRUPTION!
The Liberals have zero moral authority to talk about their vision for Canada being superior to anything. It is a vision tainted by theft, fraud, money-laundering, patronage, deceit and gross betrayal of the public trust. Bravo John Reynolds who told Volpe “Shame on you” in response to his outlandish claim that only the Liberals can save Canada.
Ya know, I’m somewhat happy to see the east starting to come togethor with the west on this one. The libranos have been driving spikes between the east and west for years, all in the name of national unity…ya right…, but it’s good to see just about the whole country coming togethor to give these guys the punt.
Gotta tell ya though, hopefully Harper is only talking about Kyoto as a deflection, if not……. not good news….
Find ex-Minister of Public Works Alfonso Gagliano here:
http://www.gangstersinc.tripod.com/PupAgrigento.html
(Scroll down)
Have you seen the little casa of horrors?
Ha, maz2
They caught ya lookin:
Sorry, but the page or the file that you’re looking for is not here.
Here is the fixed link to the maz2 post:
http://gangstersinc.tripod.com/PupAgrigento.html
Explains the tie of Alfonso Gagliano to the mob.
“reason to believe and does believe that Maurice Strong, Paul Martin and past and present directors of Power Corp of Montreal have committed acts of high treason”
http://www.davidhawkinsresearch.com/source/cafe-002-2003.html#Anchor-49575
Just looked at the press release the local Tories put out…. There are a couple of things that stand out for me:
-> The payee and the amount seem to be made out by different handwriting than the two signatures…. (Terry pointed out a crammed “4”.)
-> The check is stamped as deposited on Dec. 11. But, Brison was in Ottawa on Dec. 10 being flaunted as Martin’s new catch (http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/CanadaVotes/2003/12/10/404660-cp.html) and on Dec. 12 to collect his reward (http://www.canada.com/national/features/transition/story.html?id=d642c3ad-e87c-4c03-9247-f17b34e4d734). Did he fly back for a day to little Wolfville to cash that check? I doubt it – he was probably busy practicing putting “The Honourable” in front of his name!
Who cashed the check? The same one who filled it out?
That’s an interesting question, isn’t it? At first I thought maybe he’d deposited it in a bank machine before leaving town…but the 10th was a Wednesday. Makes you go “hmmmm” doesn’t it?
I suggest we allow Scott the opportunity to take his story to the Canadian people in his riding, and convince them that everything was on the up-and-up. A little army of bloggers will trail behind him, eager to help him equip the voters with the facts. How about it Scott? Trust the people to get it right, or not?
When Brylon Mulgooney was running for PM, Ronnie Raygun sent up his ‘dream team’ to assist. It worked this way:
Donate to the party and get a receipt for tax purposes.
Donate and don’t ask for a receipt- favours later.
Cash donations- who knows?
I’m surprised there wasn’t better tracking through monthly cash reconciliation statements.
If this is chq#99, they couldn’t have been writing _that_ many cheques each month; I would expect any bookkeeper or treasurer to maintain at least an informal reconciliation of the bank balance every month.
If that wasn’t done, it doesn’t let Mr. Brison off the hook from giving a full and proper explanation for this cheque, but it doesn’t make it any easier to trace, either.
No secret on the cheque….anyine could have deposited it. There appears to be no signature on the back, so if someone knows his bank account….his assistant, his brother etc etc..they can put the money in. It sure tool a long time for such a large cheque to be deposited, multiple explainations possible…but SB is going to have to concoct a story.
My bet, it will be an “error” and the money will be repaid.
Don’t cheques stale date after 3 months??
Banks don’t bother checking signatures, or that the written (wordy) numbers match the digits, so why would we expect them to catch a stale-dated cheque? Those things only get caught and corrected if the issuer complains within a couple months. After that, “too bad, so sorry”.
I think stale-date happens after six months, not 3, unless they’ve changed that recently…
Candace wrote:
“Got anything good on Screechin’ Annie yet? Please?”
There’s lots of stuff out there on Annie Get Yer Gun that a little digging will reveal. For e.g. during last year’s election campaign, there was a page 6 “below the fold” story in the local rag about a”mini” HRDC-like scandal (no paperwork supporting payments, improper tendering of contracts, etc.) at Justice when she was the Minister. However, the local MSM would NEVER deign to drag the Nova Scotia born & raised “Strong Voice for the West” into the muck, so 10 or 12 paragraph story NEVER EVEN NAMED her as being the Minister at the time and there was no real follow-up, so to speak.
There was also lots of evidence that, contrary to federal contribution laws, federal Lieberal money was poring into her constituency before and during last years election – she had hundreds of thousands of $ worth of billboard/print ads up weeks before the actual election was called.
Rumor has it she’s not planning on running again – pity.
Did you mean “Annie Register Yer Gun”?
LOL – talk about signs, my daughter (10 at the time) thought she was the only one running in our riding.
I’ve heard rumors she’ll get a lovely posting somewhere (preferably Alaska…wouldn’t THAT be rich? but probably Paris) as Ambassador or maybe she’ll be our UN rep (gag). Just so long as we don’t have to listen to her anymore…
One curious thing that caught my eye. It appears there was confusion about what month it was when the cheque was dated. It is dated July 31, but if you look closely, the first letter was originally meant to be an A and then the second leg of the A is extended into a J and the cross bar of the A becomes the cross bar at the top of the J. To me it could signify nothing: that, like many of us –and I am guilty of this, someone did not know what month they were in.
OR –there was indecision as to which month to backdate the cheque to if it was written in December. I’d be interested to see what the sequence of that cheque is in relation to other expenses of the constituency. It’s not hard to do. What was the date of the previous cheque and what was the date of the following cheque? That should give us an idea and clear up at least that part of things. Can you use your super powers and find out, Kate?
I don’t have any super powers, but I’m impressed with how perceptive the readers are – you’re right – I think that started out with “Au….” and was changed to July.