Former federal Liberal official Benoit Corbeil could be headed to jail after pleading guilty to fraud and influence peddling.
Corbeil appeared in court Friday, admitting to making mistakes, but claiming that was just part of how politics worked a decade ago.
The prosecuction didn't see it that way, and stated that Corbeil should spend 18 to 24 months in jail.
It argued he stole $117,000 from the federal Liberal party in a fake-invoice scheme, as well as swindled a St. Jean quarry owner out of $50,000 in exchange for political favours.
Corbeil, who once led the party's Quebec wing, denies the allegations. He instead claimed he was forced to submit fake invoices for re-imbursement at the Liberals' national office, so the money could be spent on cash-strapped Liberal ridings.
He says all the money went to the party, that he had no criminal record before this scandal, and that his reputation has already been battered by it.
Split loyalties
At the time, he explained, party loyalties were split between Paul Martin and Jean Chretien camps, and that on the Chretien side, he took orders from Joseph Marselli, who worked under minister Alfonso Gagliano. The former ambassador to Denmark, Gagliano was dropped from the position in 2004 after Sheila Fraser's report named him in the sponsorship scandal.
The Liberal party also dismisses Corbeil's claims, calling it preposterous to suggest he engaged in illegal acts to finance perfectly legal political activities.
Implicated in sponsorships
Former ad executive Jean Brault said Corbeil was one of several top Liberals who browbeat him into funnelling cash to the Liberal party's Quebec wing in exchange for sponsorship contracts in the 1990s.
Corbeil has denied the allegations that emerged four years ago at the Gomery inquiry into advertising fraud.
