“The future is not bright,” says lawyer
A once-prominent Newfoundland and Labrador politician now finds himself broke and with his reputation in tatters. Former Liberal cabinet minister Jim Walsh was convicted last month for his role in the province’s constituency spending scandal. He was sentenced Wednesday to 22 months in jail for fraud over $5,000, one year for breach of trust (to be served concurrently), and was also ordered to repay $144,000. Judge David Orr equated defrauding the government to stealing from citizens, and said that Walsh “abused his position” for his own benefit rather than the public good. Back in 2006, Premier Danny Williams launched a review of spending—known as the Green Report—which found systemic failures and showed Walsh overspent his constituency allowance by $159,317 between 1999 and 2004.