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| No secret bank accounts, Lafleur says |
| By Daniel Leblanc |
| Published: 04/27/2009 |
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OTTAWA -- Describing himself as a 68-year-old potato-peeler, Jean Lafleur said he was in a prison cell in 2007 when he learned his $460,000 investment in a resort in Belize had evaporated and that his savings were gone. Speaking during bankruptcy proceedings in November, the former adman said the failure of the Palm Resort came as a shock, given that he believed the developer had the support of the Belizean government for a casino licence. Mr. Lafleur said he wanted to use the money at the time to pay a fine and obtain a lower sentence in his fraud case, according to a transcript that was tabled in court last week. He got a 42-month jail sentence and a $1.5-million fine, which he has yet to pay off. After spending seven months in jail, he was released on parole last summer and now works in a French restaurant in Montreal called Chez Alexandre. "I have a job, at 68, peeling potatoes. I don't have anything else to do," said Mr. Lafleur, who made $10-million as a key player in the sponsorship scandal. Under questioning, he rejected allegations that he had secret bank accounts. "Everyone has the impression that there are millions somewhere. The RCMP investigated that for three years, and they found nothing," he said. The federal government is suing Mr. Lafleur for $7-million, and hopes to recover all of the $1.5-million fine that was imposed by Quebec Court Judge Suzanne Coupal. Mr. Lafleur has paid back $246,000 to the government, but he insists he would have liked to give more. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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