Guité asked for fake invoices, ad man testifies

CBC News ^ | Wed, 27 Apr 2005 22:34:42 EDT | CBC News

[fanfan]

MONTREAL - The head of one of the advertising firms at the centre of the sponsorship scandal admitted he produced fake invoices at the behest of Chuck Guité, the bureaucrat in charge of the program.

* INDEPTH: Sponsorship Scandal

Paul Coffin told the Gomery inquiry that he repeatedly produced fake invoices, over-billing the federal government for thousands of dollars for work that was never done on sponsorship projects.

"I made it up," Coffin, head of Coffin Communications, said when confronted with invoices his firm produced for sponsorship contracts.

But Coffin said he was asked to bill for maximum, pre-set production fees that were paid regardless of whether his firm did any work.

Coffin also said Guité asked him to bill for hours worked even though Coffin's firm didn't keep time sheets.

"Were you persuaded or was it suggested to you that you should bill in this way rather than simply billing ... the straightforward way?" asked inquiry head, Justice John Gomery.

"Yes, Mr. Commissioner," replied Coffin.

"Thank you," Gomery said. "Now I'm going to ask you to tell me who that person was."

Coffin replied: "Mr. Guité."

Coffin's revelations became public Wednesday after the publication ban imposed on his testimony given the day before was partially lifted. The ban was imposed to protect Coffin's right to a fair trial.

The advertising executive is charged with 18 counts of fraud on 32 sponsorship-related contracts worth almost $2 million. His trial starts in early June in Montreal.

Coffin's allegations seem to corroborate previous testimony of fake invoices being submitted for the sponsorship program.

Coffin said he regularly sent phoney invoices to the Public Works Ministry in Ottawa, billing for the full amount when the work didn't justify it. On one occasion, he used up the entire production budget allotted to him to manage a $2 million sponsorship event, and over-billed by $11,000.

In 1997, he told Public Works his company had four employees while the only two employees were himself and his son, Charles. Coffin said he did this to embellish his proposal and increase his chances of getting sponsorship contracts.

"The right to exaggerate seems to be built in the advertising industry," Gomery said.

Coffin didn't keep time cards until 2001 and often billed for creative work and graphic design. But all of this work was done through freelancers and subcontractors, the inquiry was told. Chuck Guite at the inquiry, Nov. 23, 2004. (CP File Photo)

When asked how time cards were prepared before that, he answered that a maximum of hours were always charged to show he had used up his sponsorship budget in full.

"Would you actually always invoice for the exact amount of the budget allowed?" asked inquiry lawyer Marie Cossette.

"Most of the time," Coffin answered.

Coffin added he would bill for the full amount provided in the production budget, fabricating invoices along the way.

"As a matter of fact, it would appear that in 1998-99, and in 1999, and 2000-01, the amount that was billed was precisely the amount that you were budgeted and you billed those amounts by creating time sheets or creating time records which, in fact, didn't exist," Gomery said.

"That's right, Mr. Commissioner," Coffin answered.

The inquiry is investigating the sponsorship program – a $250-million project intended to promote national unity and to oppose separatism in Quebec after the 1995 referendum in that province.

In her February 2004 report, Auditor General Sheila Fraser said an estimated $100 million in commissions in relation to the program went to Liberal-friendly ad agencies for little or no work.

[fanfan]

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[fanfan]

From the article......

Coffin said he regularly sent phoney invoices to the Public Works Ministry in Ottawa, billing for the full amount when the work didn't justify it. On one occasion, he used up the entire production budget allotted to him to manage a $2 million sponsorship event, and over-billed by $11,000.

Paul Coffin

"Were you persuaded or was it suggested to you that you should bill in this way rather than simply billing ... the straightforward way?" asked inquiry head, Justice John Gomery.

"Yes, Mr. Commissioner," replied Coffin.

"Thank you," Gomery said. "Now I'm going to ask you to tell me who that person was."

Coffin replied: "Mr. Guité."

Chuck Guite

[speedy]

Thanks for keeping us up to date on this jaw-droppingly blatant scandal, fanfan. As far as I can determine, it gets very little coverage down here, despite its great significance. We're counting the days until Martin is out of a job (and maybe facing an indictment with his master Chretien.)

[McGavin999]

Amazing isn't it? Not a word heard on the MSM. This is bigger than Watergate, yet our media down here is silent!

[fanfan]

Thanks speedy.

I was starting to worry it might be getting tiresome for you folks.

Thanks for your interest, and more importantly your support. :-)

[speedy]

We never get tired of reading about scandals involving liberals, whether here in the US or anywhere else. Thanks for the great job you Canadian Freepers do against even tougher odds than we deal with. Go get 'em!!

[speedy]

It is amazing, McGavin. We are looking at one of the most brazen scandals in recent history -- one that has important implications for us with Martin's government possibly teetering and a much more US-friendly group waiting in the wings -- and I don't think it EVER gets covered in the MSM.

[fanfan]

Amazing isn't it? Not a word heard on the MSM. This is bigger than Watergate, yet our media down here is silent!

Please spread the word. How can we encourage them to cover it?

Our current government is more corrupt than some African Nations. (No Offence to Africa)

Rush should be on this.

[Allan]

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