Jean Lafleur, former owner of Lafleur Communication
and Marketing, prepares to start his last day of
testimony at the Gomery commission in Montreal,
Tuesday, March 8, 2005. (CP PHOTO/Ryan Remiorz)
Posted on 04/06/2007 12:21:56 PM PDT by GMMAC
Lafleur to remain behind bars
cnews.canoe.ca
April 6, 2007
MONTREAL (CP) - Ad man Jean Lafleur will remain incarcerated until at least next Thursday on 35 fraud charges related to the federal sponsorship scandal.
Lafleur's bail proceeding was postponed Friday until next Thursday to give his lawyer time to get copies of statements from hundreds of potential witnesses in the case.
"We don't have all the information necessary to proceed," his lawyer, Jean-Claude Hebert, told the judge.
Jean Lafleur, former owner of Lafleur Communication
and Marketing, prepares to start his last day of
testimony at the Gomery commission in Montreal,
Tuesday, March 8, 2005. (CP PHOTO/Ryan Remiorz)
Lafleur has pleaded not guilty to five of the 35 charges against him. He has reserved his plea on the remaining 30 charges until the evidence is made available.
The Crown has opposed bail for the accused ad man, saying he poses a flight risk.
The 66-year-old returned from the Central American nation of Belize on Thursday to surrender to police after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
But his lawyer told the court on Friday he is not a risk to flee.
"I would like to reassure the Crown," Hebert told the judge. "He has four children who live in Montreal."
Lafleur's advertising company made some $65 million from government business from 1995 to 2003, during which he and several family members collected nearly $12 million in salaries and bonuses.
He is accused of defrauding the government of nearly $1.6 million.
Lafleur is the fifth person to be charged in the sponsorship affair.
Librano$ PING!
(click image for Librano$ theme)
Translated......I'm not sayin' nothin' 'till I know what you've got on me.
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