Yogi
10-14-2005, 06:31 PM
Not much new here. It will be interesting to see how Gomery's report puts all of this together.
MONTREAL (CP) - Money, be it in the form of free Grand Prix tickets or a loan to buy a fancy new boat, was the tie that bound ad executive Jean Brault to bureaucrat Chuck Guite, according to previously banned sponsorship testimony released Friday.
The evidence, while not nearly as sensational as testimony by the two men that was made public last spring, does show just how far Brault was willing to go - and how much time and money he was willing to spend - to keep Guite happy.
The inquiry has heard previous testimony that Guite, who ran the sponsorship program, sent Brault millions in federal money for contracts that often involved little or no work.
The cash flow eventually ran both ways, according to the evidence released Friday, several months after Justice John Gomery struck it with a publication ban last spring.
Both men said that after he left the federal civil service in 1999, Guite collected thousands of dollars for advising Brault on how to boost his business, often at the expense of taxpayers.
Guite and Brault are now charged with conspiracy and defrauding the government of nearly $2 million. Their trial is set for May 2006. The testimony made public Friday does not touch on any of the contracts that resulted in criminal charges.
With Brault and Guite's joint fraud and conspiracy trial now delayed until next May, Gomery agreed with a motion by several media to have the ban lifted. Lawyers for the two men went to another judge to fight Gomery's ruling but he sided with his legal colleague Friday.
The testimony illustrates the cosy, back-scratching environment that exploded into the $250-million sponsorship fiasco, which featured ad agencies and other middle-men collecting $100 million, often for little or no work.
The scandal, which featured startling testimony of cash being left in envelopes on restaurant tables and of sponsorship money being funnelled to the Quebec wing of the federal Liberals, almost brought down the Liberal government last spring.
According to Brault's testimony, his involvement began at the Vancouver Molson Indy auto race in 1995 where Guite taught him how federal sponsorships were really run.
"That's where he showed me that there was a sponsorship the government gave to (advertising company) Lafleur, and by spending three days in jeans with a beer in hand it's much easier to establish contacts," Brault said in the testimony.
"It was the first time that I would say I sowed, as we say in the business, a little seed to get one of these non-conventional contracts."
Both Guite and Brault reaped the harvest. While Brault gathered millions in ad contracts through his firm Groupaction, Guite picked smaller fruit at first.
Both men say Brault gave Guite high-performance Pirelli tires in 1997 for his brand new Ford Mustang. Brault's company billed the sponsorship program more than $1,300 for the tires. A few months later, Brault bought the car from Guite for $35,000 after Guite decided he was too old for a sports car.
Over the years Brault and Guite remained in close contact through dozens of phone calls and meetings.
Brault said Guite borrowed a Groupaction parking spot on his frequent visits to Montreal. When they met for dinner, Brault said he almost always picked up the tab.
Brault said Guite had the interests of Groupaction "close to his heart. Let's just say we had a good relationship."
Guite testified that Groupaction purchased expensive tickets for him and his family for the Italian Grand Prix in 1998.
Guite said that once he left the public service in 1999 he worked on contracts for Groupaction, receiving $76,000 from the company through August 2000.
Brault said he had put Guite on a $10,000 monthly retainer by 2001 for his "vast knowledge of ... the potential of different organizations working on communications in Canada."
According to Brault, his company gave more than $136,000 to Oro Communications, Guite's firm, from 1999 through 2002.
Guite said he borrowed $25,000 from a Groupaction subsidiary, Alexism Inc., to purchase a boat in 2001.
Guite was to repay the money from a $125,000 commission he was to receive later that year from Brault on a handshake deal. The repayment plan was interrupted when the sponsorship scandal broke and became a criminal case.
Guite said he still intends to repay the money, with interest.
Other testimony released Friday highlighted other aspects of the sponsorship file:
-Paul Coffin, the first man convicted of fraud in the sponsorship program, testified that Guite told him to fabricate invoices to cash in on sponsorships. Coffin pleaded guilty to several counts of fraud earlier this year and received a sentence to be served in the community. The sentence is under appeal.
-Brault testified that Guite pressed him into making a $50,000 donation to Jean Charest's provincial Liberals through ad agency Groupe Everest in 1998. Brault said Guite named Charest, saying "We must send $50,000 to Charest." Brault later qualified the statement by saying Guite was talking about the Charest campaign, not Charest personally.
Guite denies the accusations.
MONTREAL (CP) - Money, be it in the form of free Grand Prix tickets or a loan to buy a fancy new boat, was the tie that bound ad executive Jean Brault to bureaucrat Chuck Guite, according to previously banned sponsorship testimony released Friday.
The evidence, while not nearly as sensational as testimony by the two men that was made public last spring, does show just how far Brault was willing to go - and how much time and money he was willing to spend - to keep Guite happy.
The inquiry has heard previous testimony that Guite, who ran the sponsorship program, sent Brault millions in federal money for contracts that often involved little or no work.
The cash flow eventually ran both ways, according to the evidence released Friday, several months after Justice John Gomery struck it with a publication ban last spring.
Both men said that after he left the federal civil service in 1999, Guite collected thousands of dollars for advising Brault on how to boost his business, often at the expense of taxpayers.
Guite and Brault are now charged with conspiracy and defrauding the government of nearly $2 million. Their trial is set for May 2006. The testimony made public Friday does not touch on any of the contracts that resulted in criminal charges.
With Brault and Guite's joint fraud and conspiracy trial now delayed until next May, Gomery agreed with a motion by several media to have the ban lifted. Lawyers for the two men went to another judge to fight Gomery's ruling but he sided with his legal colleague Friday.
The testimony illustrates the cosy, back-scratching environment that exploded into the $250-million sponsorship fiasco, which featured ad agencies and other middle-men collecting $100 million, often for little or no work.
The scandal, which featured startling testimony of cash being left in envelopes on restaurant tables and of sponsorship money being funnelled to the Quebec wing of the federal Liberals, almost brought down the Liberal government last spring.
According to Brault's testimony, his involvement began at the Vancouver Molson Indy auto race in 1995 where Guite taught him how federal sponsorships were really run.
"That's where he showed me that there was a sponsorship the government gave to (advertising company) Lafleur, and by spending three days in jeans with a beer in hand it's much easier to establish contacts," Brault said in the testimony.
"It was the first time that I would say I sowed, as we say in the business, a little seed to get one of these non-conventional contracts."
Both Guite and Brault reaped the harvest. While Brault gathered millions in ad contracts through his firm Groupaction, Guite picked smaller fruit at first.
Both men say Brault gave Guite high-performance Pirelli tires in 1997 for his brand new Ford Mustang. Brault's company billed the sponsorship program more than $1,300 for the tires. A few months later, Brault bought the car from Guite for $35,000 after Guite decided he was too old for a sports car.
Over the years Brault and Guite remained in close contact through dozens of phone calls and meetings.
Brault said Guite borrowed a Groupaction parking spot on his frequent visits to Montreal. When they met for dinner, Brault said he almost always picked up the tab.
Brault said Guite had the interests of Groupaction "close to his heart. Let's just say we had a good relationship."
Guite testified that Groupaction purchased expensive tickets for him and his family for the Italian Grand Prix in 1998.
Guite said that once he left the public service in 1999 he worked on contracts for Groupaction, receiving $76,000 from the company through August 2000.
Brault said he had put Guite on a $10,000 monthly retainer by 2001 for his "vast knowledge of ... the potential of different organizations working on communications in Canada."
According to Brault, his company gave more than $136,000 to Oro Communications, Guite's firm, from 1999 through 2002.
Guite said he borrowed $25,000 from a Groupaction subsidiary, Alexism Inc., to purchase a boat in 2001.
Guite was to repay the money from a $125,000 commission he was to receive later that year from Brault on a handshake deal. The repayment plan was interrupted when the sponsorship scandal broke and became a criminal case.
Guite said he still intends to repay the money, with interest.
Other testimony released Friday highlighted other aspects of the sponsorship file:
-Paul Coffin, the first man convicted of fraud in the sponsorship program, testified that Guite told him to fabricate invoices to cash in on sponsorships. Coffin pleaded guilty to several counts of fraud earlier this year and received a sentence to be served in the community. The sentence is under appeal.
-Brault testified that Guite pressed him into making a $50,000 donation to Jean Charest's provincial Liberals through ad agency Groupe Everest in 1998. Brault said Guite named Charest, saying "We must send $50,000 to Charest." Brault later qualified the statement by saying Guite was talking about the Charest campaign, not Charest personally.
Guite denies the accusations.