Crown asking for 12 to 15 months jail time for former senator convicted of fraud

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OTTAWA – A Crown prosecutor is seeking a sentence of 12 to 15 months for former Liberal senator and convicted fraudster Raymond Lavigne.

Lavigne was convicted in March of fraud and breach of trust for misuse of Senate funds and pocketing expenses that were actually run up by his staff. He was acquitted on a third charge of obstruction of justice.

Lavigne, who faces a maximum 14 years in prison, is to be sentenced June 16.

Judge Robert Smith heard more than an hour of arguments on Tuesday regarding Lavigne’s fate, with prosecutor Jonathan Brunet citing the former Liberal MP and senator’s lack of remorse, his repeated transgressions and the motivation of financial gain as aggravating factors.

“He abused his authority as a senator,” Brunet told the court.

Lavigne, 65, resigned his Senate seat 10 days after he was convicted, trading in his $132,000 annual salary for a parliamentary pension that could hit $79,000 a year.

His lawyer spoke of the public humiliation Lavigne has suffered as a result of an RCMP investigation and media coverage.

Dominic St-Laurent recounted Lavigne’s upbringing in “extreme poverty” as one of 14 children of a Montreal bread-delivery man. After leaving school after Grade 11 to work, Lavigne became a pillar of the community, said St-Laurent.

He also cited Lavigne’s adopted daughter, now 22, who was born to a mother with substance abuse problems. The reference prompted tears from the senator, who was seated in the front row of the court with his wife.

St-Laurent pointed out that Lavigne repaid more than $23,000 to the Senate and that former Tory senator Michael Cogger eventually won an absolute discharge on appeal after being convicted of influence peddling in the 1990s. Cogger was initially fined $3,000 and ordered to do community service.

The lawyer said Lavigne is not looking to be absolved of wrongdoing, but argued a suspended sentence or time served in the community would be appropriate.

Lavigne’s convictions relate to improper travel claims totalling at least $10,000 and using his Senate staff for hundreds of hours of private labour on his property.

He faces a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison for fraud over $5,000, and up to five years for breach of trust.

The former Montreal-area MP was first elected to the House of Commons in 1993 and sat as a Liberal until Jean Chretien appointed him to the Senate in March 2002.

In convicting Lavigne on March 11, Smith said he “used and intended to use his public office for a purpose other than the public good.”

The judge found that the senator ripped off the government by claiming mileage expenses for trips he never took, or trips that his staff took without him.

The judge also found that Lavigne told his research assistant to cut down trees on his property because it was cheaper than hiring a contractor. The assistant did the work while on the Senate payroll.

The judge said Lavigne helped draft letters signed by his staff that said, falsely, they weren’t being paid by the Senate while doing the yard work. But Smith acquitted the senator of obstructing justice because there was no official inquiry going on at the time.

Lavigne was barred from attending Senate proceedings after he was charged in 2007, but continued to collect his salary. He also claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel, hospitality, office and living expenses since then.

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