Andersen fraud case set over to October

The case of the first politician charged in Newfoundland and Labrador's legislative spending scandal was heard briefly in a St. John's court Tuesday, but without his presence.

Wally Andersen did not attend court and was instead represented by lawyer Bern Coffey.

Andersen, a Liberal who had already decided to not seek re-election in the Oct. 9 election, resigned his Torngat Mountains seat after the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary charged him in July with fraud, forgery and breach of trust.

Coffey had no comment on the charges facing Andersen.

The case was set over until late October to give lawyers more time to prepare.

Last year, reports filed by Auditor General John Noseworthy said Andersen received $344,465 more than his entitlements through his constituency allowances.

The RNC subsequently charged former politicians Ed Byrne, Randy Collins and Jim Walsh a Progressive Conservative, a New Democrat and a Liberal and suspended civil servant Bill Murray with similar charges.

Noseworthy found that five politicians had received about $1.6 million more than they should have in their tax-free constituency allowances, which were meant to be spent on running district offices.

The RNC said it found insufficient grounds to lay charges against the fifth politician, retiring Liberal Percy Barrett.

Noseworthy found that the house of assembly also paid about $2.6 million on untendered items that included fridge magnets, lapel pins and gold rings.

Last week, Noseworthy filed a separate report on constituency allowances, which found among other things that an additional $2.2 million was spent inappropriately, largely on donations to community and charitable groups.

Noseworthy also found that some MHAs spent their allowances on personal items that included a long list of items, from luxury items to lottery tickets.