Lafleur Charged with Illegal Chequing - Could Get Major Penalty

That's Jean Lafleur, not the famous Montreal Canadian Guy Lafleur. Guy Lafleur was a high scoring forward who played with finesse and amazing skill. He was a graceful skater, and played fair. On the other hand, ad executive Jean Lafleur, who faces 35 fraud charges related to the federal Sponsorship scandal, has been seen to spit his gum on restaurant floors, pour poor wine on restaurant grounds, and may not have played fair in his game. Lafleur alledgedly over-billed for work that was never done. He is accused of defrauding the government of almost $1.6 million through contracts his advertising firm secured through the Sponsorship program. His company had gotten contracts worth $65 million from the program.

Lafleur has spent most of the last two years living in the Central American countries of Belize and Costa Rica. He lived in a condo, had evening barbecues with rare French wine, and partied loud. He is currently behind bars awaiting bail. We'll see in months to come if his defence team can score a victory.