Canada corruption inquiry chides ex-prime minister
Toronto – An investigative report on a corruption scandal that nearly toppled Canada’s minority government cleared the prime minister Tuesday of any wrongdoing but held his predecessor accountable for misspending tens of millions of dollars in public funds.
There is no evidence that former Prime Minister Jean Chretien was personally aware of a kickback scheme orchestrated by Quebec businessmen, Justice John Gomery concluded in a report released after a 20-month investigation.
But Chretien must bear political responsibility for a program he created that allowed senior members of his Liberal Party to funnel millions of dollars into their Quebec coffers, Gomery said. “The public trust … was subverted and betrayed, and Canadians were outraged, not only because public funds were wasted and misappropriated but also because no one was held responsible for his misconduct.”
The scandal paralyzed dealings in Parliament for months earlier this year. Prime Minister Paul Martin survived a confidence motion by a single vote in May after he pledged to dissolve the House of Commons and hold new elections after Gomery’s final report is released, now scheduled for February.
Although he was exonerated in Tuesday’s initial report, Martin’s Liberal Party has been hobbled by the scandal, and the opposition Conservative Party is likely to make gains in the next general election.
ROCKVILLE, Ind.
Man accused of killing wife, kids is captured
An Indiana man accused of killing his wife and two stepdaughters was arrested about 600 miles away from home Tuesday after a 30-minute high-speed chase that began when he left a gas station without paying for fuel.
Chad Cottrell brandished a gun as police chased him on Interstate 94 near Melrose, Minn. The chase switched to county roads, reaching speeds of 85 to 90 mph, before he surrendered.
Police were unaware at the time that Cottrell, 35, was wanted in the slayings of his wife, Trisha, 29, and her daughters, Brittany Williams, 12, and Victoria Williams, 10. Another child survived after the attack late Saturday or early Sunday.
NEW YORK
Day-care baby’s death results in guilty plea
The former owner of a day- care center pleaded guilty to child endangerment Tuesday in the death of a 6-month-old boy who suffocated under a pile of toys.
Heather Zlotshewer was ordered to serve 1,250 hours of community service and was barred from ever working in the child-care field again.
According to police, children put toys on top of the baby, Matthew Perilli, as he slept in a playpen unattended last year.
PHILADELPHIA
Transit workers vow to remain on strike
Resolute, angry Philadelphia transit workers vowed Tuesday to remain on strike for weeks or even months if they don’t get an acceptable contract, a grim prospect for hundreds of thousands of riders forced to find other ways to get around.
City buses, subways and trolleys were idle for a second day as transit employees walked picket lines.
Contract talks broke off Sunday night, and about 5,300 union members walked off the job, although union and transit representatives huddled separately with a mediator.
PRESTON, England
“Phishing” scammer gets four years in jail
A British man was sentenced to four years in jail Tuesday for masterminding a “phishing” fraud that stole identities and bank details from users of the eBay auction site.
Prosecutors said David Levi, 29, of Lytham, England, led a six-man gang that stole nearly 200,000 pounds ($360,000) from more than 160 people. They sent e-mails to eBay customers, pretending to be from eBay, asking for bank details.
Other gang members were sentenced to jail terms ranging from six months to two years.
ZANZIBAR, Tanzania
Nine killed in protests of election results
Police clashed with opposition supporters Tuesday after the ruling party was declared the winner of elections marred by allegations of vote-rigging, and officials said nine people were killed – five protesters and four police.
Unrest across the Zanzibar archipelago, which is part of Tanzania but semiautonomous, came as the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi, or Revolutionary Party, was declared winner of presidential and parliamentary elections that were marred by violence and allegations of rigging.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil
Report: Campaign got $3 million from Cuba
During Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s successful presidential campaign in 2002, his Workers’ Party received up to $3 million in illegal campaign contributions from the government of Cuba, according to the cover story in the current issue of Brazil’s leading weekly newsmagazine.
The report, which the party and the Cuban government have denied, has reignited the wide- ranging corruption scandal that has paralyzed da Silva’s government for nearly six months.
Brazilian law forbids campaign donations from foreign sources.
