An RCMP investigation into the George Radwanski affair could reach all the way to the Prime Minister's Office and result in jail time for the former privacy commissioner, MPs predict. "I believe this investigation will lead the RCMP right to the door of the PMO, who hired Radwanski in spite of having to know about his tax status," said Winnipeg New Democrat Pat Martin, one of the MPs who helped crack open the Radwanski scandal. "They allowed this situation to fester and deteriorate until the government operations committee stumbled upon it." RCMP Const. Nathalie Deschenes confirmed a criminal probe is underway, but would not say how many people are under investigation. In her report last year, Auditor General Sheila Fraser fingered five executives in the privacy commissioner's office for various misdeeds, including abusing public funds, breach of trust and mistreatment of staff. Three executives -- former chief of staff Art Lamarche, executive director Julien Delisle and Patrick Amyot, director of financial services -- were accused of submitting falsified financial statements to MPs to hide $234,000 in overspending. 'SORDID MESS' Deschenes could not predict how long the investigation could take or what charges might result. "The RCMP needs to look further into this, but that doesn't necessarily say that criminal charges will be laid," she said. Martin (Winnipeg Centre) said Lamarche, an Ottawa Catholic school board trustee, should temporarily give up office pending the outcome of the probe. "I would be very surprised if they don't demand that Lamarche steps down until this whole sordid mess can be brought to conclusion," he said. "That would be the ethical thing to do." In her report, Fraser called on the Mounties to investigate two improper cash advances of $15,000 to Radwanski and a pattern of executives cashing in vacation while taking the time off -- which Radwanski and three senior staffers did. The most disturbing aspect of the case, Martin said, is a $540,000 tax write-off Radwanski received just before his appointment to the $210,000 job. "If they didn't know about Radwanski's tax status before he was hired then they were negligent and if they did know about it and gave him the job anyway, then they are implicated in very, very untoward activity," he said. "They are helping Radwanski to defraud the Canadian government from a tax debt, inadvertently or directly." Conservative MP Paul Forseth hopes the investigation will result in money being recouped for the public purse, and expects Radwanski could be jailed if he's charged and convicted. "This gentleman held a very high position of trust, much like a judge," he said. "He was so arrogant and thought he was untouchable. He was the Liberal man, he had the protection of the prime minister and he wasn't really accountable to the normal public service." | 
