OPP Lay Charges Against Lougheed For Alleged Bribery In By-Election

By Angela Gemmill

Gerry Lougheed Junior has been charged in connection to the Sudbury byelection scandal.

In a statement to the media, the well-known Liberal fundraiser and Sudbury resident says he was served a summons by the O-P-P today.

He is charged with one count of Counselling an Offence Not Committed and one count of Unlawfully Influencing or Negotiating Appointments.

It was late last year when former Liberal candidate Andrew Olivier was allegedly offered a job or appointment to step aside for a preferred candidate in Sudbury’s by-election in February.

Lougheed has stepped aside as Chair of the Greater Sudbury Police Services Board and Chancellor of Huntington University, while his case is before the courts.

His first court appearance is scheduled for November 18th.

The Premier’s Chief of Staff, Pat Sorbara, who is also connected to the scandal, was not charged.

The OPP Anti-Rackets Branch has said the investigation is “uncommon” and “complex”.