Calgary police have asked the RCMP to step in and investigate a city councillors expenses after a probe into Joe Magliocca‘s finances over the last two years found an excess of $5,000 in ineligible expenditures.
In a statement to Global News on Monday, police said it had received a request from city council to further the investigation.
“The Calgary Police Service has received a request from the City for further investigation in relation to the expenditures of a City Councillor,” police said.
“We have reached out to the Alberta RCMP to request they lead an independent investigation in the interest of transparency and best practices.”
A forensic investigation into the Ward 2 councillor’s expenses was ordered in February following a unanimous vote from city council. That came after Magliocca faced backlash following a Postmedia investigation into his expenses at last year’s Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference in Quebec City which showed he expensed far more than any other councillor.
The report, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), was made public on July 28 and outlined 11 separate occasions in which Magliocca expensed meals and drinks for people who later told investigators they did not meet with the councillor.
The probe also found that Magliocca upgraded his seat to business class or premium on seven flights at a cost of $8,866.78.
On July 29, councillors voted to forward the findings of the report to the Calgary Police Service for further investigation.
Council also decided Magliocca will be publicly reprimanded and must make a public apology as well as attend training on council expense policies. He is also no longer able to participate in expense-related travel until the end of his term in late 2021.
–With files from Mellissa Gilligan and Adam MacVicar, Global News
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