An expanded police probe into Speaker and Richmond East MLA Linda Reid’s expenses has concluded without any evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
The RCMP’s federal criminal operations branch said Tuesday it had completed additional investigative work into Reid’s constituency office renovations after receiving advice on the case from the Ontario Provincial Police.
“The RCMP investigation has been concluded having found no evidence to suggest a criminal act was committed,” RCMP Sgt. Laurie White said in a statement. “Input from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) independent review was received and expanded a portion of the investigation without resulting in the discovery of any additional evidence.”
The investigation had centered upon $79,000 in security upgrades to Reid’s constituency office at Garden City Shopping Centre in 2013, including alarms, cameras, and a bench bolted to the ground to prevent against vehicle attacks.
Police did not require the upgrades, and internal RCMP documents show Mounties were worried at the time they might be blamed for the taxpayer-paid work, which also included expensive renovations to the kitchen and bathroom.
The RCMP said it conducted an investigation into the expenses last June and then sent the case to Ontario Provincial Police for an independent review, which was finished late last year. No information was provided on what the OPP recommended and how that resulted in an expanded probe into Reid’s spending.
The case is now closed, the RCMP said.
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