Canadian gives graft a bad name

Remember the days when politicians would accept bribes for lavish excursions abroad, fancy lakefront homes or oogles of cash wadded into a white envelope? In a weird (yes, highly unethical) way, you could see how their human foibles got the best of them when tempted with the kind of cool stuff they'd never get with their own monkey grease.



I have no explanation for this Canadian politican, however. When approached by a man accused of using someone else's passport and facing imminent deportation, Canadian Immigration Minister Judy Sgro dreamed up this payoff:

"She [the politican] assured me that if I helped out in her election campaign she would get me immigration in Canada," the man said. "Judy said she wanted me to deliver pizza, garlic bread etc. to her campaign office ... I did this. She also said that she needed 15-16 people to help work in her campaign. I organized this for her as well."

The story from Reuters goes on to explain that when word of the deal leaked, the politican reneged and then quit -- hopefully out of embarassment. Surely a national minister could surely fetch a better bribe than garlic bread. How about some eggplant parmesan?