Dicks apologizes for spending on wine, art; vows repayment

A former Newfoundland and Labrador cabinet minister has vowed to repay tens of thousands of dollars used to pay for wine, art and other items.

Paul Dicks, a finance and justice minister in former Liberal governments, said in a statement Thursday he will voluntarily pay back sums cited last month in a scathing report by Auditor General John Noseworthy.

Noseworthy found that Dicks had claimed $59,753 in artwork during the 1998 and 2000 fiscal years, and had also claimed over a number of years alcohol purchases including imported wine totalling $34,145.

Dicks's alcohol purchases, none of which involved meals, were by far the largest charges of their kind in Noseworthy's review of 15 years of constituency allowance claims.

The audit found Dicks claimed jewelry, books and a Cartier pen through his allowance. Dicks was one of nine politicians found to have used constituency allowance funds on personal items.

"I also want to apologize to the public and to my family and friends for having made these errors of judgment," Dicks said in a statement.

Dicks said that when he left office in 2001, "I had asked that my constituency claims be reviewed to assess what amounts might be owing to government on purchases made through the account."

He said the sum determined was $16,826, which was paid at the time.

Dicks said although he was advised by the clerk of the house of assembly that the house "will not be pursuing repayment of such expenditures," he has decided to repay what was spent on art and alcohol, less the sum he paid in 2001.

He also said that when he learned of Noseworthy's findings, he immediately paid back $2,659, which had been inadvertently double-billed to his constituency allowance, as well as a "second amount of $1,536.50 which had been claimed in error."

Last year, Dicks was identified as the MHA whose spending had attracted the attention of the auditor general's office in 2000. A bipartisan legislative committee subsequently decided to bar access to house records.

Dicks said in a July 2006 statement that any claims he had made while serving as an MHA were in accordance with guidelines of the house, were within budget, and hadbeen submittedand approved, with receipts.

Dicks retired from politics in 2001, shortly after he placed third in a Liberal leadership contest.

He practises law with a St. John's firm.

Earlier this week, Walter Noel, another cabinet minister in the Liberal government, said the items cited in the audit of his expenses including women's clothing, perfume and CDs were largely given to others as gifts.