Earlier N.L. audit: Taxpayers' money bought politician art, wine

As Newfoundland and Labrador Auditor General John Noseworthy begins the biggest political audit in the province's history, CBC News has new information on an earlier audit that reported former Liberal cabinet minister Paul Dicksused taxpayers' money to buy artwork and wine.

Noseworthy was asked by the provincial cabinet last week to continue his investigation into spending at the house of assembly.

The auditor general's expanded probe will examine the constituency allowances of 125 current and former MHAs and about 17,000 claims dating back to 1989.

One stop on that paper trail will almost certainly be the constituency spending of Paul Dicks.

The auditor general has never named Dicks, but CBC News has learned that Dicks is the former Liberal cabinet minister who was the focus of another audit started in 2000.

During that audit, former auditor general Elizabeth Marshall found that Dicks had spent more than $30,000 of taxpayers' money to buy artwork and wine.

However, when those findings were reported, the auditor general's office was banned from auditing the legislature. That decision was made by a bipartisan committee of the legislature in the spring of 2000.

Back then, Noseworthy was Marshall's deputy.

"We started to find things that we would consider to be questionable," said Noseworthy.

"When we started to question those, the solution from government at the time was simply to get out, and they didn't want to talk about it."

'If it's there, I will find it'

Noseworthy now has full authority and extra resources to dig as deep as he wants.

"I'm totally independent, I won't be influenced," said Noseworthy.

"Nobody will tell me what to report, what to do, or how to do it.

"I think that if MHAs were spending money for things that could be considered to be inappropriate, then they should be concerned because if it's there I will find it."

Noseworthy said he should know by November if any other politicians overspent their constituency allowances, but he said it will take much longer to determine if any of that spending was inappropriate or even illegal.

He said that part of the audit will stretch into next year and might not be completed before the next election in the fall of 2007.

Dicks did not return any of CBC's calls on Monday.