No criminal charges in Richmond County expense scandal: RCMP

No criminal charges will be laid in the Richmond County expense scandal which revealed, according toNova Scotia's ombudsman, a "culture of entitlement" as well as systemic abuse of municipal funds.

In a letter toRichmond Countycouncil released Thursday, the RCMP said "the likelihood of obtaining a criminal conviction is extremely low."

The Mounties came to that conclusion after reviewing a forensic audit by Grant Thorton, a report from the provincialombudsman and a report from the legal firm of Boyne Clarke, as well as receipts and other financial documents supplied by the municipality.

They beganan investigation in October, days after the damning ombudsman's report was released.

The report showed theformer county warden,Steve Sampson, and then-chief administrative officer Warren Olsen spent tens of thousands of dollarsinappropriately. The report showspublic money was spent on Valentine's Day flowers, alcohol and $582 was spent by the CAO during two evenings at Houston adult entertainment clubs.

File closed

When county financial staff questioned the expenses often filed without detailed receipts or justification they were told to "just pay it," the report stated.

Sampson, who also sat as a municipal councillor after leaving his position as warden, did not run for re-election last fall and Olsen resigned in October.

In the letter to Richmond County council,RCMPsaid officers consulted with a Crown attorney before making a decision that the information it obtained did not "meet the threshold of criminal behaviour" and a criminal investigation "is not warranted in these circumstances."

The file is now closed and "no further actions are anticipated," it said.

'The public is not going to be happy'

Current Richmond County Warden Brian Marchandsaid Thursday the municipality has to abide by that decision.

"Their words were they were not going to be putting any resources into pursuing this."

He said he was not interviewed by the Mounties and is not aware of any county staff being interviewed either.

"We need to put that behind us and move ahead. I know the public is not going to be happy. I'm sure there's many people who won't be happy," he said.

"We cannot continue to live in the past, we need to move ahead for the betterment of the organization... and the constituents of Richmond County."

'Everything was there in black and white'

One of those constituents, Germaine MacDonaldof St. Peter's, N.S., was dismayed by the RCMP decision toclosethe file.

"I have a hard time believing there wasn't information there that would have led to charges. I find that kind of odd. I can't see how the police could be thinking in those terms," she said.

"Everything was there in black and white. Visa slips, statements, people telling you 'These are wrong.'I meanI'm not sure what more they would have needed to press charges."

MacDonaldmade a complaint about the expense claims after obtainingobtained travel and expense-related Visa statements for the county's warden, chief administrative officer and chief financial officerfrom 2009 to October 2015.

"I certainly hope they've learned enough lessons over the past year to warrant big changes," she said.

"My biggest problem is the waste of our tax dollars. We have too much poverty, low-income people in our communities to be able to sustain the type of spending that these people [were]doing."

Read the RCMP letter: