Judge releases evidence in case against Ottawa mayor

An Ottawa judge has lifted a publication ban on someevidence in a police investigation into accusations against Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien.

Lawyers for the Ottawa Citizen and one of the newspaper's reporters Gary Dimmockappeared in courtWednesdayand successfully arguedthat a 45-page police document be made available to all news media. The application was alsosupportedbyO'Brien's lawyer Vincent Clifford.

The document, prepared tojustify a request for a search warrant as part of the investigation process, does not represent a final conclusion by police on whether laws were broken.

The CBC's Cory O'Kelly, who examined it, reports thatit includes a series ofallegations made by Brian Mason, an Ontario Provincial Policeinvestigator.

In the document, Mason says he believes that:

• O'Brien offered to obtain the reward of an appointment for formermayoralrival Terry Kilrea if he withdrew from the 2006 Ottawa mayoral race.
• O'Brien offered to reimburse Kilrea for $30,000of his election expenses if he pulled out of the race.

The document also says that O'Brien told Kilrea he was putting his name forward for an appointment to the National Parole Board, and Kilrea was to contact John Baird, then-chairman of the federal treasury board,to seek his support, O'Kelly reports.

E-mails between Kilrea and Baird included inthe document suggest thatthe Conservative cabinet minister had no knowledge of what was going on, O'Kelly reports.

One ofBaird'sresponses was: "You're looking for an appointment? This is the first time I've heard of it."

Policehave said the investigation is now complete and has been handed over to Toronto's Crown attorney's office for review. As of Wednesday, no charges had been laid.

Thesearch warrant application wasused by police to gain access to the computer hard drive at the home of Tim Tierney, who was Kilrea's webmaster and communications director.

It describes interviews between police and all the main players, and makesclear that investigators believe two offences have been committed under the Criminal Code.

The only partsexcluded were partsthat lawyers agreed contain second- and third-party hearsay and unsubstantiated conclusive statements.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Clifford said the Citizen has already reported on the story so much that it "runs the risk of turning into an over-the-top political soap opera as opposed to what it actually is: an allegation that is currently being investigated where no charges have been laid."