Walsh handed over cash, Murray testifies

A former financial director of the N.L. house of assembly testified Wednesday at the trial of a former Liberal cabinet minister that he took envelopes filled with cash in return for letting Jim Walsh overspend his constituency allowance.

Bill Murray admitted to the scheme during testimony at Walsh's fraud trial in St. John's. Walsh is charged with fraud over $5,000, breach of trust and fraud on the government, a charge formerly known as influence peddling.

Murray testified that it all started with a phone call from Walsh, who asked Murray for help with his constituency allowance. Murray said that Walsh must have known he was over budget and assumed he was looking for cash.

Murray processed Walsh's claims even though he knew it would put him over budget.

When Walsh picked up the cheque, Murray testified, "He gave me an envelope with a couple of hundred dollars in it and said thanks a million."

Murray said he got about $2,000 in total from Walsh.

"I probably would have done the same thing for any other member who asked me. I didn't say no to anybody. I did do it for other members," he told the court.

"Because I did what I was told."

It is Murray's second day on the stand. On Tuesday, he testified that he filled out 47 of 48 expense claims on Walsh's behalf running from April 2002 to November 2003, adding up to almost $200,000.

Walsh isone of four former politicians charged in 2005 over questionable spending by members of all three political parties involving millions in misused public dollars.

Murray also faces a series of fraud-related charges involving spending at the legislature, and is expected to go on trial in September.