Canada: A former Canadian MP and parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper was sentenced Thursday to a month in prison for election overspending and falsifying records to try to cover it up.
Dean Del Mastro was also ordered to pay a Can$10,000 (US$8,100) fine and must spend four months under house arrest after his release.
Del Mastro and a campaign worker were convicted last October of exceeding contribution limits and incurring more expenses than allowed in the 2008 general election.
The pair also failed to report Can$21,000 in campaign expenses, only telling authorities about Can$1,575.
Del Mastro is reportedly appealing the conviction, which he has described as the judge`s "opinion." He is also expected to ask for bail.
The disgraced lawmaker is the second Conservative to be put behind bars for election fraud in the past year, after 26-year-old campaign worker Michael Sona was sentenced in November to nine months in prison over a scheme that misdirected voters to fake polling stations during the last election in 2011.
Several other top officials appointed by Harper are also facing prosecution for alleged corruption, including a former aide, a former spy agency watchdog, and several senators.
