Harper Government May Have Ties to the Mafia

This is not the first time that the Harper governemnt has been accused of having Mafia ties.

Maxime Bernier, Leo Housakos, Dimitri Soudas.

But new information has come to light in what some of are calling (or not calling) Renogate.

Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe told the House of Commons on Tuesday that a Tory fundraiser in Montreal in January 2009 was held at a restaurant owned by a man with links to a Mafia clan. "The owner of the restaurant where the cocktail party took place, Mr. Riccardo Padulo, is close to the Vito Rizzuto family, an influential member of the Mafia," Duceppe said. Earlier this year, Padulo attended a funeral service for Nick Rizzuto.

Construction boss Paul Sauve threw the fundraiser at Da Enrico restaurant months after his company got an $8.9-million contract to renovate Parliament's West Block. Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis was the guest of honour at the event. He was public works minister at the time. Executives from several companies that got huge government contracts donated to the Conservatives to attend the fundraiser. Opposition parties have demanded Paradis' resignation, raising the prospect that the Tories took kickbacks in return for handing out government contracts.

Wow. Hookers, booze, mafia. This just keeps getting better. (or worse)