Trial dates set for Trevor Zinck in spending scandal

Independent member Trevor Zinck (pictured right) is charged with theft over $5,000, fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust.

HALIFAX -- Trial dates have been tentatively set for Nova Scotia Independent politician Trevor Zinck, who is charged in the province's constituency spending scandal.

Ten days have been set aside for the trial beginning June 10 next year in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

Zinck's lawyer, Lyle Howe, will return to court on Sept. 25 to confirm the dates.

Howe says he must first reschedule dates for unrelated matters in provincial court.

Zinck, who did not appear in court today, is charged with theft over $5,000, fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust.

He was one of four politicians charged in February 2011 after a probe into constituency allowance spending.

Former Liberal Dave Wilson was sentenced in April after admitting to defrauding the public purse of nearly $61,000. He was released from custody last month after serving four months of a nine-month sentence.

Richard Hurlburt, a former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, was sentenced to a year of house arrest in July after pleading guilty to charges of fraud and breach of trust.

A trial for former Liberal cabinet minister Russell MacKinnon is set to begin in March. He has pleaded not guilty to fraud, breach of trust and uttering forged documents.