MONTREAL - The lawyer for a former Liberal organizer involved in the sponsorship scandal says his client will plead guilty to fraud and influence-peddling charges.
Benoit Corbeil is due in court on Wednesday in Montreal to enter the pleas.
"That's what we're heading towards, barring a last-minute change," Michel Grenier, Corbeil's lawyer, said Tuesday.
Grenier added that a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud is likely to be dropped as per an agreement with the Crown.
But there is no agreement on sentencing and Grenier said both sides will return later in the year for arguments.
Corbeil, who served as director of the Liberals' Quebec wing between 1999 and 2000, was arrested and charged last April with fraud, conspiracy and influence peddling.
He was accused of bilking the party and the federal government of more than $100,000 by authorizing payment of false invoices.
The influence charge relates to his political activities but is not linked to the sponsorship scandal.
A public inquiry found the sponsorship program gave $150 million to Liberal-friendly ad agencies in Quebec for little or no work while the Grits were in power.
