Convicted former London, Ont., mayor spared jail time, gets conditional sentence

CTV London: Fontana sentenced, but no jail time Former London mayor Joe Fontana has been sentenced to four months of house arrest and 18 months of probation. Nick Paparella reports.

LONDON, Ont. - Joe Fontana, the former mayor of London, Ont., has received a four-month conditional sentence and 18-months probation for fraud-related offences from his time as a federal Liberal cabinet minister.

Superior Court Judge Bruce Thomas sentenced Fontana today for fraud and breach of trust by a public official, saying "personal gain appears to be the only motive for the fraud, even in this small amount."

Fontana will serve the sentence under house arrest.

He resigned last month as mayor after Thomas found he forged an expense document in 2005 that resulted in a $1,700 government fraud.

The Crown was calling for Fontana to spend four to six months in jail.

The defence had urged the judge not to send the 64-year-old to jail, but instead sentence him to community service, probation and paying a fine.

Fontana has said he will not return to public life.