Joe Morselli
Encyclopedia
Giuseppe Morselli (1944 - 30 March 2006) was a Quebec
businessman who owned a successful cafeteria enterprise and was a major fundraiser for the Liberal Party of Canada
in Quebec. He was implicated as being one of the key players in the sponsorship scandal
. He was accused of running a parallel fundraising network within the Liberal Party in which he received envelopes of cash from advertising firms such as GroupAction
.
In his testimony to the Gomery Commission
, Daniel Dezainde, the former director-general of the Party in Quebec, called him "the real boss of fundraising".
In 1989 he was the target of a car bomb in Montreal
.
Morselli was known to have close ties with Chief Quebec Liberal Party organizer, Alfonso Gagliano
, and was appointed by him in 2000 to the position of vice-president of the Liberal Party's Finance Committee.
Allegedly during 2001 he met with Jean Brault for lunch at Restaurant Frank in Montreal where money was exchanged for favours in hiring Party members and redirecting funds.
On May 26, 2005 he testified at the Gomery Commission
. He died of an apparent heart attack
in Florida in March 2006.
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
businessman who owned a successful cafeteria enterprise and was a major fundraiser for the Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
in Quebec. He was implicated as being one of the key players in the sponsorship scandal
Sponsorship scandal
The sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...
. He was accused of running a parallel fundraising network within the Liberal Party in which he received envelopes of cash from advertising firms such as GroupAction
Groupaction
Groupaction Inc. is a Canadian advertising agency at the centre of the 2004 Canadian sponsorship scandal. It was incorporated in 1983 as Groupaction Marketing Inc. and received its first federal advertising contract in 1994 with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ....
.
In his testimony to the Gomery Commission
Gomery Commission
The Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, was a federal Canadian Royal Commission headed by the retired Justice John Gomery for the purpose of investigating the sponsorship scandal, which involved allegations of corruption...
, Daniel Dezainde, the former director-general of the Party in Quebec, called him "the real boss of fundraising".
In 1989 he was the target of a car bomb in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
Morselli was known to have close ties with Chief Quebec Liberal Party organizer, Alfonso Gagliano
Alfonso Gagliano
Alfonso Gagliano, PC, FCGA is a Canadian accountant and a former Liberal Party politician.Born in Siculiana, Italy, his political career began in 1977 when he ran for a seat on the Montreal school board. In the 1984 federal election, he ran for Parliament for Saint-Léonard—Anjou narrowly...
, and was appointed by him in 2000 to the position of vice-president of the Liberal Party's Finance Committee.
Allegedly during 2001 he met with Jean Brault for lunch at Restaurant Frank in Montreal where money was exchanged for favours in hiring Party members and redirecting funds.
On May 26, 2005 he testified at the Gomery Commission
Gomery Commission
The Gomery Commission, formally the Commission of Inquiry into the Sponsorship Program and Advertising Activities, was a federal Canadian Royal Commission headed by the retired Justice John Gomery for the purpose of investigating the sponsorship scandal, which involved allegations of corruption...
. He died of an apparent heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in Florida in March 2006.