GUERGIS DENIES DRUG-PHOTO ALLEGATIONS

OTTAWA - MP Helena Guergis is flatly denying allegations that
photographs exist of her and her husband, former MP Rahim Jaffer,
socializing in the presence of prostitutes and cocaine users.

It was the potential existence of those photos that appear to have
prompted Prime Minister Stephen Harper to kick Guergis out of cabinet,
suspend her from the Conservative caucus and call in the RCMP and the
ethics commissioner.

Harper and his inner circle of advisers were alerted about the alleged
photographs last Thursday by private investigator Derrick Snowdy.

Snowdy had been investigating Nazim Gillani, a Toronto businessman,
for an unnamed client when Gillani boasted he had photographs taken on
his cellphone that showed Guergis and Jaffer in the presence of
prostitutes and cocaine use.

In an interview from Europe, Snowdy told Global National that he had
not seen the photographs.

"All of my information is related to Nazim Gillani [this] is exactly
what I told the ethics commissioner on Friday," Snowdy said. "I never
saw Mr. Jaffer or Ms. Guergis use cocaine. Mr. Gillani made several
boastful remarks. A number of his more bizarre boasts had legs."

Guergis "vigorously denies" all claims suggesting that she and Jaffer
were photographed in the presence of prostitutes and cocaine.
Guergis's lawyer, Howard Rubel, issued a statement saying the
allegations are "completely false."

And Gillani, through a spokesman, also said that Snowdy's claims are
false.

"Naz never told anyone he had photographs nor does he have photographs
of Jaffer, Guergis, cocaine and partying," said Brian Kilgore.

Meanwhile, the Conservative government had to defend itself yesterday
from charges made by opposition MPs that it had sent the federal
ethics watchdog on a wild-goose chase, after she explained she was
getting her information about allegations against former minister
Guergis mainly from the media.

Mary Dawson, the federal ethics commissioner, said Harper never told
her specifically what to investigate, nor did he even request that she
launch an investigation when he fired Guergis. "I've had one referral
from the PM, but it wasn't an official request," Dawson told CBC
Radio's "I have to

The Current. have reasonable grounds, and I have to have a section of
the act or the code - and it could be either - indicated with respect
to what it is I'm to investigate and I don't have either of those things."

Dawson's comments followed a statement earlier this week in which she
said she did not have enough information to investigate the
allegations at the time, but was monitoring the situation.

Snowdy said he spoke to Dawson last Friday, the day after he was
prompted to raise the alarm about Guergis and Jaffer after he read
newspaper reports last week about a meeting Jaffer had with Gillani.

Jaffer met with Gillani for dinner at a downtown Toronto steak house
on Sept. 10.

Later that evening, as he drove to his home in Alliston, Ont., Jaffer
was arrested for possession of cocaine and drunk driving. He was by
himself at the time of the arrest. Guergis was returning from a
business trip at the time.

Those charges would later be dropped and Jaffer would pay a fine for
careless driving.

Gillani is in court next week to face fraud charges on a matter that
is related neither to Guergis nor to anything Snowdy was
investigating.

Snowdy confirmed he was posing as a potential investor when he met
Gillani. During their discussions, Snowdy said that Gillani told him
he had photos taken with his cellphone of Guergis and Jaffer,
prostitutes and cocaine users.

Said Rubel: "After days of unfair speculation we finally know what the
allegations [against Guergis] are. More important, we know that the source
of these allegations is a report from a private investigator who, apparently
while presenting himself as another potential victim of a man currently
facing fraud charges, was told these ridiculous 'boasts' in an attempt to
convince the investigator to do business with him. We believe these
circumstances speak for themselves."