Couldn’t stop lining myown pockets: Coffin
‘ He might have poured it on a little thick’
MONTREAL —
Paul Coffin, the advertising executive who admitted to defrauding the federal government of $1.5-million in the sponsorship scandal, warned McGill University business students yesterday to resist the lure of easy money.
“ Throughout your careers, you’ll encounter temptations, many temptations,” Mr. Coffin, 63, said during the first of a series of lectures he has been ordered to deliver as part of his sentence. “Don’t get sucked into mixing bad business with good.”
Speaking to an undergraduate class in organizational behaviour, he began by tracing his career in advertising, portraying himself as an upstanding professional who was led astray by the federal sponsorship program.
When the program was introduced following the 1995 Quebec referendum, ties he had forged earlier with Ottawa civil servants landed him one lucrative contract after another. He said there was so little oversight that the sponsorship contracts amounted to a “carte blanche” for profit.
“Never before had I been confronted with such an easy opportunity,” he said. “I billed for fictitious hours of work. No eyebrows were raised.”
He acknowledged that his actions were wrong. “I didn’t have the strength to stop lining my own pockets,” he said, adding later: “ We’re all human and, as such, vulnerable.” But his presentation also included expressions of self-pity. Students reported that he became choked up when he talked about how hard it was on him and his family to read news stories about his crimes.
McGill closed the lecture to everyone but the 175 students registered for the course. Security guards were posted at the room’s two entrances, and paper was taped over the windows to prevent cameramen from filming. Still, much of Mr. Coffin’s address was audible through the door.
He entered and left the campus without commenting, passing a small group of protesters holding signs saying “Professor Adscam” and chanting “Coffin go to jail”. Kristine Greenaway, a university spokeswoman, said the professor of the course requested that media be excluded so students would not be disturbed.
“We wanted them to be able to have an open exchange of ideas,” Ms. Greenaway said. But in the end, Mr. Coffin refused to take any questions, citing the ongoing Gomery inquiry and pending court cases. Instead he invited students to submit their questions by email.
The ad man, who has paid back the money he defrauded, was sentenced last week to a conditional sentence of two years less a day, which he is serving in the community. He must respect a 9 p. m. to 7 a.m. curfew, Monday to Friday. The judge said he took into account Mr. Coffin’s plan to speak to university students in deciding against the 34- month prison term requested by the Crown.
Some students were impressed by Coffin’s presentation.
“ I think he was very honest and open about his role in the events,” said Xavier Milton, 27, a student in industrial relations
Lawrence Cohen, another student, said he believes Mr. Coffin has paid enough of a price. “I think his life has been ruined and his reputation is ruined, and you could see it when he was talking. There were tears in his eyes.”
Peter Newhook, 18, questioned the sincerity of Mr. Coffin’s tears. “He might have poured it on a little thick. He seemed to be playing the victim a lot,” he said. “ You have to take that with a grain of salt, everything he said today. I don’t believe that instantly when the judge delivered his decision, he learned ethics.”
As part of his sentence, Mr. Coffin has also volunteered to speak to business students at Concordia University, Université de Montréal and Université du Québec à Montréal.