Taxpayers pick up $ 8,000 tab for former top Mountie’s Manhattan rent

Taxpayers are paying about $ 8,000 a month for the former commissioner of the RCMP to live in Manhattan for three years while he works for Interpol in New York, plus his $ 200,000plus salary.

William Elliott left the Mounties in August 2011, a year after senior officers complained to the government about his management style, causing a crisis at headquarters. When Interpol announced Elliott’s three- year appointment as special representative to the United Nations, the government didn’t say who would be paying the bills.

But documents obtained from the RCMP under access- toinformation legislation show it is costing taxpayers about $ 8,000 monthly for Elliott’s midtown apartment, electricity and furniture rental; plus thousands of dollars in real- estate brokerage fees and travel back and forth to Ottawa.

Elliott lives in a $ 7,150 US two- bedroom apartment in a luxurious 54- storey building on East 38th Street, complete with an indoor pool, health club and concierge service, all just a 10- minute walk from the UN.

From his first house- hunting trip in October 2011 until March 2013, taxpayers spent $ 159,207.79 on Elliott’s Manhattan expenses, including his rent, $ 10,421.61 in real estate commissions and $ 600 a month in furniture rental. Interpol covered $ 20,916.32 of that.

The RCMP could not say this week why the police force is paying Elliott’s salary, directing queries to the Privy Council Office, which referred queries back to the Mounties.