The Canadian Press February 26, 2008
TORONTO — Ontario's ombudsman is blasting the province's Legal Aid agency for “catastrophic” errors in judgment in financing the defence of former traffic cop Richard Wills.André Marin also faults Legal Aid Ontario for a culture in which no one seems to care about taxpayer dollars.Marin's special report traces the history of an often-bizarre murder case in which Mr. Wills, once a Toronto police officer, was convicted last year of killing his lover in 2002.More than $1-million in taxpayer dollars went to pay for seven different lawyers for Mr. Wills, who was able to get legal aid from the province by divesting himself of his assets.Mr. Marin wants the province to make legislative changes to prevent a recurrence of the Wills “fiasco” and to try to recover as much legal aid money from him as possible.Attorney General Chris Bentley says the province is taking Mr. Wills to court in an effort to get some of the money back.Mr. Wills, 50, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2002 death of his long-time lover Linda Mariani, 40.Her remains were found in a garbage bin stored behind a wall in the basement of his home in Richmond Hill, Ont., north of Toronto.Mr. Marin's report, entitled “Test of Wills,” is scathing in its assessment of how Legal Aid Ontario handled the case.“It was a shameful episode that never should have happened and should never be repeated,” Mr. Marin said.“But make no mistake: it could happen again if nothing is done.”Mr. Bentley also said the province had requested that a judge review some of Mr. Wills' legal bills to see if any money should be returned.
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