Sunday, November 26, 2006

A top anti-addiction official in the western Canadian province of Alberta
skimmed nearly half a million dollars from his employer to feed his own
gambling habit, the province's top auditor said on Friday. Auditor General
Fred Dunn alleged in a report that Lloyd Carr, who ran the tobacco-reduction
unit of the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, used five false
contracts to scam C$441,298 ($390,000) from the government agency, which
funds programs and treatment services for alcohol, drug and gambling
addictions. The auditor's report said Carr, who could not be reached for
comment, had admitted to misappropriating the funds and using part of the
cash to put a downpayment on a house, pay household expenses and repay a
vehicle loan. About C$116,000 was said to have been withdrawn from automatic
teller machines in casinos.