Integrity commissioner disqualifies himself following expensed lunch

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Calgary’s integrity commissioner has disqualified himself from an investigation into the expenses of councillor Joe Magliocca following a formal complaint.

Sal LoVecchio decided after finding out a lunch he had with Magliocca last year was expensed to taxpayers that he would step away.

“The taxpayers of the City of Calgary should not be paying for a social lunch of mine and I am deeply concerned to find out that this has occurred,” said LoVecchio.

LoVecchio was originally put in charge of investigating Maggliocca expensing $6,400 worth of food and alcohol last year at a conference in Quebec City.

READ MORE: CTF says councillor’s spending is ‘disturbing’ and ‘deeply concerning’

“This investigation must not only be but must be seen to be completely independent and impartial. As this expense might become part of the story, an investigation by me, in my view, would not satisfy that requirement.”

Should tax-payers be covering public servants' lunches or other expenses? It's the second incident we know of that Ward 2 Cllr. @Joe_Magliocca made inappropriate expenses. Some, including @taxpayerDOTcom, are calling for an audit on ALL councillor expenses #yyc #Calgary @660NEWS pic.twitter.com/2LcdJxC4VL

— Saif Kaisar (@StaySaif) February 12, 2020

Since news of the expense tab broke, several people including former Finance Minister Joe Ceci and Franco Terrazzano from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation have called for an inquiry.

READ MORE: Former finance minister calls for inquiry into city councillor’s expenses

Magliocca has apologized for the expenses and said he will repay around $2,100 of the bill.