Court exonerates accused mayor of Ottawa

OTTAWA, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- A Canadian judge cleared the suspended mayor of Ottawa Wednesday of two influence-peddling charges connected to his election campaign.

The criminal trial that began in May for first-term Mayor Larry O'Brien ended with the dismissal of charges he offered political influence to a rival to drop out of the 2006 mayoral race, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

In announcing the verdict, Justice Douglas Cunningham said the rival, Terry Kilrea, was "not a particularly reliable witness," the newspaper said.

The court heard allegations O'Brien offered to use his connections with a Conservative member of Parliament to secure Kilrea a five-year appointment to the National Parole Board in exchange for dropping out of the race, the Ottawa Sun said.

Under the province of Ontario's Municipal Elections Act, O'Brien would have been forced to step down and possibly faced fines or jail time if convicted of either charge, but he can now resume work immediately, the reports said.