Former MEP Tom Wise admits expenses fraud
11/11/2009
In the face of overwhelming evidence Tom Wise, a former British MEP, admitted fiddling £39,000 worth of expenses after switching his plea on the third day of a potentially three week trial.
Prosecuted by Mark Fenhalls (pictured) and Rufus Stilgoe on charges of false accounting and money laundering, the court heard how between 14 December 2004 and 24 December 2005, the defendant took money, chanelling it into a bank account he secretly controlled and spent it on cars and wine. Mr Wise was sentenced to two years imprisonment.
Defended by Jonathan Fisher QC, Mr Wise's decision to change his plea will have influenced the two year prison sentence he recieved earlier today.
The full story is available on the BBCNews and Timesonline websites.