John Gerich

{{Short description|Canadian politician}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} '''John Gerich''' (b. 1947<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saskarchives.com/sites/default/files/documents/Membership-of-Legislatures.pdf |title=Members of the Legislative Assembly, Saskatchewan |publisher=Saskatchewan Archives Board |access-date=2012-03-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227192150/http://www.saskarchives.com/sites/default/files/documents/Membership-of-Legislatures.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-27 }}</ref>) was a politician in Saskatchewan, Canada, MLA for Redberry, and former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He served as Associate Minister of Economic Development in the Saskatchewan Progressive Conservative government led by Grant Devine.

Gerich was involved in the biggest political corruption scandal in Saskatchewan history, in which dummy companies provided receipts for false expense claims.<ref name=CBC1999/><ref name=WFP>{{cite news |last =Lett |first =Dann |title =Tory trickery |publisher=Winnipeg Free Press |date =11 January 1998 }}</ref><ref name=GM>{{cite news |title=Decisions |publisher=Globe and Mail |date=26 February 1999 }}</ref> Gerich was convicted of fraud in 1997 for taking money illegally from his MLA communications allowance. He was sentenced to 2 years in jail and fined CDN $12,000.<ref name=CBC1999>{{cite news |title=From politics to prison in Saskatchewan |publisher=CBC archives |date=February 8, 1999 |url=http://rc-archives.cbc.ca/programs/124-11696/page/2/ |access-date=2012-08-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115083429/http://rc-archives.cbc.ca/programs/124-11696/page/2/ |archive-date=January 15, 2013 }}</ref><ref name=CBC2000>{{cite news |title=Gerich is trucking to keep up fraud payments | publisher=CBC news | date =January 25, 2000 | url =https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/gerich-is-trucking-to-keep-up-fraud-payments-1.234142 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20121025194906/http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2000/01/25/gerich000125.html | url-status =live | archive-date =October 25, 2012 | access-date =2007-10-07 }}</ref>

After his release he worked as a truck driver in the Alberta oilpatch.<ref name=CBC2000/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerich, John}} Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:Members of the Executive Council of Saskatchewan Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan MLAs Category:Canadian politicians convicted of fraud Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan