 A second-cousin of embattled Simcoe-Grey MP Helena Guergis says the media's reporting on her legal and professional troubles has been "despicable and disgusting." (ANDRE FORGET/QMI AGENCY)
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BARRIE, ONT. - A second-cousin of embattled Simcoe-Grey MP Helena Guergis says the media's reporting on her legal and professional troubles has been "despicable and disgusting."
The Barrie businessman, who didn't want his name published, said his relative and the family name are being raked over the coals on mere allegations.
"She's already paid the piper and she's not been convicted or charged with anything," he said Friday during an emotional interview. "We (adults) can deal with it, but it's the effect it's having on the kids."
There have been allegations that Guergis attended parties where there were prostitutes and people using cocaine.
Guergis is also facing allegations she holds offshore accounts in Belize.
RCMP have launched an investigation, although details about the probe haven't been released.
Guergis' lawyer has denied all allegations. He has also called into question the integrity of the private investigator whose information led to her resignation and expulsion from cabinet.
"They (the media) are throwing s--t against the wall about Helena and people are buying it," said her cousin, adding police don't speak publicly about the allegations levelled against anyone, let alone Guergis. "No police work is done like that. Let the RCMP do their job. If she's done something wrong, she'll pay the price."
All this comes not long after Guergis made headlines for yelling at an airport employee in Charlottetown, P.E.I., and again when her assistant sent letters praising the Conservative government to newspapers under a pseudonym.
Then there's the controversy surrounding her husband, Rahim Jaffer, a former Edmonton-area MP.
Jaffer was arrested in Palgrave, Ont. on Sept. 11, 2009, and charged with careless driving, drunk driving and cocaine possession. Last month, he was fined $500 for careless driving by an Ontario judge; the other charges were dropped.
"Leave us alone; leave our children alone," he said. "This is a Helena thing. If she's done something wrong, she'll deal with it. No one is under a bigger microscope than her."
The Guergis family has a long political lineage in Simcoe County, including cousins Tony Guergis and David Guergis who are township mayors.
Her sister is also a town councillor in New Tecumseth. Grandfather George Guergis was reeve of Essa Township in the 1970s, and her uncle, Ed, also served in Essa from 1978 until 1985.
"It's an unjust assassination of an entire family's name," said the cousin.
"We're hard-working people and we're being ripped apart."
"It's the little comments," he continued. "It's not good for children to hear that she's supposedly doing cocaine, which she doesn't do. I've never heard her name and drugs used in the same breath. I'm just trying to protect the kids.² rbowe@thebarrieexaminer.com
