Trevor Zinck

Trevor John Zinck (born November 12, 1970) is a Canadian former politician, a former member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly who represented the riding of Dartmouth North as a New Democrat and also as an Independent.

He was first elected for the New Democratic Party in the 2006 election, succeeding retiring NDP MLA Jerry Pye.

The business manager of a non-profit woodworking shop, a man by the name of Gus Brushett, testified that Zinck had paid $660 to participate in a golf tournament in the summer of 2008 and subsequently filed an expense claim for $1,200 in April 2008, for which he was reimbursed.

The Crown also introduced Zinck's bank records as evidence which showed a series of late-night withdrawals made from his personal and constituency accounts from automated teller machines inside Casino Nova Scotia in Halifax.

Zinck admitted in an agreed statement of facts that he filed expense claims totaling $10,060 in 2008 and 2009 for which the Speaker's Office reimbursed him, despite the fact that the items listed in his claims were never actually purchased.

Despite the guilty pleas and the criminal record, Zinck was reluctant to resign his seat in the legislature, saying "There are bigger crooks in politics."

Leaders of all three major parties, including Progressive Conservative leader Jamie Baillie and Opposition Leader Stephen McNeil, all called for his immediate resignation, saying that Premier Darrell Dexter should recall the house and put forward a motion to expel Zinck.

"I think the fair thing is for if this is going to finish on August 7th for the court process to be completed and then for the House to deal with it if that's necessary," said Dexter.

He served as the Community Services critic for the NDP, and was re-elected in the 2009 election.

On March 25, 2010, Zinck was suspended from the Nova Scotia NDP caucus over "persistent" expense irregularities.

In making the decision, caucus chair Vicki Conrad stated that the government caucus could no longer trust Zinck, telling reporters "We decided to suspend him because members feel we do not have the necessary trust in his conduct as a member of this caucus."

The province's auditor general was subsequently called in to investigate the matter.

On October 8, 2010, the company holding the mortgage on Zinck's Dartmouth house, Credit Union Atlantic, stated that it intended to foreclose after Zinck stopped making payments.

On February 14, 2011, it was announced that Zinck was among four people facing criminal charges in connection with the RCMP investigation into 2010s MLA expense scandal.

Zinck was charged with fraud exceeding $5,000, breach of trust by a public officer, and two counts of theft over $5,000, after filing fraudulent expense claims totaling $10,060.

Among the items was a cheque for $860 intended to sponsor a young hockey player from Zinck's riding, which Zinck subsequently filed an expense claim for.

The boy's father testified during the trial that the family never received the money, though Zinck was nonetheless reimbursed for it.

A substantial portion of the $10,060 was earmarked for the Boys and Girls Club of Dartmouth, though employees of the Boys and Girls club testified that Zinck failed to give them the money he had claimed as expenses.

Zinck pleaded guilty on June 17, 2013, to charges of fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust by a public officer and subsequently resigned from the Nova Scotia legislature as a result.

Zinck attended Sir John A. Macdonald High School.

Prior to entering politics, Zinck was the head of the Dartmouth District 9 Citizens' association.

A preliminary hearing for Zinck had been postponed several times and a trial date was set for June 10, 2013.

Zinck pleaded guilty on June 17, 2013, to charges of fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust by a public officer.

With the guilty plea, the charges of theft over $5,000 were withdrawn.

Despite promises not to resign, Zinck did in fact resign as an MLA on June 19, 2013.

He made the decision after being informed by a reporter that his severance package, formally called a "transition allowance", would not be available to him should his exit from the legislature come via expulsion.

Zinck promptly contacted legislative counsel to confirm that his transition allowance would be in jeopardy, and then immediately announced his resignation.

Two days later, on June 21, 2013, the Nova Scotia government announced that it was holding back Zinck's $51,000 transition allowance until it could ensure Zinck would pay back the money he owes, a move Zinck said was not fair when informed of it.

Zinck stated upon his resignation that he didn't want to lose the transition allowance because a single mother employed at his constituency office would then be left with no income.

However, Speaker of the Legislature Gordie Gosse said that the employee in question is paid from a separate fund administered by Gosse's office, and would not suffer from the loss of the transition allowance as Zinck had claimed.

Gosse said the woman employed at Zinck's office had worked for more than two years and would thus be entitled to twelve weeks' pay as a result of the office closure.

Gosse stated that if money is still owed by Zinck, it will be deducted from the transition allowance by the province and whatever remains will be given to Zinck.

On August 7, 2013, Zinck's sentencing hearing was adjourned until September 19, 2013.

His lawyer, Lyle Howe, asked Judge Glen McDougall for the delay in order to get a mental health assessment for his client.

Zinck had no comment when approached by reporters outside court.

On August 16, 2013, Zinck's sentencing hearing was again rescheduled to October 1, 2013, when Howe told the provincial Supreme Court that he required more time to prepare.

Zinck's name was absent from the final list of candidates for the 2013 Nova Scotia provincial election, meaning that he decided not to run for re-election.

He had earlier stated in August 2013 that he still planned to run provincially.

On October 9, 2013, Zinck was sentenced to four months in jail followed by one year of probation.

He was also ordered to attend counseling regarding alcohol abuse, gambling addiction, and mental health issues.