Ticket-fixing JP guilty of obstruction

A Hamilton justice of the peace pleaded guilty yesterday to obstruction of justice, admitting it was wrong to help out a local judge by reducing her fine on an overdue traffic ticket.

Paul Welsh, 60, who was appointed a JP after serving 32 years with Halton police, was granted an absolute discharge by Ontario Court Justice Gerald Michel. The sentence is an admission of guilt but Welsh will not have a criminal record as a result.

Welsh apologized to the Brantford judge in question, Ontario Court Justice Martha Zivolak, for any embarrassment his actions may have caused her and to the administration of justice for the poor reflection of his conduct.

"I know that a tarnished image is hard to brighten and my image has been tarnished," he told a Burlington court. "I can only hope and pray, your honour, that I will be given the opportunity down the road to brighten that image."