Councilman Sean Chu and then-Councilman Joe Magliocca on Monday, September 12, 2016. Photo by Elizabeth Cameron /Postmedia

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The man who blew the whistle on an alleged botched plot to trap former mayor Naheed Nenshi now claims two councilors took the bait.

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David Wallace is the political “fixer” who came clean on Canada’s podcast about his involvement in a scheme that dropped the promise of dirty Russian money under the former mayor’s nose. Sign up to receive daily news headlines from the Calgary Herald, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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Wallace said Nancy didn’t bite the Russian cash offer and wanted to keep everything above board. On Tuesday, Wallace released a letter dated Oct. 15, 2019, addressed to Russia’s consul general in Ottawa and a Russian economic development minister named Sergei Strokov. Signed by Ward 4 Coun. Sean Chu, and former Ward 2 Coun. Joe Magliocca. Wallace endorsed the letter, which invited the men to Calgary to discuss “potential investment opportunities and bilateral trade.” Wallace explained that Chu and Magliocca went behind his back and gave him the invitation.

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Thought I’d leave it here, dirty councilors are going behind the mayor’s back to invite Russian officials to Calgary ✌️ enjoy pic.twitter.com/QSF6Cnkvy4 — opensourcemedia (@Pick61989) November 2, 2022
“They were so stupid that they were trying to get rich on what was supposed to be an arm to apparently support the alleged criminality on the part of the mayor,” Wallace said. Postmedia reached out to both Chu and Magliocca. Neither has responded to requests for comment. Wallace said the letter purported to be from the mayor and the entire city council. He said they weren’t ready to send any kind of invitation because they did their due diligence. He said it was Chu and Magliocca who sent it. It is unclear whether the offer was ever accepted. Former Mayor Nancy described the letter as “extremely strange”, noting that consular visits to the city are common but are usually arranged through the Protocol Office and the Mayor’s Office.

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He said economic development missions are coordinated through Calgary Economic Development and on rare occasions officials are invited to the city, but always on letterhead signed by the mayor. “I know of no instance in many years where these two advisers have been even tangentially involved in international events or economic development,” Nenshi wrote in an email. “I can’t imagine what kind of agenda or meetings they would have organized.” When asked about the letter, Mayor Jyoti Gondek said there’s a reason the city has set up Calgary Economic Development to handle this kind of work. “It’s not my job to do that as a councilman,” the mayor said. “It is not the work of individual councillors. Who knows what they did?’ He added: “Do you think your local councilors should be sending letters to Russia asking people to come here and do business? My guess is probably not.’ [email protected]: @brodie_thomas

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