OTTAWA —Sen. Mike Duffy’s legal troubles and the Conservatives’ political headache just got a whole lot deeper.

An RCMP affidavit reveals the former Conservative senator is under investigation not just over suspect housing and travel expense claims submitted to the Senate, but for allegedly using public funds for handouts to friends.

The RCMP says it is investigating Duffy for fraud and breach of trust related to alleged payments totaling nearly $65,000 from Senate accounts over four years to Gerald Donohue, an old CTV pal and former television technician.

Donohue told police he offered opinions when Duffy called to chat, sometimes about topics like “obesity,” or “being a Conservative.” Donohue said he’d scan the Internet and give “verbal advice” to the senator but never produced anything tangible.

The allegations have not been proved in court, and Duffy has not been charged with anything.

In an email reply to the Star, Duffy said: “It would be inappropriate for me to comment while these matters are being examined by the RCMP.”

According to a document sworn in an Ottawa courthouse, Duffy billed the Senate for speechwriting and other media consulting services allegedly provided by Donohue.

But lead investigator Cpl. Greg Horton alleges there was “little or no apparent work” done by Donohue, who retired in 1997 from CTV as a human resources administrator for health reasons and admitted he had no media consulting or speechwriting experience.

Donohue told investigators that it was Duffy who first approached him to provide consulting services, and it was Duffy who set an hourly rate of $200 on a 2009-2010 invoice. Donohue told investigators he would have given Duffy the “advice for free.”

The Mounties are seeking access to Donohue’s family and company bank accounts to find out where exactly the money went.

On Tuesday, Horton filed a document known as an Information To Obtain a Production Order in court, seeking account information held by the Bank of Nova Scotia.

In it, Horton alleges Duffy tried to backdate a 2009-2010 contract for Donohue — an effort Senate officials rebuffed; Duffy falsely wrote Donohue had hired additional staff to complete the project; and he inflated the value of services provided by Donohue or his company over the four-year period.

Donohue told investigators all of the payments from the Senate were by cheque and “he never funnelled any of the money back to Duffy,” the affidavit says.

“He also said that while he and Duffy have been friends for several years, they seldom see each other or socialize. He has never been to the Senate offices.”

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The big mystery is where did the money go?

Donohue told the RCMP he was not permitted to personally receive any benefit because he receives disability payments, and that the cheques were deposited to the accounts of a company he once owned — and later changed the name of — for the benefit of his wife Gail Donohue and their son, Matt.

But since his initial statements to the Mounties, Donohue told RCMP they received legal advice and declined to co-operate further.

Police say the bank records may pinpoint “where the money went after it was deposited, and who received the money if Donohue did not.”

On top of all this, the RCMP continues to investigate Duffy over his Senate housing expense claims and travel claims, and his receipt of a $90,000 cheque from Nigel Wright, the prime minister’s former chief of staff, to reimburse the public purse after controversy over Duffy’s bills erupted.

The new document reveals that Wright has turned over to the RCMP not only hundreds of emails but also a binder containing four years’ worth of Duffy’s diaries, entitled “Confidential — Senator Mike Duffy — Schedules 2009/2012.” One email from Duffy that the RCMP cites indicates Duffy “redacted” the diary entries and couriered them “to Nigel.”

The RCMP says the binder shows there was “minimal noteworthy contact between” the senator and Donohue over the four years when Duffy paid him $59,330 plus tax, for a total of $64,916.50.

Donohue’s contracts ate up more than 57 per cent of Duffy’s general expenses budget, according to the sworn information.

A separate affidavit shows the RCMP is also seeking bank records of Sen. Patrick Brazeau, in support of its ongoing fraud and breach of trust investigation regarding his travel and living expenses.

The document says Brazeau claimed at different times to live at his father’s and at his father-in-law’s Maniwaki, Que., addresses when investigators believe he lived at neither.

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