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A senior aide to former prime minister Stephen Harper, who entered the Conservative leader’s inner circle despite a criminal record for fraud, has been given a suspended sentence for influence peddling after his time in government.

Bruce Carson was handed the sentence in an Ottawa courtroom almost seven years after he was first charged with committing a fraud on the government.

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“I thought it was a pretty fair conclusion,” Carson said in an interview Monday.

Justice Bonnie Warkentin also imposed a one year probation period and ordered Carson, 73, to perform 100 hours of community service.

In a copy of the decision released Monday, Warkentin said the sentence was intended to denounce Carson’s conduct while at the same time taking into consideration the personal price he has paid.

“He (Carson) has suffered a great deal as a result of the conduct in which he engaged that led to the charge against him,” the judge noted.