Trevor Zinck

Trevor John Zinck (born November 12, 1970) is a former Canadian politician. He served as the member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly (MLA) for the riding of Dartmouth North as a New Democrat and also as an independent. He was first elected for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the 2006 election, succeeding retiring NDP MLA Jerry Pye. He served as the Community Services critic for the NDP and was re-elected in the 2009 election.

In connection with the Nova Scotia parliamentary expenses scandal, Zinck pleaded guilty on June 17, 2013 to charges of fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust by a public officer, He was sentenced to 4 months of imprisonment, followed by 1 year of probation.

Early life and education Zinck attended Sir John A. Macdonald High School.

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

Political career Constituency expense issues 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."

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 totalling $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. 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 With the guilty plea, the charges of theft over $5,000 were withdrawn. Zinck admitted in an agreed statement of facts that he filed expense claims totalling $10,060 in 2008 and 2009 for which the Speaker's Office reimbursed him, even though 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."

Despite promises not to resign, Zinck resigned 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. 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.

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'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. At the same time, Scott Marshall, a disabled man suffering from cerebral palsy who had hired Zinck to be his caregiver, alleged that Zinck fraudulently ran up a $9,000 bill on his Visa card playing online poker. In 2015 Marshall said that Zinck had repaid some of the money but still owed him over $7,000. It was alleged that Zinck told Marshall that he would "make trouble" for him if he spoke publicly about the credit card issue.

Zinck has admitted to drinking and gambling problems in the past, after registering a breathalyzer reading above the legal limit of 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. At a preliminary hearing on January 27, 2014, Zinck pleaded not guilty in a Dartmouth courtroom to the charge of drunk driving.

On March 27, 2015, Halifax Regional Police officer Dan Kavanaugh told the provincial court that Zinck was belligerent and resistant when he was pulled over for a breathalyzer test on October 2, 2013. Kavanaugh said Zinck initially agreed to the breathalyzer but became increasingly unco-operative and began cursing and shouting, asking the police if they knew who he was. The officer testified that a cell phone Zinck was holding had to be wrestled away and Zinck had to be placed in handcuffs before officers could administer the breathalyzer, adding that Zinck later gave two additional breath samples at a police station which were both also over the legal limit. A day later, Zinck denied much of the testimony brought forward against him in court, claiming among other things that he was not behind the wheel of his car when police arrested him. On April 29, 2015, Zinck was found guilty of impaired driving and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine along with a one-year driving ban.

Post-politics On April 6, 2018, Halifax Regional Police issued a missing persons' news release seeking the public's help in locating the 47-year-old Zinck, who at that time had reportedly last been seen approximately one month prior in the Parkstone Road area of Dartmouth. Zinck had been reported missing to police by an unknown party two days prior.