Former Premier Ewart Brown and Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess are suing two architects for $1 million each for alleged defamation over the “false cheques” affair.They accuse Sam Spagnuolo, lead architect with Canadian firm Carruthers Shaw and Partners (CS&P), of creating and disseminating false cheques, then tipping off the press to create a political scandal.They say he should pay them damages for “conspiracy and defamation”.CS&P was the original firm hired to work on the controversy-plagued police and courthouse project in Hamilton.It was booted off the project the same month the cheques were discovered.The politicians also accuse Lawrence Brady, Chief Architect of the Ministry of Works and Engineering, of “conspiracy”.They claim Mr Spagnuolo sent the false cheques on to him. Mr Brady is the brother-in-law of Bill Zuill, editor of The Royal Gazette.The civil legal action was filed in the Superior Court of Justice, Ontario, on January 31 2011.The allegations date back to December 2008, when copies of two cheques, purportedly made out to Dr Brown and Mr Burgess by contractors working on the new police and court building, were discovered in files at the Ministry of Works and Engineering.Mr Burgess was the Minister of Works and Engineering at the time.According to court papers filed by Dr Brown and Mr Burgess, CS&P had the role of overseeing and approving payments made by the building constructors to its sub-contractors.Packages of documentation known as “draw-downs” supporting the payments submitted for reimbursement was also provided by the construction firms working on the project; LLC and later LLC Bermuda, to the Ministry of Works and Engineering.The papers say: “In 2008 and early 2009, copies of two purported cheques relating to the courthouse construction project were discovered in files of the Ministry of Works and Engineering.“These purported cheques were altered copies of legitimate cheques drawn on the account of LLC with the Bank of Bermuda and paid to suppliers and/or vendors to the project, that had been falsely manipulated so as to appear to have been payable to Dr E Brown and D Burgess.”The papers continue: “Prior to the discovery of these altered cheques, on or about December 12 2008, Lawrence Brady, the Chief Architect of the Ministry of Works and Engineering, received from Spagnuolo an electronic copy of LLC’s draw-downs.“Included in this file, as supporting documentation for the reimbursements sought, were altered copies of two LLC cheques. Copies of LLC cheques 0123 and 0170, made out to Dr E Brown and D Burgess were amongst the copies of cheques contained in the file sent by Spagnuolo.”The papers say around December 11 2008, Michael McPhee, an Audit Manager with the office of the Auditor General, attended Mr Brady’s office and downloaded supporting documents related to the courthouse project from his computer.“On or about December 12 2008, McPhee returned to Brady’s office to download the copies of LLC’s draw-downs that he understood were to be received by Brady from Spagnuolo that day.”The papers say the files downloaded included the copies of the altered cheques.“In early to mid-January 2009, a Bermudian newspaper published an article suggesting that two Cabinet Ministers had received cheques from construction company executives involved in the courthouse construction project,” say the court papers, in an apparent reference to the now-defunct Mid-Ocean News.The altered cheques were subsequently brought to the attention of Robert Horton, the then Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works and Engineering.At a Cabinet meeting on February 3 2009, the then Minister of Finance and Acting Premier Paula Cox informed Mr Burgess that the Auditor General had shown her copies of cheques made payable to him and Dr Brown.“On or about February 4 2009, Mr Burgess met with Dr Brown, who had been out of the Country, and showed him for the first time the copies of the false cheques,” say the court papers.“Mr Burgess also showed Dr Brown the second set of copies in possession of the Ministry, in which the cheques were payable to Scorpio Construction and Chester Management.”At a press conference called the following day, Dr Brown told the media the documents were falsified versions of two cheques for $14,780 and $10,000 paid out legitimately by Landmark Lisgar Construction to two other companies.“Those acts were clearly committed with the intention that they should be used to sully the reputation of the Government and to damage, if not destroy, reputations,” he told the press conference.According to the court papers: “Spagnuolo created and disseminated the false cheques. He intended that copies of the falsely altered cheques would be sent to Brady, and then filed by Brady in the files of the Government of Bermuda. Spagnuolo, or someone acting at his behest and instructions, alerted the press in Bermuda about the falsely altered cheques in order to create an aura of scandal and controversy.”The papers allege the false cheques were intended and understood to mean that Dr Brown and Mr Burgess “are dishonest, corrupt, and received ‘kickbacks’ from the construction company selected for the courthouse construction project and [they] are untrustworthy, capable of being bribed and of taking financial advantage of their high government office”.The politicians accuse Mr Spagnuolo of trying to embarrass and injure them, saying “he acted out of retribution for the termination of his company from the courthouse construction project”.They further allege: “Spagnuolo carried out his role in the conspiracy by creating the false cheques, and by providing them to Brady, who in turn, ensured their provision to the office of the Auditor General.”They accuse Mr Spagnuolo of acting in conjunction with Mr Brady to “tip off” the Auditor General to the existence of the two cheques “to ensure that the cheques were discovered in a public manner and that their existence entered the public discourse”.The papers add: “The plaintiffs were embarrassed and defamed. Both Dr Brown and Mr Burgess became subject to intense public scrutiny and media speculation questioning the integrity of their character and their supposed receipt of ‘kickbacks’ payments.”Mr Burgess declined to discuss the legal action last night, telling The Royal Gazette: “I have no comment to make.”Dr Brown did not respond to requests for comment.Mr Spagnuolo could not be reached for comment, and Mr Brady did not wish to comment.The police and court building is already the subject of a separate legal action launched by the architects, Carruthers Shaw and Partners.The firm is suing Government for more than $1.4 million after being booted off the project.It also claims it has not been paid for a separate project to build Government laboratories at Marsh Folly.