NZ legislator to face bribery charges

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WELLINGTON, Nov 23 (AFP): A New Zealand legislator and former government minister will face 40 charges of bribery and perverting the course of justice, the police said Friday.
Taito Phillip Field, who resigned from Prime Minister Helen Clark's ruling Labour Party to become an independent legislator after accusations were made against him in 2005, has been charged with 15 counts of bribery and 25 counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Field is due to appear in an Auckland court Monday for an
initial hearing.
The charges related to allegations he offered to help migrants with immigration problems in exchange for thousands of dollars of work on his houses in New Zealand and Samoa.
Field's lawyer Simativa Perese said Field wanted to go to trial and clear his name before the national election due by late next year.