Jean Lafleur, one of the central figures in the sponsorship scandal, has pleaded guilty to 28 charges of fraud totalling $1.5-million.
The surprise plea resulted in seven other counts of fraud for smaller amounts being dropped by the Crown.
Clad in a navy blazer and his hands clasped before him in handcuffs, Mr. Lafleur looked flushed.
"Guilty," he said simply when asked for his plea.
Quebec Court Judge Suzanne Coupal then ordered a stay of proceedings on the remaining charges.
"We appreciate this quick resolution. The evidence was solid," Crown prosecutor Ann-Mary Beauchemin told reporters afterward.
The prosecution will ask for a jail term, she said.
Mr. Lafleur will remain in custody. Arguments for sentencing will be heard June 1.
While Ms. Beauchemin would not say what sentence she will seek, Jean Brault, another ad executive who pleaded guilty in a similar case, got a 30-month sentence. Like most first-time offenders involved in non-violent crimes, Mr. Lafleur would be eligible for limited parole after serving one-sixth of his term.
Mr. Lafleur, who once hobnobbed with influential federal Liberals and bought his wine from a specialty shop in Paris, was arrested earlier this month after he landed at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport. He had been in Belize.
Mr. Lafleur became an object of public ridicule after his 2005 testimony at the Gomery inquiry into how millions of sponsorship dollars were misspent by Ottawa in its ill-fated campaign to increase federal visibility in Quebec.
He repeatedly invoked a faulty memory when asked about his lavish lifestyle, his wining and dining of influential Liberals and the $13-million he earned from government contracts.
Mr. Lafleur came back to Quebec April 5, six days after he was charged with defrauding the government of $1.6-million in federal contracts.
Days after an arrest warrant was issued, his lawyer contacted the Crown to arrange his surrender.
Authorities lifted an Interpol notification on his arrest warrant so that he could take commercial flights without being arrested on his stopover in Atlanta.
The Interpol warning was revoked once the police were given Mr. Lafleur's flight booking, time of arrival and passport number.
Mr. Lafleur's case was investigated by the Quebec provincial police because his firm handled sponsorships for the RCMP's 125th anniversary celebration.
Spokeswoman Constable Chantal Mackels said charges were only filed recently because provincial police investigators had to interview more than 300 people and analyze 4,250 electronic files and 200,000 pages of documents.
There is no agreement between the Crown and the defence on the sentencing of Mr. Lafleur. However, both sides will file a joint statement of facts at the June 1 hearing.
"We've worked very hard on a joint statement of facts. We're down to the commas," defence lawyer Jean-Claude Hébert told the court.
Mr. Lafleur is the third ad executive after Mr. Brault and Paul Coffin to plead guilty rather than go to trial.
Mr. Lafleur's case was repeatedly postponed. His Montreal apartment - left vacant during his two-year sojourn in Central America - was recently emptied by movers.
Tu Thanh Ha