Former bureaucrat Chuck Guite, who is defending himself against fraud and conspiracy charges for his alleged role in the sponsorship scandal, will return to court in early May.

A pre-trial is scheduled for May 1, while jury selection is scheduled to begin on May 2.

Guite faces trial on five fraud-related charges; however, a conspiracy charge will be dealt with separately.

Guite was in charge of the sponsorship program that was originally created with the intention of combating separatist sentiment after the narrow victory by federalists in the 1995 Quebec referendum.

A public inquiry later found that about $150 million of about $355 million in funding set aside for the program found its way to Liberal-friendly ad agencies and middle-men who often performed little or no work for the reward.

Guite is one of three to face criminal charges in the sponsorship probe, including advertising executives Jean Brault and advertising executive Paul Coffin.

On Tuesday, the Crown recommended that Brault serve between two and three years in prison for his role in the sponsorship scandal.

Brault, the founder of Groupaction Marketing, pleaded guilty to five of six fraud-related charges earlier this month.

Brault still faces one conspiracy charge in a separate proceeding. Each fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

In September, Coffin was sentenced to two years less a day, to be served in the community, and was ordered to give speeches at universities about ethics in business.

A Quebec Superior Court judge let Coffin avoid jail time because of his clean record, his repayment of more than $1 million to the federal government, and his remorse.

The Crown is appealing the community sentence.

Justice John Gomery, the head of the inquiry into the sponsorship scandal, recommended in his final report that the government put in place tough new laws to protect the public service from political interference and to hold accountable any politicians who break the rules.