A COUNCILLOR who was suspended for failing to declare buying two ball gowns with charity cash is facing further misconduct claims about her association with a convicted fraudster.

Lorraine Moss and Richard Byrne claim they paid Brent resident Aloysius Fernandez, also known as Rocky, £10,000 for legal representation, which he failed to provide in 2007.

After he refused to pay back the money, say the couple, Fernandez turned up at their house in Essex with former Brent Tory councillor Bertha Joseph, and tried to force his way into their home and serve them with an injunction preventing them from threatening violence or harassing him.

Ms Moss believes Ms Joseph abused her position as a councillor by turning up at her house, which she says gave Fernandez greater credibility.

This week Ms Moss filed a formal complaint against the councillor with Brent Council .

The council is now looking into whether the councillors' code of conduct was broken.

The standards sub-committee will meet towards the end of April to decide what, if any, action should be taken.

Ms Moss and Mr Byrne believe they have lost close to £100,000 since they became involved with Fernandez, having to take the legal dispute through the courts and battle to get the injunction lifted.

Ms Moss said: "Bertha Joseph turning up at my house was a total abuse of her power and was nothing short of a public humiliation for my family and me.

"I do not think that someone with such bad judgement should be allowed to be a councillor. How many times has she behaved like this before?"

Mr Fernandez lived in Hazel Road, Kensal Green, but died last year. He was a former Brent Council employee and worked for the local authority's social services.

At Harrow Crown Crown in July 1997 he admitted false accounting for submitting a benefit claim without declaring he owned a property on which he was collecting rent.

He was subsequently sacked by the council.

When the Observer contacted Ms Joseph she said: "I knew nothing about why Rocky was going to Lorraine Moss's house.

"As far as I knew they were friends and he was going to deliver something to them.

"Rocky and I were going to an event in aid of my charity. Therefore we thought it would be best if I came with him and go straight to the event rather than him having to come back to pick me up.

"I took no part in any conversation and do not know what it was all about."

Ms Joseph remains suspended from the council for failing to declare spending sponsorship cash on ball gowns she wore when she was mayor of Brent.

She blames failing to declare the items on time as a genuine mistake and says there was no dishonesty on her part. Ms Joseph has also told the Wembley Observer she would be standing for re-election in May.