In case you missed them, here are five must-read CBCNews.ca stories in New Brunswick from the last five days.

Prosser found guilty

After less than 11 hours of deliberations, a 12-member jury found Fred Prosser, 33, guilty of first-degree murder, sexual assault causing bodily harm and sexual assault of Sabrina Patterson.

Fred Prosser was found guilty on Monday of first-degree murder, sexual assault and sexual assault causing bodily harm in the 2010 death of Sabrina Patterson. (CBC)

Prosser, who had been in custody since November 2010, will serve an automatic life sentence for the first-degree murder charge, with no chance of parole for 25 years. He was also sentenced to a combined 12 years for the other charges.

Patterson, Prosser’s ex-girlfriend, went missing in October 2010. Her body was discovered eight days later under a garbage bag in a wooded area near Shenstone.

Prosser and Patterson, 25, had an on-again, off-again relationship for about nine years.

Prosser’s first-degree murder trial was supposed to start in July. A jury had been selected but before the proceedings started, it was discovered one of the jurors had made comments about the trial on Facebook.

A mistrial was immediately called.

READ MORE: Fred Prosser guilty of first-degree murder

Charlo mayor quits over booze complaints

Charlo Mayor Jason Carter said councillors and the village administrator drink at the office after public meetings. (Wikipedia)

Charlo Mayor Jason Carter suddenly resigned this week and he blamed the decision on a disagreement with councillors over the consumption of alcohol while discussing the northern village’s business dealings.

The newly-elected mayor said council members and the village administrator would regularly drink alcohol after public meetings at the village office. He said the alcohol was on the taxpayers’ dime.

Carter told CBC News he found this activity “very upsetting.”

The northern politician, who does not drink, said village taxpayers should not be paying the tab for councillors to drink. Councillors, however, say the alcohol is left over from Christmas parties or receptions.

Coun. Roger LeClaire said this week said he was unhappy about how Carter handled the controversy.

READ MORE: Charlo mayor resigns over councillors drinking alcohol

Metallic search continues

Crews wearing survival suits were out on the ice this week using chainsaws to cut into the frozen river. (Matthew Bingley/CBC)

Police and search crews continued to look for any trace of Christopher Metallic, the 20-year-old Mount Allison University student.

Metallic has been missing since Nov. 25.

Aerial and ground search crews have scoured the area.

A scuba team was brought to the area and crews wearing survival suits were out on the ice using chainsaws to cut into the frozen river.

An excavator was brought in to clear away as much of the ice as possible so divers could begin the underwater search.

Metallic is described as being aboriginal, six feet tall, 180 pounds, with short dark hair.

He was last seen wearing a shiny bright blue sweater, jeans and flip flops.

READ MORE: Divers suspend search for missing Mount Allison student

Big businesses score $49M property tax cut

The issue of property taxes became a hot issue in New Brunswick politics this week.

Local Government Minister Bruce Fitch announced changes to the property taxes for businesses, farms, rental properties and cottages.

A CBC News review shows the 10 highest taxed properties in New Brunswick would receive $3.4 million in savings.

NB Power's Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station will be the single biggest winner with a property tax cut of $759,768. The other big winners are a collection of power plants, malls, mines and mills.

The New Brunswick Business Council came out this week and said the province’s largest employers did not lobby the Alward government to usher in this property tax cut.

Finance Minster Blaine Higgs said last winter that property tax cuts were not affordable. And Premier David Alward said at the start of the legislative session that money was tight and he was concerned about declining government revenues.

READ MORE: Big businesses win with new property tax cut

Auditor general warns against overbilling doctors

Auditor General Kim MacPherson issued her annual report on Tuesday, including a chapter on medicare overbilling.

Auditor General Kim MacPherson delivered a critical report on Tuesday of the provincial government’s monitoring of doctors who overbill medicare.

The province’s chief financial watchdog described how 16 doctors were paid more than $1 million in 2011, which is more than double the amount budgeted by the Department of Health.

The auditor general wrote that, in some cases, doctors billed both medicare and WorkSafeNB for the same service.

She said in her report that there are no deterrents for overbilling.

MacPherson pointed out that in one situation an ophthalmologist received nearly $1.7 million, which is almost $1 million more than the average for that specialty.

The report also said only 53 per cent of medicare payments to doctors are audited.

The New Brunswick Medical Society, which represents the province’s physicians, criticized the Auditor-General’s report for lacking context. The society also said the province’s out-dated billing system was to blame for any problems.

Health Minister Ted Flemming said all doctors are innocent until proven guilty. He said his department will investigate the report’s claims and “ferret out” any overbilling.

READ MORE: Some doctors overbilling medicare without penalty

BONUS: Woodside pulls an Eastwood and lectures an empty chair

Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside lectured an empty chair over high beer prices. (CBC)

This story actually happened last week, but the video continue to gain a big audience and was a top story throughout this week too.

Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside used a portion of his annual state of the city address to lecture an empty chair.

Woodside ripped the rhetorical gambit out of Clint Eastwood’s playbook. The iconic Hollywood actor had an imaginary conversation with Barack Obama, who was represented by an empty chair, at the Republic National Convention in August.

The Fredericton mayor told the audience that he wanted a “private” moment with Premier David Alward.

Instead of talking about city issues or property taxes, Woodside knelt beside the empty chair and lectured it about the high price of beer in the province.

READ MORE: Fredericton mayor lectures empty chair over high beer prices