A public inquiry into corruption in Quebec has uncovered shocking details of rigged contracts, fixed rates for kickbacks and cash-filled plastic bags hidden away in the basement of a suburban home.
The two star witnesses, former construction mogul Lino Zambito and retired Montreal city engineer Gilles Surprenant, have spent days describing extensive graft in the awarding of construction contracts across the Canadian province.
The televised commission, headed by Superior Court Justice France Charbonneau, has offered Quebecers a rare glimpse into a seamy underworld of urban corruption most have only seen in mob movies.
Confessing to bribing others or being corrupt themselves, the two explained that they were part of a “system” that has existed for decades.
Taxpayers paid 25 percent more than they should have to repave streets, as large sums of government monies were embezzled by construction companies, crooked bureaucrats and political parties — in collusion with the mafia.
The mayors of Montreal and Laval were the first to be targeted by allegations of wrongdoing.
Police have raided Laval city hall, and Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay has faced mounting calls to resign after his political party was accused of receiving a cut from construction in the city.
“Quit now!” said the daily La Presse in its Thursday edition, insisting that Tremblay “hasn’t an ounce of credibility left to govern Montreal.”
The embattled mayor, who has faced daily grilling from reporters, has refused to budge, acknowledging that corruption has long existed while insisting that his hands are clean.
He said Thursday he would not decide on his political future until after “all sides had been heard from” at the inquiry.
La Presse reported that he would not run again but will also not resign before his mandate ends in November 2013.
Surprenant, the former Montreal city engineer, said the corruption was “nobody’s secret.”
He testified this week that he had received more than $600,000 in illicit funds to inflate the costs of city sewer upgrades by as much as 30-35 percent and to tailor tenders to mafia-backed firms.
Zambito, the other lead witness, accused Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt of having skimmed 2.5 percent off all construction contracts that required his approval.
Vaillancourt firmly denied the allegation, but took a leave from work for “health reasons” after police raided his office, his home and searched his bank deposits.
The commission’s revelations have also led a millionaire construction mogul, Tony Accurso, to announce his retirement.
Charged with defrauding the government, corruption and tax evasion, he said he was stepping down for personal reasons.
Zambito has also accused the former Liberal government headed by Jean Charest — ousted in a snap election in September — of illegal political contributions. The party has denied the accusations.
The probe into corruption in the awarding of contracts was launched in May after a leaked report by a provincial anti-graft police unit indicated that construction firms were banding together to keep prices high — and possibly had links to organized crime.
During her two-year mandate, Charbonneau is tasked with looking into the activities over the past 15 years of construction firms handling government contracts, and any possible illicit financing of political parties.
It will release its findings in 2013.
Political corruption inquiry shocks Quebec
