The embattled former mayor of Quebec’s third-largest city, a retired construction tycoon and 35 others were arrested Thursday as part of a corruption probe in the Canadian province.
More than 120 officers were involved in the dawn arrests.
Gilles Vaillancourt resigned last November after 23 years as mayor of Laval, a city of 400,000, north of Montreal, after police searched his home, offices and bank deposits.
Vaillancourt, as well retired construction boss Tony Accurso and the others, now face charges that include breach of trust, conspiracy, corruption, fraud, gangsterism and money laundering.
These 37 people are part of an “organized structured network,” Robert Lafreniere, Quebec’s lead anti-corruption investigator, told a press conference.
He said three groups were involved in the alleged scheme: entrepreneurs and engineers; lawyers, a notary and a businessman who acted as facilitators; and public-office holders including Laval’s mayor, city manager and head of engineering.
A commission headed by Superior Court Justice France Charbonneau is investigating alleged graft, bid-rigging and kickbacks in the awarding of government construction contracts in the province.
Vaillancourt was accused by a commission witness of taking bribes equal to a 2.5-percent cut of public contracts in Laval as the city underwent a construction boom in recent decades, but he rejected the accusations.
The Charbonneau commission was launched after a leaked police report pointed to evidence that construction companies were banding together to keep prices high, and possibly had links to organized crime.
It will release its findings next year.
Quebec police arrest 37 in corruption probe
