Quebec’s anti-corruption squad arrests former mayor of Boisbriand for fraud

<p>MONTREAL – The former mayor of an affluent suburb north of Montreal is facing fraud charges after an investigation by Quebec’s anti-corruption squad.</p> <p>Robert Poirier, an ex-mayor of Boisbriand, was arrested on Tuesday and will face charges of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and breach of trust.</p> <p>A police spokesman said Poirier was released with certain conditions and under a promise to appear in court at a later date in St-Jerome, Que.</p> <p>The Hammer Squad – a provincial police anti-corruption unit – said the arrest is linked to another investigation that led to the arrest of seven people in February in the same town.</p> <p>”There were other arrests and other charges against different people and this is another phase in that investigation,” said Sgt. Claude Denis, a provincial police spokesman.</p> <p>Poirier was mayor from 1998 until July 2005, when he stepped down amid allegations of extortion by a businessman.</p> <p>Police allege the investigations show a system was in place for years that allowed certain companies and firms to obtain lucrative municipal contracts with inside information from city officials.</p> <p>In turn, the system allegedly permitted former elected officials in the town to benefit in exchange for favourable decisions in the granting of contracts when they were in power.</p> <p>Police say city officials allegedly received numerous types of bribes – including cash, illegal political contributions, gifts and paid vacations.</p> <p>But authorities have declined to put a dollar figure on the alleged fraud.</p> <p>In the first case, another former mayor of Boisbriand, an ex-city councillor, a construction boss and four construction industry officials face 28 charges.</p> <p>The accused are: former mayor Sylvie Saint-Jean; former councillor Claude Briere; Giuseppe and Lino Zambito, who are president and vice-president of the Infrabec construction company; Rosaire Fontaine, an engineer at BPR-Triax; and France Michaud and Gaetan Morin of the Roche consulting firm.</p> <p>The charges they face include fraud, breach of trust, corruption, extortion, conspiracy and uttering threats.</p> <p>The case is still before the courts.</p> <p>Quebec introduced Operation Hammer in late 2009 amid a flurry of corruption allegations that shocked the province. The squad has been involved in a number of arrests since its inception.</p> <p>Earlier this year, the province put in place a permanent anti-corruption unit – a 189-member unit tasked with rooting out corruption and investigating allegations of influence-peddling and collusion.</p> <p>But Jean Charest’s Liberal government has resisted calls to hold a broader public inquiry into the corruption allegations involving politicians, organized crime and the construction industry.</p>