The trial of former Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum is underway, three and a half years after his June 2013 arrest.
Applebaum’s two-week trial began with his ex-chief of staff, Hugo Tremblay, taking the stand.
He told the court it took just several months of working with him to come to the conclusion the longtime politician was open to kickbacks.
He said he recalled a conversation with the then-borough mayor in Tremblay’s office about requesting money from a developer to secure a project in 2007.
Tremblay testified that Applebaum told him: “we gotta make a living” and it was in that moment he realized Applebaum was open to corruption.
The Crown said it intends to prove the longtime local politician accepted cash in exchange for favours given to local real-estate developers.
Prosecutor Nathalie Kleber said she intends to call several witnesses, including the developers themselves.
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Applebaum is facing 14 counts of fraud, breach of trust and conspiracy.
The alleged deals took place between 2000 and 2012, when Applebaum was mayor in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough.
READ MORE: Former Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum asking court to dismiss corruption charges
Applebaum served as mayor of Montreal for seven months, from November 2012 to June 2013.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
–With files from the Canadian Press