Former aide to ex-Montreal mayor Applebaum wore wire to glean confession

An ex-aide to Michael Applebaum said he wore a wire in an attempt to help police extract a confession in 2013 from the then-interim Montreal mayor.

But Applebaum offered little in conversations with Hugo Tremblay that were played at Applebaum’s corruption trial in Montreal on Tuesday.

Applebaum has pleaded not guilty to all 14 charges, including fraud against the government and breach of trust. They stem from crimes alleged to have occurred during his time as the mayor of Montreal’s largest borough.

Prosecutor Nathalie Kleber has said she hopes to prove the longtime politician accepted cash in exchange for favours given to local real-estate developers and engineering executives in two separate projects.

READ MORE: Former Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum asking court to dismiss corruption charges

Tremblay testified Monday he and Applebaum shared the money in question.

The recordings were made after Tremblay had already agreed to work with police.

Two of the discussions took place in person and the third was on the telephone.

Applebaum was guarded during each conversation – talking in hushed tones as he denied knowledge of anything specific and often reassuring Tremblay that police were on a witch hunt.

“In order to charge you, (they) got to see the money,” Applebaum is heard saying during the second conversation, which took place in his basement.

“So they can come up with all sorts of lies, all kinds of bullshit, all kinds of things, but in the end, they have to have the money. If you don’t have the money, then what is it?”

READ MORE: Corruption trial begins for former mayor Michael Applebaum

By the third conversation, Tremblay was telling Applebaum he had to co-operate with police.

But Applebaum expressed surprise his former aide was involved in shady dealings and told him to pay him a visit in person to discuss the matter further.

“If you did something that was illegal, you have to take responsibility,” Applebaum counselled Tremblay without acknowledging any role he himself may have played.

During the basement encounter, Tremblay noted that Applebaum tapped his shoulders and neck as if looking for a recording device, knowing his former aide had spoken earlier with police.

“He protected himself, he was distrustful,” Tremblay testified.

Just a few weeks after the final conversation, Applebaum, 53, was arrested, bringing his stint as interim Montreal mayor to an end.

He held the post between November 2012 and June 2013, following Gerald Tremblay’s sudden departure.