The Crown says it is dropping charges against the final accused in a fraud and breach of trust case involving a Montreal land deal.
Prosecutors say they won’t continue with charges against Bernard Trepanier in that case or in other legal proceedings in which he also was charged.
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They are citing the precarious health of the ex-municipal party fundraiser as he battles cancer.
Trepanier was a key figure during Quebec’s corruption hearings known as the Charbonneau Commission where he was nicknamed ”Mr. Three Per Cent” by some witnesses because of kickbacks he allegedly sought when awarding contracts.
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He vigorously denied the allegations when he took the stand.
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He will not face trial in the Faubourg-Contrecoeur case where he was facing charges stemming from the 2007 sale of city-owned land to build a housing project.
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In May, a judge acquitted several other accused in the case after a lengthy trial that included former high-ranking councillor Frank Zampino and construction magnate Paolo Catania.
Trepanier was spared from those proceedings as well as in a separate case in which he was among eight people arrested last September by Quebec’s anti-corruption unit.
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Investigators alleged he was part of a kickback scheme after they examined about 30 contracts valued at $160 million that were awarded by the City of Montreal between 2001 and 2009.
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