Former Quebec mayor arrested on fraud charges

MONTREAL – A former Quebec mayor was arrested Monday by a police task force investigating corruption, Quebec provincial police said in a statement.

Stephane Harbour a former mayor of Outremont, now a borough of Montreal, along with Yves Mailhot, 58, and Jean-Claude Patenaude, 64, face several charges, including fraud, fabrication of false documents and conspiracy, in relation to events that are alleged to have taken place between 2005 and 2008, police said.

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The investigation began after a complaint from a city councillor, police said.

Harbour, 51, resigned as Outremont mayor in October 2007, after revelations that the borough had spent thousands of dollars of public money on food, liquor and other entertainment.

“I lacked vigilance and others abused my confidence,” Harbour said in a statement at the time.

Local government investigations ordered in June 2007 revealed two senior bureaucrats padded their expense accounts.