Alleged link between Quebec union, mob testifies at corruption inquiry

MONTREAL – A man who was allegedly the nexus between the Italian Mafia and Quebec’s most powerful construction union has taken the stand at the provincial corruption inquiry.

Watch: The Charbonneau Commission proceeds in court on Oct. 2, 2013

Jocelyn Dupuis, a former director-general of the FTQ’s construction wing, appeared relaxed as he calmly answered questions.

Wearing an open-collared shirt and tanned suit, Dupuis began his appearance by answering questions about the basic structure of the construction union.

On at least a half-dozen occasions he mentioned his book – titled “Union Reps or Thugs?”

Dupuis has been hard-hit by allegations from a former union member and by wiretapped phone calls gathered by provincial police during a separate investigation.

The inquiry has already heard him in wiretaps speaking chummily with a senior reputed figure in the Mafia who is now imprisoned on murder charges.

In other recordings, Dupuis appears to be rigging the election where his successor was chosen.

But he scoffed today at the suggestion that union elections were rigged, insisting the labour movement is truly “democratic.”

Dupuis, a former crane operator who ran the construction wing for 11 years, was pushed out over a controversy surrounding his expense claims in 2008.

After his departure, he was employed by a decontamination firm the inquiry has heard was run by a prominent member of Montreal’s Mafia.

Dupuis is not expected to be a co-operative witness. From the outset of his testimony, he said he did not agree with the inquiry.

He described himself as a working man and a “born unifier.”

He is expected to face a criminal trial next year on fraud charges stemming from the expense-account issue. The crown has claimed that Dupuis manufactured tens of thousands in phony invoices, which netted him $125,000.