Former Roche VP and ex-Boisbriand mayor found guilty on corruption charges

A former Roche executive and ex-mayor of Boisbriand, Que.,have been found guilty of several corruption-related charges relating to a cash-for-contracts schemefor a water-treatment facility.

France Michaudof Roche and ex-mayor Robert Poirier were found guilty of fraud and breach of trust at theSt-Jrme, Que., courthouse on Tuesday.

All of the crimes were related to the construction of a water-treatment plant in the the residential suburb on Montreal's north shore.

The judge said in his ruling that the court hadestablished beyond any doubt there had been deals reached between the City of Boisbriand and the engineering firm. The evidence included fake bills, as well as evidence that Poirier had benefited from free tickets to sporting events and concerts.

"There was basically evidence of a strategy of corruption and collusion for the divvying up of contracts in Boisbriand. So the judgment rendered today recognized that, in fact, this sort of strategy was criminal, fell under the Criminal Code. Therefore, France Michaud and Robert Poirier were found guilty on most of the charges," Crown prosecutorBrigitte Blair told reporters.

Meanwhile, Poirier was astonished by the verdict.

"I respected the law It's the provincial government which passed those laws. Those laws gave municipalities the choice (on contracts worth)$25,000 to$100,000to choose whichever firm we wanted. Today I am being reproached for having always chosen the same firm, even though the law permitted me to do that," he said following the ruling.

Current Boisbriand mayorMarlene Cordato said she was pleased with the court's ruling, addingthat it drove home the notion that the city was robbed.

"The role of my administration now is to try and recoverthe money that was stolen from us," Cordatosaid in a statement.

Boisbriand water-treatment plant runs deep

Michaud and Poirier were firstarrested in 2011, along with ex-city councillorClaude Brire, theBoisbriand mayor who succeeded Poirier,Sylvie St-Jean, and engineers with the engineering firmsRocheandBPR-Triax.

Lino Zambitothe star witness in Quebec's corruption inquiry, the Charbonneau Commission was also arrested in the affair andpleaded guilty to sixcharges in 2015(conspiracy to commit breach of trust,municipal corruption,
fraud over $5,000,conspiracyto commit fraud over $5,000, intimidation andfraud).

GiuseppeZambito, LinoZambito's father, was originally charged with fraud over $5,000, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of intimidation.

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Both werearrested as part ofOpration Marteau(Operation Hammer)in 2011, the first majorpolice operation targeting corruption and collusion.

A year later, LinoZambitodecided to work with investigators. Over several days, he explained to the Charbonneau commission how a cartel of companies split up contracts in Montreal and Laval.

Liberal MNA Nathalie Normandeauhas also been linked to the scandal involving theBoisbriand water-treatment facility.

Documents revealed last year showed thatNormandeau, who was municipal affairs minister at the time, overruled senior bureaucrats to award the $11-million contract to engineering firm Roche.

The allegations of her involvement have not been proven in a court of law.