Quebec anti-corruption unit arrests ex-mayor, four other people

MONTREAL – Quebec’s anti-corruption unit has arrested five people in connection with an alleged kickback scheme involving municipal contracts in the Montreal-area community of Terrebonne.

Those arrested Thursday include Jean-Marc Robitaille, a former mayor of the town.

The others are Daniel Belec, Jean Leroux, Luc Papillon and Normand Trudel.

They are accused of corruption and breach of trust involving an alleged contract-sharing scheme in which certain engineering firms and entrepreneurs were favoured over others between 2001 and 2012.

Last September, investigators froze assets belonging to Robitaille worth roughly $94,000 in connection with work done on his secondary residence.

Robitaille was Terrebonne mayor between 1997 and 2016. He served as MP for the federal riding of Terrebonne with the Progressive Conservative party between 1988 and 1993.