Corruption probe hears that hockey hero Jean Beliveau was used to get contracts

MONTREAL – A crooked construction-industry executive has explained that he used famous figures, including a beloved hockey figure, to curry favour with politicians.

The retired engineering boss says he used Montreal Canadiens legend Jean Beliveau to wow a small-town mayor who was doling out a multimillion-dollar water treatment contract.

Gilles Cloutier shared the story today at Quebec’s corruption inquiry, where he has given numerous examples of how he broke election laws in his decades as a political fixer.

He says his company, Roche Engineering Inc., wanted to win the contract a decade ago in St-Stanislas-de-Kostka, a tiny town in southeastern Quebec.

He says that, at the mayor’s suggestion, he invited the mayor and his grandson to a Canadiens’ game. During the first intermission, he brought them up to the oldtimers’ lounge.

Waiting there was Beliveau, the longtime captain, with a gift box prepared by his wife. He gave the box to the boy, who pulled out a Canadiens jersey with Beliveau’s famous No. 4 and signed it.

Cloutier says the mayor and his grandson started crying.

He says that a few days later, he spoke with the mayor, the now-deceased Maurice Vaudrin, and he couldn’t stop talking about the event.

Cloutier says that’s when he knew he had sealed the deal. At the next council meeting, he says, his company was granted the contract to begin performing exploratory work on the project.

Cloutier had been hired by the engineering company to help with so-called “business development” after decades as a political organizer dating back to the 1950s.

He told the inquiry on Tuesday about flooding municipal election campaigns with corporate money — which is illegal in Quebec — and obtaining construction contracts in return.