This article written in french by Stéphane St-Amour was automatically translated using AI
Being sued in a civil case for $6 million, six former co-defendants of Gilles Vaillancourt could face trial in 2028.
“We estimate that the case will be ready in 2026 and expect to go to trial around 2028,” said Simon Tremblay, Senior Director of the City of Laval’s Legal Affairs Department, in an interview with Courrier Laval.
Allegations of Corruption and Collusion
In a legal action filed on December 14, 2022, the City of Laval claims that Pierre Lambert, Claude de Guise, Jean Gauthier, Jean Bertrand, Robert Talbot, and Guy Vaillancourt played “an active and significant role” in a system of corruption and collusion that operated during Gilles Vaillancourt’s reign, diverting massive sums related to the awarding of public contracts.
The lawsuit is based on the Act to Recover Unjustly Paid Sums due to fraud or fraudulent practices in public contracts.
According to the City, the defendants “helped maintain the system over time and benefited from it.” Their participation allegedly involved the collection, storage, and redistribution of a 2% kickback on the value of contracts awarded to firms in engineering and construction cartels.
Court Rejects Requests for Dismissal
On November 1, 2023, Superior Court Judge Catherine Dagenais rejected dismissal requests from five of the six defendants.
The defendants argued that the law applies only to companies that benefited from the fraudulent system of contract-sharing and to those involved in awarding contracts with at least 20% overpricing.
They also claimed that their involvement in handling the kickback occurred after the awarding of public contracts and therefore did not fall under the scope of the law.
However, the City countered that the kickback system was central to the scheme and its raison d’être.
Background
The five defendants were among the 37 individuals arrested on May 9, 2013, during a major raid by the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC). The operation exposed a criminal organization that controlled Laval City Hall for over 20 years.
Identified as “facilitators” of municipal corruption, the defendants were:
- Lawyers (Pierre L. Lambert and Robert Talbot)
- Notaries (Jean Gauthier and Jean Bertrand)
- A businessman (Guy Vaillancourt)
In 2017, criminal charges against Talbot, Bertrand, Lambert, and Vaillancourt for money laundering and receiving stolen property were dropped due to the Jordan ruling on delays in the justice system.
However, Jean Gauthier pleaded guilty to conspiracy, breach of trust, and possession of proceeds of crime. He received a sentence of two years minus one day to be served in the community, along with a $100,000 fine.
The sixth defendant, Claude De Guise, was the former Director of Engineering for the City of Laval. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud, and corruption on July 11, 2017, and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
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