CORRUPTION TALES HAVE CITY HALL STUDYING WHETHER TO BRING WORK BACK IN-HOUSE, INSTEAD OF CONTRACTING OUT.

Robert Marcil has denied allegations that he helped rig contracts

“Throughout my career with the city of Montreal, I always executed my work

with the greatest integrity.”

FORMER HEAD OF PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT ROBERT MARCIL

The former head of Montreal’s public works department is expected to testify before the Charbonneau Commission early next week, it was announced Friday.

Robert Marcil’s name has been mentioned hundreds of times at the inquiry, but he has yet to appear in person before France Charbonneau and her co-commissioner, Renaud Lachance.

Most recently, engineering firm executive Michel Lalonde testified that he paid Marcil a “cut” of about $5,000 for every public works contract the top city bureaucrat helped rig.

The city regularly hires engineering firms to draw up plans and monitor construction work sites on its behalf, but they, like construction companies, must compete for that work.

As public works director, Lalonde said, Marcil was in a position to get the right people on the selection committees and make sure the contracts were awarded to the desired firm.

Marcil denied these allegations in a release, saying he never accepted cash from anyone and that he wished to testify in order to clear his name.

“In October, I met with investigators working for the Charbonneau Commission and I answered all of their questions,” the Jan. 31 release stated. “Throughout my career with the city of Montreal, I always executed my work with the greatest integrity.”

Marcil resigned from his job in 2009 after it was revealed that he had vacationed in Italy with local construction magnate Giuseppe (Joe) Borsellino the previous year.

Borsellino, who appeared before the Charbonneau Commission earlier this month, denied that the lavish trip was his way of “thanking” Marcil for ensuring that Borsellino’s company was awarded a $5.5-million emergency repair contract. He maintained that the invitation was extended because he felt his relationship with the city had soured.

Marcil, who could take the stand as early as Monday afternoon, will follow inquiry investigator Guy Desrosiers, who began his testimony late Thursday. Desrosiers was tasked with reviewing a series of municipal reports into contract tendering dating back to 1997, and has been providing the commissioners with an overview of each report and its recommendations — many of which appear never to have been implemented. Desrosiers’s testimony is being treated as a primer for witnesses to come.