Zambito denies leaking squad’s files
Former construction boss denies lea king information about corruption probe
Former construction boss Lino Zambito denied on Sunday that he was responsible for leaking information about the Quebec anti corruption squad’ s ongoing investigations of prominent provincial Liberal party members.
“I am not the source that UPAC is looking for. I have no access to files and no information on the investigative at a news conference in Montreal.
Z am bi to, who was a star witness at the Ch a rb on ne au Commission, said he was suspending his co-operation with UPAC because he is considered a suspect in the investigation and he has lost confidence in UPAC boss Robert Lafrenière. He said Lafrenière needs to be replaced for UPAC to function effectively.
Zambito also called on Quebec Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux to hold an independent investigation into UPAC, which has been plagued by leaks and infighting.
In an unsealed affidavit released on Thursday, UPAC investigators alleged that Zambito, former UP AC investigator Richard De spa ties, Liberal MNA Guy Ouellette and Sûreté du Québec officer Stéphane Bonhomme orchestrated the leaks together.
No one has been charged in the case. The leaks involved information related to UPAC investigations into former deputy premier Nathalie Norman de au and Quebec Liberal Party insider Marc-Yvan Côté, who are scheduled to go to trial in April on fraud and corruption charges.
Lawyers for Normandeau, Côté and four others are trying to have the case tossed out, saying the media leaks have compromised their clients’ chances for a fair trial.
During a court hearing on Jan .31, Zambito testified that he believes Lafrenière ordered the arrest of Normandeau to pressure the Liberals to renew his mandate. She was arrested in 2016, one week before Lafrenière’s mandate was to end.
Zambito says he has no clue why he was named in the affidavit as one of the leakers, and that he has never met De spa ties and B on hom me.
He alleged that the people responsible for the media leaks work in the upper management of UP AC, and implied that La fr eniè re has been involved in lea king information to journalists.
“I am an important witness in four UPAC cases and I don’t understand why UPAC is attacking my credibility,” he said.
He said the leaks could lead to some investigations being scrapped and trials being unsuccessful “because they have given ammunition to the defence to minimize my credibility.”
Z am bi to claimed that the senior management at UPAC is investigating whistleblowers and other witnesses who are helping investigators on the ground, instead of investigating information given to them from citizens who are reporting corruption and collusion.
He said he suspects UPAC’s probe into alleged illegal financinginvolving former premier Jean Charest and former Quebec Liberal Party financier Marc Bibeau has reached a dead end.
He said he knew the investigation was likely over when Charest turned up at a Liberal convention in Quebec City in November and bashed UPAC.
“He is a smart guy. He knew this file wasn’t going anywhere,” Zambito claimed.
At the convention, Charest said his reputation has been sullied in the media, with leaked information turning into inflated, often completely untrue reports while offering him no real opportunity to defend his honour.
And he suggested Quebec’ s anti corruption unit—which he says is under tremendous pressure to get results—is the source of much of the negative press he has been getting recently.
Zambito said he has co-operated with the investigation regarding Charest and Bibeau, dubbed Opération Mâchurer, but denied he has seen any of the evidence, as last week’s affidavit alleges.
Zambito said he met with investigators in the case and, after speaking with them, told them he believed they had enough evidence to proceed with charges.
He challenged UPAC’s senior managers to find “real evidence that I had Mâchurer documents in my hand.”
Zambito also called on the government to delay the adoption of Bill 107, which will beef up UPAC’s power and make it into a full-fledged police force, until the organization is cleaned up and has regained the public’s trust.
“We need to know the source of the leaks before UPAC becomes a police force,” he said.
Zambito pleaded guilty in 2015 to fraud and corruption charges, but was spared jail time because he co-operated with the Ch a rb on ne au Commission.
He said he is not proud of his past but has accepted responsibility for his actions and has paid his debt to society.
“I want to leave a less corrupt Quebec to the next generation and to my children,” he said.
Iaman important witness in four UPAC cases and I don’t understand why UPACis attacking my credibility.