Seized cash returned to disgraced Laval civil servant

Prosecutor says police could find no evidence cash obtained illegally

The past month has been very good to Claude Asselin, the former director general for the city of Laval, even though he is still technically serving a two-year prison term.

Asselin, 74, was granted parole a month ago after having served a sixth of the two-year sentence he received on Oct. 18 after he pleaded guilty to being part of the system of collusion used by the city of Laval to award municipal contracts while Gilles Vaillancourt was mayor.

Asselin pleaded guilty to being part of a general conspiracy between 1996 and when he retired in 2006. He was a key player in the conspiracy as he acted as middleman between Vaillancourt, the man who decided which construction companies and engineering firms received contracts before they were even put to tender, and the businessmen who received them. Vaillancourt received a sixyear prison term for his leading role in the conspiracy.

Because he was granted a release on Feb. 15, Asselin was able to accompany his lawyer Gérald Soulière to the Montreal courthouse on Friday for an unusual hearing. Superior Court Justice James Brunton agreed with Soulière’s request for the return of $17,000 in $100 bills seized from a safety deposit box when Asselin was arrested. The former director general was arrested in 2013 along with Vaillancourt and about three dozen others who were charged in Project Honorer. Brunton ordered the Sûreté du Québec to return the cash within a reasonable time.

Brunton agreed with the request after the Crown stated that it had no objections. Prosecutor Philippe Pierre Langevin conceded the police could find no evidence that the cash was obtained illegally.

On Feb. 15, Quebec’s Commission des libérations conditionelles granted Asselin a conditional release that includes a requirement that he take part in volunteer work for a community organization and that he “make reasonable efforts to re-establish or maintain ties to his family network.”

According to a written summary of the decision, Asselin acknowledges he “knew the process (set up by Vaillancourt) was not regular, but you kept your eyes closed.”

“You say you regret having closed your eyes. You state you are aware of having caused harm to the residents of the city of Laval, to its employees and to your family. You have returned to the city sums that came from your personal savings and the funds in your pension were removed in a significant way.”

When Asselin pleaded guilty in October, his lawyer said he had paid back a significant sum of money to the city as part of negotiations made within the context of a civil lawsuit Laval filed against many who were involved in the system of collusion. Soulière said back in October that Asselin was the only person who “paid back money he never received.” Soulière said his client never pocketed money from the scheme and that he did what he did “because he did not want to cast doubt on the mayor.”

You have returned to the city sums that came from your personal savings and the funds in your pension were removed in a significant way.