Three ex-employees who collected coins from parking meters convicted of theft
Three men who were fired five years ago from the organization that manages the city ’s parking meters were found guilty on Thursday of several counts of theft for having stolen toonies from the boxes they were hired to collect money from.
While delivering his decision, Quebec Court Judge Pierre Labelle also criticized the almost non-existent checks and balances Stationnement de Montréal had in place in 2012 and 2013 when the three men — Richard Bellavance, 56, Jocelyn Joseph Lefebvre, 50, and Jean Michel Songue, 33 — collectively stole nearly $300,000 on their routes. “It is not the type of laxness we expect from a (para-municipal organization) that manages millions of dollars,” Labelle said.
According to Stationnement de Montréal’s website, it brought in more than $53 million in revenue for the city in 2016. The judge noted that “almost anyone” who worked for the organization at the time the crimes were committed had access to the keys that made the thefts possible. Two of the three men convicted on Thursday had copies of the keys in their possession when they were arrested in 2013.
The investigation of the three men and another employee at the time, Dave Walder Angibeau, began after a manager noticed significant differences in the money they collected compared with the amounts collected by other employees. The manager also noticed that the men would return from their routes with noticeably low numbers of toonies. A stay of proceedings was placed on Angibeau’s case in November after his lawyer successfully argued it took the Crown too long to bring his case to trial. The other three men acted as their own attorneys during the trial. Labelle advised the trio to find lawyers to represent them when the case enters the sentencing stage in June.
“I have to advise you that this type of crime generally draws a prison sentence. I do not want to take you by surprise,” Labelle told the three men. “I reiterate that the help of a lawyer is invaluable.”
The judge also asked that presentencing reports be prepared in advance of the sentencing hearing. Labelle said the reports will help the court learn more about “your history and your evolution” since the crimes were committed.
As their defence, the men argued that security at Stationnement de Montréal was so lax that any number of people working there could have committed the crimes they were charged with. Labelle agreed, to a point. But the judge highlighted other evidence, including an analysis done by a forensic accountant as convincing proof “there is no other conclusion that can be drawn” except that they stole money from the boxes they were assigned to collect from.
After the decision was delivered, Songue told reporters that he will appeal.
“I think evidence was modified,” Songue said, adding he didn’t appreciate being dubbed “The King of Parking Meters” by certain media following his arrest. “I think I am a victim in this. They have re-accused me of things I did not do. Everything that I took from Stationnement de Montréal I paid back to Stationnement de Montréal.”
Songue was referring to how he was the first person charged in the investigation. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and theft in that earlier case.