Rockland mayor does ‘duty,’ releases documents

In an unusual, pre-emptive strike as an OPP anti-rackets criminal investigation closes in, the mayor of Rockland has released 46 documents that “substantiate” what he called the misuse of public funds.

Marcel Guibord issued the release on Friday, saying he disclosed the documents for fear of being an “accessory after the fact of an offence.”

“This is not about transparency, openness and accountability, which principles I adhere to. It is about my public duty, whether in public office or as a private citizen, to report to the authorities any suspicion of an illegal or criminal activity, particularly when documents exist to substantiate those suspicions,” Guibord said in a statement.

The mayor also said his council has always acted with “integrity” and in the “best interest” of Rockland citizens.

The mayor said in his statement that the City of Rockland is under investigation.

In fact, no city employees are under criminal investigation and the OPP anti-rackets unit wants to question only the mayor and two councillors.

It should also be noted that the breach of trust investigation has nothing to do with the documents the mayor released.

The breach of trust investigation is anchored in emails about ousting the former town manager.

Those emails, reviewed by the Citizen, are between Guibord and his former business partner, Rockland lawyer Stéphane Lalonde, and two sitting town councillors. They date back to November 2010 — weeks before the politicians were sworn into office following municipal elections held that fall. Lalonde coached the three on how to get rid of the former town manager, Daniel Gatien.

In a negotiated settlement, Gatien received $238,224 in salary and benefits. The municipality also paid $35,000 to cover his legal fees. As well, legal and mediation fees for the settlement of the severance agreement cost more than $99,600, bringing the total to $372.834.40.

The mayor’s public document dump on the town’s website is related to meetings and invoices from the previous administration.

The freshly-released documents deal with an agreement that would have seen the town finance legal fees for the former town manager who launched a defamation suit against Lalonde. But the criminal investigation has nothing to do with the previous administration.

The police investigation was actually launched when the mayor made a complaint that emails had allegedly been stolen from his laptop computer.

The Rockland mayor confirmed to the Citizen that he filed a complaint to the OPP about the alleged theft of his emails.

Once the contents of those emails were revealed, the OPP probe went well beyond any alleged theft.

Guibord also told the Citizen that there’s a “possibility” that the emails are not authentic, but when asked why he would report emails from his home computer as stolen if he thought they may be fake, the mayor declined to answer.

Lalonde told the Citizen he is “absolutely not worried” about the OPP investigation.

The investigation continues and the Citizen has learned that prosecutors are now considering if the police evidence warrants criminal charges.