Police raid home, office of Laval mayor
LAVAL, QUE.— Quebec’s new anti-corruption squad launched its highestprofile raid against a politician, sifting through the personal residence and the offices of the mayor of a major Montreal-area municipality Thursday.
The searches targeted Gilles Vaillancourt, the powerful mayor who has enjoyed a 23-year reign at the helm of Laval, Quebec’s third-biggest municipality.
About 70 officers from the provincial police anti-corruption unit participated in the operation; Vaillancourt was not home when the officers arrived there, his press secretary said.
Laval city hall was evacuated when the raids began around 4 p.m.
A spokeswoman for the anti-corruption unit wouldn’t say what was being seized but she confirmed material was gathered as part of an ongoing investigation.
“There is an investigation underway and the seizures are taking place to help along that investigation,” said Anne-Frederick Laurence.
Vaillancourt is not accused of any crime.
The mayor has in the past expressed outrage on occasions when accusers tied him to allegations of crooked cash dealings.
A powerful figure in municipal politics, Vaillancourt has been in office since 1989, although his reign has become increasingly marked by controversy.
A news report last month on illegal campaign financing said a onetime fundraiser for the provincial Parti Québécois claimed to have received $10,000 in cash from Vaillancourt during a 1994 election.
The anti-corruption unit was created by the former Charest government because of scandals in recent years.
There have also been criminal charges laid against high-ranking members of Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay’s inner circle.