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| In Montreal, Mayor Held on Charges of Bribery | In Montreal, Mayor Held on Charges of Bribery |
| (1 day later) | |
| OTTAWA — Eight months after taking office with a vow to end corruption, the mayor of Montreal was arrested at his home early Monday by a special anticorruption police squad. | OTTAWA — Eight months after taking office with a vow to end corruption, the mayor of Montreal was arrested at his home early Monday by a special anticorruption police squad. |
| The arrest occurred as a 20-month-old public commission has uncovered widespread corruption, linking politicians and organized crime, in Montreal’s construction industry. | The arrest occurred as a 20-month-old public commission has uncovered widespread corruption, linking politicians and organized crime, in Montreal’s construction industry. |
| The police said the mayor, Michael Applebaum, faced 14 charges related to bribery involving tens of thousands of dollars. They declined to provide more details, saying that the investigation was continuing and that more arrests were likely. | The police said the mayor, Michael Applebaum, faced 14 charges related to bribery involving tens of thousands of dollars. They declined to provide more details, saying that the investigation was continuing and that more arrests were likely. |
| Television networks showed Mr. Applebaum arriving in an unmarked police car at the Montreal headquarters of the Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police force that leads the anticorruption unit commonly known as the Hammer Squad. | Television networks showed Mr. Applebaum arriving in an unmarked police car at the Montreal headquarters of the Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police force that leads the anticorruption unit commonly known as the Hammer Squad. |
| The police said that two of Mr. Applebaum’s former associates were also arrested and charged. One, Saulie Zajdel, was an unsuccessful Conservative candidate for Parliament who was given a created job that had no obvious defined responsibilities. He stepped down after uproar over his purported use of the position to act as an unelected but de facto member of Parliament. | The police said that two of Mr. Applebaum’s former associates were also arrested and charged. One, Saulie Zajdel, was an unsuccessful Conservative candidate for Parliament who was given a created job that had no obvious defined responsibilities. He stepped down after uproar over his purported use of the position to act as an unelected but de facto member of Parliament. |
| Mr. Applebaum became the mayor of Montreal, Canada’s second-largest city, in November, after his predecessor, Gérald Tremblay, resigned as the corruption inquiry began implicating his closest associates. Mr. Applebaum is the first English speaker to hold the post in 100 years. | Mr. Applebaum became the mayor of Montreal, Canada’s second-largest city, in November, after his predecessor, Gérald Tremblay, resigned as the corruption inquiry began implicating his closest associates. Mr. Applebaum is the first English speaker to hold the post in 100 years. |
| On Monday, the premier of Quebec, Pauline Marois, called on Mr. Applebaum to follow Mr. Tremblay’s example. “He doesn’t really have a choice,” she told reporters. “He should resign.” | On Monday, the premier of Quebec, Pauline Marois, called on Mr. Applebaum to follow Mr. Tremblay’s example. “He doesn’t really have a choice,” she told reporters. “He should resign.” |
| About 10 hours after his arrest, Mr. Applebaum left the Sûreté headquarters without comment. | About 10 hours after his arrest, Mr. Applebaum left the Sûreté headquarters without comment. |
| The police said that Mr. Applebaum’s arrest was related to two real estate deals between 2006 and 2011 in the largely English-speaking Montreal borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dâme-de-Grace. He was the borough’s mayor during that time, and the anticorruption squad raided the borough’s offices in February. | The police said that Mr. Applebaum’s arrest was related to two real estate deals between 2006 and 2011 in the largely English-speaking Montreal borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dâme-de-Grace. He was the borough’s mayor during that time, and the anticorruption squad raided the borough’s offices in February. |
| The corruption inquiry, led by Justice France Charbonneau, was set up by the province of Quebec in October 2011 after a series of reports by Radio-Canada. | The corruption inquiry, led by Justice France Charbonneau, was set up by the province of Quebec in October 2011 after a series of reports by Radio-Canada. |
| Last month, the squad arrested 36 people, including Gilles Vaillancourt, the longtime mayor of Laval, a Montreal suburb, on charges including abuse of confidence, fraud against the government, conspiracy, municipal corruption, money laundering and gangsterism. | Last month, the squad arrested 36 people, including Gilles Vaillancourt, the longtime mayor of Laval, a Montreal suburb, on charges including abuse of confidence, fraud against the government, conspiracy, municipal corruption, money laundering and gangsterism. |
| Testimony at the Charbonneau Commission indicated that almost every member of Laval’s City Council, including the man appointed interim mayor, had been linked to illegal political donations. | Testimony at the Charbonneau Commission indicated that almost every member of Laval’s City Council, including the man appointed interim mayor, had been linked to illegal political donations. |
| All of the council members and all of Laval’s school board trustees are members of Mr. Vaillancourt’s political party. | All of the council members and all of Laval’s school board trustees are members of Mr. Vaillancourt’s political party. |
| Early this month, the province of Quebec placed Laval under the control of three trustees. | Early this month, the province of Quebec placed Laval under the control of three trustees. |
| Evidence collected by the Charbonneau Commission suggested that the donations were bribes used to secure municipal construction contracts in and around Montreal in a process that also required contractors to pay off known organized crime figures. | Evidence collected by the Charbonneau Commission suggested that the donations were bribes used to secure municipal construction contracts in and around Montreal in a process that also required contractors to pay off known organized crime figures. |
| Municipal employees in Montreal have also confessed to receiving bribes from contractors. | Municipal employees in Montreal have also confessed to receiving bribes from contractors. |
| Peter F. Trent, the mayor of Westmount, a small city that is part of Montreal’s metropolitan government, said he blamed Montreal’s municipal political parties, a system largely unknown elsewhere in Canada, for the corruption. | Peter F. Trent, the mayor of Westmount, a small city that is part of Montreal’s metropolitan government, said he blamed Montreal’s municipal political parties, a system largely unknown elsewhere in Canada, for the corruption. |
| “You set up i.o.u.’s when you have a political party seeking funds,” he said. | “You set up i.o.u.’s when you have a political party seeking funds,” he said. |
| Because a strong majority of Montreal residents rent rather than own, Mr. Trent said that few of them directly paid property taxes, the city’s only major source of income. Lacking a financial interest, Mr. Trent believes that many Montrealers have become disengaged from the city’s politics. | Because a strong majority of Montreal residents rent rather than own, Mr. Trent said that few of them directly paid property taxes, the city’s only major source of income. Lacking a financial interest, Mr. Trent believes that many Montrealers have become disengaged from the city’s politics. |
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: |
| Correction: June 19, 2013 | |
An | An article on Tuesday about the arrest of Mayor Michael Applebaum of Montreal described incorrectly, in some editions, the amount of money involved in bribery charges faced by Mr. Applebaum. It is tens of thousands of dollars, not hundreds of thousands. |