The former general manager of Hudson was sentenced Monday after stealing more than $1 million from the town.

A judge ordered Louise Leger Villandré to serve 30 months in prison, but she will not have to repay the money she stole because of her recent declaration of bankruptcy and minimal retirement income.

Villandré pleaded guilty in December 2015 to committing fraud, falsifying documents, and breaching the public trust.

"It's a normal sentence in the circumstances," said Crown prosecutor Mathieu Longpré.

"We looked at the amount of the fraud, the age of Mme. Villandré, as well as other criteria of the law, so the sentence is a normal sentence."  

She stole the money between 1996 and 2003, at which point she retired after working for the municipality for 43 years, 17 of which as general manager.

Villandré would take cheques written to the city and deposit them into her own bank account.

Her scam was easily concealed since she was not only the general manager of Hudson, but also the town's chief clerk and treasurer.

The money she stole has never been recovered, with Longpré saying that authorities did not know what happened to the cash.

Villandré was earning a salary of about $100,000 in Hudson and was stealing about $100,000 per year, but has declared bankruptcy. Villandré’s lawyer Robert Lahaye said she spent it all.

Hudson's new general manager Jean-Pierre Roy does not believe none of the money remains, and is seeking the pension Villandré is meant to receive from the town, and also plans to search for the money she stole.

“Probably the money she stole is hidden somewhere or maybe in some other pocket or in some jurisdiction other than Mme. Villandre, so I can't tell you exactly how but we will really try to get the money back,” said Roy.

Former Hudson councillor Dianne Piacente said the stolen money is long gone, but the harm done to the town of 5,000 will endure. 

"No sentence is going to make up for all the harm that she has done to Hudson. The $120,000 that she was stealing every year that she has pleaded guilty to could have gone a long way to towards fixing the roads," said Piacente.

UPAC began an investigation in March 2013 after town officials noted errors in their paycheques, and later that year discovered other irregularities -- including nine years of back taxes owed by a former mayor.

Police arrested Villandré in October 2014.