Hells Angels had influence with Caisse Desjardins, Solidarity FTQ fund

A Charbonneau Commission investigator spent Wednesday explaining how high-ranking directors of the workers' investment fund FTQ-Solidarity were said to have openly requested bribes and kickbacks in exchange for financing.

This came to light as police investigated Project Tipi and its links to gangsters and one of the province's largest investment funds.

Project Tipi was a plan hatched by Laurent Gaudreau in the early 00's to build an outdoor concert hall east of Quebec City that was supported by multiple financial organizations, including the Solidarity Fund-FTQ's real estate branch (SOLIM) and Investissement Quebec.

SOLIM invested $3 million in the project, but in 2004, when the Caisse Desjardins wanted to invest, Gaudreau was pressured to pay money to Denis Vincent, a Hells Angel associate who was working hand-in-hand with former FTQ-Construction president Jean Lavallée.

At the inquiry on Wednesday investigator Michel Comeau presented wiretap evidence showing that Vincent was working hand in hand with SOLIM, and that Vincent was apparently making decisions for the investment fund.

Testimony also shows that Vincent, along with SOLIM representative Guy Gionest, had a close relationship with Caisse Desjardins director Marcel Champagne.

Gaudreau refused, so Vincent went to the Caisse Desjardins manager handling the case, Richard Gagnon, and said the Caisse should pay him and SOLIM $3 million.

Gagnon said that was most irregular and there was no way the Caisse would take money from a client's account and hand it over to someone else.

That's when wiretap evidence shows Vincent went over Gagnon's head to Champagne, who found a way to clean the money out of Gaudreau's accounts and give it to SOLIM.

With no money Gaudreau's investment fell apart, and Gagnon ended up losing his job.

"The man from the Caisse was Richard Gagnon. I would like to be clear Madame Chairman, that Gagnon was honest and showed integrity throughout the project. He was the person charged with the work and was not aware of what was going on above him and around him," said Comeau.