MONTREAL - After two decades as mayor of Mascouche, Richard Marcotte walked off a plane and into the custody of the Surete du Quebec on Thursday night.
The mayor's trip to Cuba was interrupted on Tuesday when SQ officers undertook a series of pre-dawn raids in his city and neighbouring communities on the North shore. With a warrant out for his arrest, Marcotte was the last of 15 people wanted during the April 17 operation.
Construction magnate Tony Accurso was arrested during the raids. The end of a two year operation, the SQ claims that the raids were the start of an attempt to dismantle a network of collusion in the awarding of lucrative public contracts.
Marcotte, 65, was greeted by members of the SQ's permanent anti-corruption unit, UPAC, at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport around midnight and was driven to investigators at the provincial police's Montreal headquarters. The mayor's home was searched over the course of the week.
Charged with conspiracy, acts of corruption, breach of trust and fraud against a municipality, Marcotte was tied to construction allegations in 2010. During an investigation by Radio-Canada's Enquete program, Marcotte was said to have been involved in a scheme where he awarded municipal contracts in exchange for political funding.
In all, 47 charges were brought against the 15 people arrested by UPAC this week, including fraud, corruption and abuse of confidence.
Released on Friday morning, Marcotte wasn't speaking to the press but promised a statement at a later date. The mayor will retain his position in Mascouche, with some asking if he will step down.
