A former Mayor of Montreal is in court this week for a preliminary hearing on charges of fraud, breach of trust, and corruption in municipal affairs.
Michael Applebaum, who was borough mayor of Cote des Neiges-Notre Dame de Grace when the offences allegedly took place, is accused of conspiring with the chief of staff of the CDN-NDG borough and another city councillor in order to make zoning changes to favour multiple development projects built between 2002 and 2012 including a seniors' residence on Cote St. Luc Rd, a housing project on Jean Talon St., and the NDG Sports Centre, among others.
Applebaum, along with Saulie Zajdel and Jean-Yves Bisson, was arrested and charged in 2013.
Zajdel was a long-time councillor for the city of Montreal before becoming a candidate for the Conservative party in the last federal election, while Bisson was a director of permits who worked in CDN-NDG.
Zajdel pleaded guilty to charges of breach of trust and corruption last week rather than go to trial. He was sentenced to 240 hours of community service, was ordered to donate $10,000 to charity, and will be on probation for 18 months.
The lawyer for Zajdel, Jeffrey Boro, said last week that the cases involving his client are not the same as the ones that concern Applebaum.
Bisson pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe, and was sentenced to 240 hours of community service, 18 months on probation, and ordered to give $13,0000 to charity groups. The three other charges he faced were dropped.
