Ex-Montreal engineer pocketed thousands in kickbacks beginning in 2000
October 23, 2012 - 11:31 AM
MONTREAL - A retired City of Montreal engineer says collusion became rampant on local sewer contracts at the turn of the century and that he was pocketing kickbacks galore.
Gilles Surprenant is back on the stand for a third day at the Charbonneau Commission, going over 91 contracts in which he was involved.
Surprenant testified he received kickbacks from construction bosses ranging from $3,000 to $10,000. In one bigger deal, he pocketed about $20,000.
He says he walked away with between $50,000 and $60,000 in 2000 alone.
Surprenant has admitted he collected as much as $600,000 in kickbacks over a 20-year period.
He also received numerous tropical holidays, expensive meals and concert and hockey tickets.
Surprenant says collusion was rampant and was happening on contracts big and small.
He says he artificially increased the price of contracts determined by a computer program to meet the requests of construction companies working in a cartel.
Surprenant repeated today that his bosses always signed off on his work.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012