'King of Laval' Gilles Vaillancourt could face 6 years in prison, must repay $8M

The manonce known as the "King of Laval" is behind bars.

Gilles Vaillancourt, who ran Quebec's third-largest city for more than two decades,pleadedguilty Thursday tofraud,breach of trust and conspiracy to commit fraud, dating back to histime as mayor.

Under an agreement reached with the Crown, Vaillancourt will voluntarily repay the city $7million from a Swiss bank account, as well as roughly $1 million in other assets, including his condominium. He is also waiving his pension.

I accomplished great things inLaval, but I know the errors I committed are unacceptable.- Gilles Vaillancourt

Theplea dealcalls forVaillancourtto spend six years in prison.

He could be eligible to apply for parole in a year.

Quebec Superior Court JusticeJamesBruntonmust approve the sentence, whichwill be handed down on Dec. 15.

Vaillancourt will remain behind bars in the meantime.

Expression of regret

Vaillancourt, who was Laval mayor from 1989 to 2012,appeared this morning atthe Laval courthouse.

He stood as the judge read out each charge individually, answering"guilty" to all three with a solemn voice and neutral expression.

Later during the court proceedings, he read out a short statement apologizing for his crimes.

"I regret very sincerely the errors I havecommittedand, above all, the pain that I have caused my friends and family and the City of Laval," he said.

"I accomplished great things inLaval, but I know the errors I committed are unacceptable."

NadineTouma,Vaillancourt'sdefence lawyer, said her client is hopeful people will remember hispositive contributions to the city during his lengthy time in office.

"Mr.Vaillancourtis a man who dedicated his whole life to public affairs and did it with patience and talent," she said outside the courtroom.

"He is now 75 years old, almost 76, and he is now looking for peace."

Crown prosecutorRichard Rougeau told reporters the plea deal, including the six-year sentence, came afterlengthy negotiations.

There was some confusion early inVaillancourt's court hearing. At first, he refused toadmit to hisintention to commit the crimes, at which point the judge briefly suspended the hearing.

Upon resuming, Bruntonexplained to Vaillancourt that he had the rightnot to admit to his criminal responsibility. If he choseto do that, he wouldgo to trial.

Following that explanation, Vaillancourt again pleaded guilty and admitted criminal responsibility.

Nabbed in anti-corruption raid

Vaillancourtwas arrested in March 2013 along with 36 others as part of a sweepby the province's anti-corruption unit, known asUPAC.

He was originally facing12 charges, including conspiracy, fraud, influence peddling, breach of trust and gangsterism.

The gangsterism charges have beendropped as part of the plea deal.

Thirty-three of Vaillancourt'sco-accused are still slated to stand trial.

As part of the agreement, Vaillancourt has admitted that he knew about a system of corruption and collusion within his administration at Laval city hall.

Vaillancourt also admitted that during that time, certain sums of money were transferred from Canada to Switzerland, into various accounts held or controlled by Vaillancourt.

'No one is above the law'

Shortly after Vaillancourt pleaded guilty, Laval's current mayor, Marc Demers, released a video online declaring "mission accomplished."

Demers, who took office three years ago, said hisadministrationdelivered on its promise to get the city'smoney back.

"This is the first step," he said in the video.

"We will be taking to court everyone who has stolen from the City of Laval. You can count on me."

At a news conference, Demerssaid city lawyers have been working with the Crown and the defence on the agreement since April.

He also noted the proposed sentence of six years, if the judge agrees to it, will bethe toughest ever handed down to an elected official in Quebec.

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard said the fundamental message following the guilty pleais that "no one is above the law."

Couillarddeclined to comment on the specifics of the plea deal, saying it's part of an "independent process that no elected official can comment on."