Laval mayor's home searched in Quebec anti-corruption raid

Quebec's anti-corruption squad raided municipal offices in the Montreal suburb of Laval and the home of the city's mayor on Thursday as part of an investigation into the awarding of contracts.

About 70 agents from the provincial Unit Permanente Anticorruption, or UPAC, descended on city hall,MayorGilles Vaillancourt'shouse andbuildings housing themunicipality's engineering and human resources departments.

It was UPAC's highest profile raid against a politician since it was created last year.

The raids began at about 3:45 p.m. ET. Staff at city hall had to evacuate the building while officers looked for documents and seized computer hardware.

"We don't have a lot of details for the moment. All we know is that there's a search. We don't know how long they'll be here. All I know is that they're conducting a search at city hall," city spokesperson Johanne Bournivalsaid.

"I've heard that the UPAC team is at his house but he wasn't home. He had an activity linked to his mayoral duties this afternoon."

Vaillancourt has been the subject of allegations of political impropriety for at least two years. InNovember 2010, CBC's French-language news service reported thathe offered $10,000 in illegalcash contributionsto the election campaign of a Parti Qubcoiscandidate for Quebec's national assembly, and an unspecified amount of cash to a Liberal candidate. Vaillancourt denied the accusations. Radio-Canada reporter Alain Gravel said investigators began looking into Vaillancourt around that time.

Then this summer, allegations ofanother $10,000 cash contributionsurfaced.

Mayor for 23 years

A spokeswoman for the anti-corruption unit wouldn't say what was being seized, but she confirmed material was gathered as part of an ongoing investigation.

"There is an investigation underway and the seizures are taking place to help along that investigation," Anne-Frederick Laurence said.

Vaillancourt is not accused of any crime.

Vaillancourt hasenjoyed a 23-year reign at the helm of Laval, the third-biggest municipality in the province. He was a city councillor before that, starting in 1973.

A series of Quebec construction executives,government officials andpoliticians have been charged with criminal offencesas part of Quebec'syears-longanti-corruption efforts.The mayor of the Montreal-area municipality ofMascoucheand twoformermayorsofnearby Boisbriand have all been charged, as has the onetime right-hand man of Montreal Mayor Grald Tremblay, former citycouncillorFrank Zampino.

A public inquiry, known as the Charbonneaucommission,is also looking intocorruption in the awarding of construction contracts and ties to politics and organized crime. A key witness testifying at the commission over the last week admitted he was part of a group of companies thatcolluded to rig the price of bidsonCity of Montrealcontracts.