Trpanier denies he was at centre of collusion scheme

The man several top engineering executives identified as the lynchpin in a contract-splitting scheme at Montreal City Hall says he helped firmsmeet to boost their chancesof winning contracts, but he was not involved in collusion.

Bernard Trpanier, the former head of fundraising for the municipal party Union Montral, told the provinces corruption commission today that a system of contract-sharing among engineering firms existed before he took up his post with the party in 2004.

They asked for his help, Trpanier testified, insisting that what was in place wasn't a "system of collusion," but rather an agreement in an open market. He said he shared information with the firms about upcoming projects and helped to make sure the work was divided up fairly amongst them.

It was one of many apparent contradictions in testimony that drew exasperated responses from commission prosecutor Denis Gallant and requests for clarification from the chair of the commission, France Charbonneau.

Several times during his testimony, Trpanier was instructed to listen fully to the questions and not interrupt after responding with tangential information, sometimes read from a list he had prepared.

Before the start of his testimony Tuesday, Trpanier's lawyer confirmedhe was one of the few witnesses who would not meet with commission investigators before testifying.

Trpanier denied ever asking for a three per cent cut from the engineering firmsfor everycontract they won an allegation which earned him the nickname Mr. Three Per Cent, according to previous witnesses before the commission.

Hesaid his only role in collecting cash for the party was through tickets for fundraising events.

He did admit that the number of tickets for those cocktails that firms were expected to buy was tied to a list he had of firms that won city contracts.Those that won the larger projects would be expected to buy more tickets, he told the commission.

He also said he never asked for a cash infusion for the 2005 election, a request which several of the engineers said cost their firmsbetween $100,000 and $200,000 and were delivered in one or two lump sums.

He later clarified to say that the money was collected over several years, not just for one election. Some of that money camein as payment fortickets sold for events, he said.

Trpanier reiterated thathis job was tosellfundraising ticketsto fill the party coffers.

Consortiums and contracts

Several witnesses have described Trpanier as the middleman in an ingrained collusion scheme, which they said required contributions to Union Montrals election campaigns in exchange for entry to a closed system of contract sharing.

Those witnessesincluding executives from some of the provinces largest engineering firms Dessau, SNC-Lavalin and BPR said they were told in advance whoeach would partner with in a consortium to make the bids and how much they were to bid.

Trpanier initially denied any involvement in that arrangement, saying that he would let the firms "fight it out" once the tenders were released.

In 2004 and 2005, he said, there were very few tenders were being released by the city.

He then said, "I tried to makeit fair and equitable for everyone," telling the commission he was involved in creating consortiums to put forward bids and he tried to facilitateopenings for those who contributed to the party.

When challengedby Commission Chair France Charbonneau on how those two ideas existed concurrently, he said there was nothing stopping another consortium from making a bid.

"It wasn't predetermined," he said.

Lalonde's role challenged

One of the largest deviations from the testimony already heard by the commission was Trpanier's take onthe role of engineer Michel Lalonde.

Lalonde testified before the commission in February, saying Trpanierhad organized the contract-sharing system.

He said he stepped in to act as the "spokesman" for the engineering firms because Trpanier didnt have an engineering background.

On several occasions, Trpanier called Lalonde "a liar" and said that he didnt play the role the engineer described. He was vague, andoftencontradictory,about what role he did play.

He described an incident at the end of 2005 when he said he was pushed out of the system by Lalonde and another witness who testified before the commission, Rosaire Sauriol of Dessau,aftermeeting with the pair atrestaurant in Laval.

He said the men werent happy with the arrangement and were sick of paying money and not getting contracts in return.

Trpanier said that he was told, "Dont ask questions about where this is coming from because you could get hurt."

When pressed on where he thought that threat originated, he told the commission only thatLalonde often talked about "his neighbour."

The neighbour, Charbonneau clarified, wasNicolo Milioto, a construction boss who has been accused of filtering money to the Mafia and another recent witness before the commission.

Trpanier refused to make the direct link to Milioto himself, but he didn't disagree with Charbonneau.

"I said, Ill back away from that problem and will sell my tickets," he said, referring to campaign fundraising events.

Phone records and meetings

However, the commission saw phone records which showed hundreds of calls between Lalonde and Trpanier placed after the alleged threat was delivered. Trpanier said Lalonde later apologized and said he would help him raise funds for the party.

Gallant also started to scratch away at the relationship between Trpanier and former executive committee head, Frank Zampino.

Trpanier described Zampino as a friend and has told the commission he helped on several of his campaigns for free.

Other witnesses described Zampino as the ultimate overseer of the collusion scheme, one who was directing Trpanier on whom should take part and what contracts they should bid on.

Trpanier admitted he had easy access to Zampino's office and had taken trips and met up with him oftenfor social meals. But he flatly denied ever talking to his friend about fundraising or contract sharing between the firms.

Tomorrow, when Trpanier returns to the witness box for a third day, the commission willexamine more of the phone recordscapturing the calls made between the former party fundraiser and the former executive committee head, many placed right around the time when contracts were about to be awarded.