Corruption trial linked to Faubourg Contrecoeur begins

Frank Zampino testifies before the Charbonneau Commission in Montreal, Wednesday, April 17, 2013, as shown from the commission's video feed. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Charbonneau Commission

The trial began Monday for eight people accused of conspiring to defraud the city of Montreal over the Contrecoeur construction project.

Among the accused are Frank Zampino, a former president of the city of Montreal's executive committee during the Gerald Tremblay era, Bernard Trepanier, aka Mr. Three-Percent for his role in collecting funds for Union Montreal, and construction company owner Paolo Catania.

The court proceedings on Monday did not require the presence of the accused, and only one of the people on trial was in the courtroom.

The pre-trial motions include a request for a delay from Zampino's lawyer, who said despite her client being accused four years ago, she only received certain key evidence last week -- and much of it was redacted.

The Contrecoeur affair began in 2007 when the city of Montreal sold the land valued at $20 million to Construction Frank Catania for just $4.4 million.

Surprised by the terms of the deal, the Societé d'habitation et de developpement de Montreal (SHDM) hired the accounting firm KPMG to examine the deal.

Its report concluded there were irregularities in the way the then-director general Martial Fillion conducted himself in the sale of the land.

It said Fillion had facilitated payments by the construction firm without the required permission of the administrative council of the Societé.

The deal convinced then-Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay to turn the SHDM into a municipal company that no longer operated at arms-length from the city government.

In 2009 the condominiums being built on the land were destroyed by fire.

The case returns to court on Wednesday to hear two more pre-trial motions.

The Crown is expected to call about 60 witnesses over the next three months to prove its case, but it could be two weeks before the first witness takes the stand.