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Montreal mayor facing 14 charges

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Mayor of the Canadian city of Montreal Michael Applebaum is facing 14 charges including conspiracy, defrauding government, abuse of confidence, and corruption.

Canadian officials say the interim mayor of Quebec’s largest city is facing charges related to two real estate deals dating back to when he served as mayor from 2006 to 2011.

“The corruption and collusion will no longer be tolerated,” commissioner of the provincial anti-corruption force, UPAC, Robert Lafreniere said. “No one is above the law and you cannot hide from the law.”

Applebaum was arrested at his house early Monday.

Former city councilor Saul Zajdel and Jean-Yves Bisson, a municipal bureaucrat in charge of issuing permits, were also arrested.

The arrests come amid a wider investigation into corruption scandals in the province that led the previous mayor to resign last November.

In February, UPAC officials raided Montreal city hall as well as eight other locations including offices of various boroughs in search of incriminating documents against the Union Montreal political party.

Last November, Applebum, 50, was appointed interim amyor when the former mayor of Montreal, Gerald Tremblay, stepped down after published reports claimed that his party had received kickbacks from construction companies and that he was aware of illegal party financing and campaign spending.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is also facing resignation calls after allegations that he appeared in a video smoking crack cocaine.

The recent arrest comes a month after the former mayor of neighboring Laval, Gilles Vaillancourt was arrested over corruption charges.

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