Zambito stops to collaborate with UPAC

Simon Clark/QMI Agency

Vincent Larin

Sunday, 11 February, 2018 14:08

UPDATE
Sunday, 11 February, 2018 14:12

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The witness is the star of the Charbonneau commission Lino Zambito stops collaborating with the Unité permanente anti-corruption after learning last Thursday that he was considered as a suspect in the investigation into leaks of information to the police.

“By the time that the population is reassured as to the quality of the management and leadership of UPAC, I’m going to suspend all collaboration until we can regain confidence in this police force,”-he said at a press conference this afternoon in Montreal.

Zambito, the mna Guy Ouellette, the ex-policeman Richard Despatie and the police officer Stéphane Bonhomme, are suspected by investigators of the UPAC and five police to have leaked information in the media about the investigation Machurer on the funding to the liberal party.

This is according to affidavits made public in part Thursday, and which were used to obtain search warrants on the 25th of October, the day of the arrest of mp Ouellette.

Collaborator at UPAC

Lino Zambito, former vice-president of the firm Infrabec — sentenced to two years less a day of house arrest, in 2015, for conspiracy, fraud and corruption in connection with public contracts fixing the City of Boisbriand — collaborated with the UPAC in several of its investigations, mention these affidavits.

Investigators believe that Zambito is in contact with Richard Despatie, who was fired by the UPAC in the fall of 2016 and which would have had “in its possession information to investigate”.

“This is extremely clear, I am not the source that UPAC research, since I don’t even have access to the investigation files, I have no inside information on the investigation process,” added Mr. Zambito this afternoon.

They all denied

It also accuses Zambito said investigators Caroline Grenier-Lafontaine and David Ouellet UPAC, in April last, “that he had seen the proof [of the project Mâchurer] and the police have it in droves to accuse premier Jean Charest and Marc Bibeau”.

Recall that last week, MESSRS. Zambito, Ouellette, Despatie and Fellow categorically denied any involvement in these leaks when they were questioned in court by the lawyers of the ex-ministers Nathalie Normandeau and Marc-Yvan Côté, the palace of justice of Quebec.