Photo by Martin Chamberland Copping a plea: From left, Irving Grundman, lawyer Richard Shadley and René Dussault leave Quebec Superior Court after deal announced.

Veteran St. Laurent councillors Irving Grundman and René Dussault resigned their megacity seats yesterday after pleading guilty to one count of soliciting and benefiting from a zoning motion placed before the St. Laurent council.

The two men, who were arrested in 2002, had initially pleaded not guilty to nine counts each of municipal corruption and breach of trust in public office. The charges stem from allegations linking the two men to a $75,000 bribe involving a zoning change in the eastern part of St. Laurent.

The Crown prosecutor agreed to stay the rest of the charges during a plea bargain Tuesday morning, the day the trial was set to begin.

“This morning my client pleaded guilty to one count of asking for a bribery,” said Dussault’s defense lawyer François Daviault. “All the other counts have been withdrawn by the Crown. There is a rule of law that says that if you plead guilty to one charge in the same transaction, there’s the likelihood that [the other charges are stayed]...The evidence was there.”

A sentencing date will be set on Oct. 4, with the two men facing a maximum of five years behind bars if convicted.

According to the Cities and Towns Act, the borough of St. Laurent must call byelections to fill the two council seats 120 days or less after the resignation letters are tabled, and no later than 12 months before the next scheduled municipal election. The next megacity council meeting is scheduled for Sept. 27 and the next municipal election is slated for Nov. 4, 2005.

Meanwhile, the two businessmen involved in the case will be tried separately. A trial for José Sardano and Luis Vitorino will begin next Monday. Both pleaded not guilty to charges of municipal corruption.

“Because there are two other accused who are going to have their trial next Monday, we postponed our representation on sentencing to Oct. 4,” Daviault continued. “[Sentencing] will depend on what will come out of the other trial and how long that will take.”

A publication ban on evidence imposed at last spring’s preliminary inquiry will remain in effect.

“It’s not because two accused pleaded guilty that the [publication ban] doesn’t apply anymore,” said Daviault.

Last September, a Quebec Court judge ruled that despite the fact that some of the evidence presented in the preliminary inquiry is circumstantial, there was enough proof to send the four to trial.

The four-day preliminary inquiry tested evidence from four key witnesses, including Sûrété du Québec head investigator Jocelyn Nadeau and undercover agent Lt. Umberto Tucci. A Coptic (Egyptian Christian Orthodox) community representative also testified.

Grundman was first elected to the council of the former city of St. Laurent in 1969 and Dussault, in 1986.