Ex-Tory candidate Zajdel pleads guilty in Montreal to fraud-related charges

By The Canadian Press

MONTREAL – A former Conservative candidate and longtime Montreal city councillor has entered guilty pleas to breach of trust and corruption charges.

Saulie Zajdel won’t serve any time in jail after pleading guilty Tuesday to two of the five charges he faced stemming from land deals in a borough where he was an elected official.

Zajdel was given an 18-month suspended sentence and must perform 240 hours of community service during that period. He also has to donate $10,000 to various goups.

Zajdel was involved in federal politics as the Tory candidate in the Montreal riding of Mount Royal in 2011, losing to Liberal Irwin Cotler.

He was subsequently hired by then-heritage minister James Moore to work as an “ethnic outreach officer” but Cotler referred to him as a “shadow MP.”

Zajdel quit his federal post in 2012.

He was arrested alongside former interim Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum and another senior borough official in 2013.

That official, Jean-Yves Bisson, pleaded guilty last week and was sentenced.

Applebaum’s preliminary hearing begins Monday.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today