Montreal city hall locked down as anti-corruption squad conducts multiple raids
MONTREAL -- Montreal's city hall was locked down while being swept by police Tuesday in one of numerous raids conducted across the city that had even the newly installed mayor being questioned.
The province's anti-corruption squad said it was carrying out nine raids at the seat of the municipal government, in Old Montreal, and six other ones in different borough offices.
A news report said the new mayor, Michael Applebaum, and the man he recently replaced, Gerald Tremblay, were both among 25 people questioned by police. Spokespeople at the police squad and city hall did not confirm, or deny, that report.
A SΓretΓ du QuΓbec officer walks from City Hall during a raid by UPAC on the premises in Montreal on Tuesday, Februray 19, 2013. (Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
A Surete du Quebec officer stands outside City Hall in Montreal on Feb. 19, 2013, during a raid. (Graham Hughes/THE CANADIAN PRESS)