MONTREAL — The defence is delivering his closing arguments at the corruption trial of ex-Montreal mayor Michael Applebaum.
The veteran politician has pleaded not guilty to the 14 corruption-related charges he’s facing, including fraud against the government and breach of trust.
The Crown alleges Applebaum accepted cash through a former aide in return for favours given to local real estate developers and engineering firms.
The charges stem from crimes alleged to have occurred in two separate deals between 2007 and 2010 when he was mayor of Montreal’s largest borough.
Defence lawyer Pierre Teasdale says each of the Crown’s four witnesses admitted to participating in corruption but none were charged after they agreed to testify against Applebaum.
He says the witnesses shifted the blame to Applebaum in order “to save their own skins.”
In its closing arguments, the Crown said last week that the testimony of those witnesses was enough to prove Applebaum’s involvement in the alleged scheme.
Applebaum, who served as interim Montreal mayor between November 2012 and June 2013, did not testify at his trial.
