Translation:

ÉRIC THIBAULT
Friday, 3 March 2017 06:30
Update Friday, 3 March 2017 06:30
"The police are afraid of the casting in the file. That is why internal affairs were involved. It does not worry me, that's why we pay them ... "
This troubling passage from a conversation two years ago between an influential mafioso and the fallen advocate of the Rizzuto clan, Loris Cavaliere, clearly suggests that SPVM policemen would be at the mercy of organized crime.
Yesterday at the end of the day, Judge André Vincent authorized Le Journal and other media to publish this excerpt from the wiretap conducted during a survey carried out by the regional mixed crime fighting squad (ERM).

Recorded without their knowledge
On the afternoon of February 17, 2015, two Montreal mafiosi - whose identities could not be uncovered - were with Mr. Cavaliere in the latter's office on St. Laurent Boulevard.
They were unaware that the ERM had installed microphones with the blessing of a judge.
One of them mentions that "the heat is brutal" for a month, with reference to the pressure exerted by the police.
A month earlier, Sergeant André Thibodeau, of the SPVM, had been arrested in a case of illegal gambling related to the mafia.
One of the mafioses said he knew him, adding that the Montreal police were "afraid of the casting" in the public square in this case and "that's why internal affairs were involved".
When Mr. Cavaliere asks him if it worries him, the mafioso answers: "No, that's why we pay them."
Francoeur Police Brotherhood
On February 2, the Crown itself requested a stay of proceedings in the case of Sergeant Thibodeau. The day before, Mr. Cavaliere was sentenced to 34 months of penitentiary for gangsterism.
The Sûreté du Québec is interested in these bribes in its investigation into the Division of Internal Affairs of the SPVM, Le Journal reported.
It also supports the statements of Yves Francœur, the president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood, to host Paul Arcand yesterday morning at 98.5 FM.
According to Mr. Francoeur, the director of the SPVM, Philippe Pichet, has known for several months that criminal allegations will weigh on members of his staff.
"Jobs of pigs"
He said he had reported three cases to the chief, including a "close relative" who would be in the mafia, and another "interfered in files to bring charges to court".
But these cases have been entrusted to internal affairs which would have smothered them with "jobs of pigs", making "false allegations to attack the police who had denounced [the fault]".

Still no vote of confidence

Minister Martin Coiteux again refused to give a vote of confidence to Chief Philippe Pichet yesterday.
Questioned in Sept-Îles by journalists about his level of confidence in Director Pichet, the Minister of Public Security reiterated - as he said on Tuesday in Quebec City - that he must "shed light on what is happening To the SPVM "and that it is" premature to pass judgment ".
"The issue of trust is a matter between the population and the police service," he insisted. It is the Montreal population, but also the whole of Quebec because the Montreal Police Service has a role to play that goes well beyond Montreal. It is a leading police force for Quebec. "
The minister also assured that the words of the president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood, Yves Francoeur, accusing Chief Pichet of laxity in the face of the alleged corruption of members of his staff, were transmitted to "the extended team that Will carry out the investigations ".
Position in play?
According to our information, these allegations have created a stir in the minister's office, which is waiting for Mr. Pichet to say "what actions he intends to take to restore the situation, to restore the confidence of Montrealers and Quebeckers towards the SPVM". It was not possible to know whether the post of Director Pichet is now at stake.
Under the Police Act, it would not be easy to show him the way out.
The Act provides that the Minister of Public Safety may recommend the removal of any chief of police to the municipality employing him.
But in the case of the director of the Montreal police, the minister must first "take the advice of the council and the public security commission" of the city, who should then give the chief the " Opportunity to be heard.
And ultimately, the government would make the final decision. At the SPVM, it would be never-seen.
- With the collaboration of Emy-Jane Déry