Anti-corruption squad arrests former head of Montreal construction trade school

MONTREAL — The former head of a Montreal construction trade school was arrested by the province’s anti-corruption unit Wednesday and charged with fraud-related crimes against the school.

The anti-corruption unit said officers arrested Alain Prud’homme, who was director of the trade school until Oct. 2017. He is alleged to have schemed with three other men described by police as service providers to the school.

The others arrested were Enrico Di Paola, from a general contracting company, Modesto Abella, from a firm of electricians, and Mathieu Therien, whose job was not revealed in court documents.

Neither the anti-corruption unit, known by its French acronym UPAC, nor the school board of the Ecole des metiers de la construction de Montreal responded to interview requests. UPAC alleges the crimes were committed between 2011 and 2018.

Prud’homme was charged with breach of trust in connection with the construction of a sports facility at the school. It is unclear if the charges against the other men are directly related to that project.

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Prud’homme, Di Paola and Abella are charged with committing fraud over $5,000 against the school, which offers classes and certifications for trades such as carpentry, plumbing and masonry.

The three are also charged with knowingly creating and using fake invoices. Prud’homme was charged with accepting advantages or benefits from the two men in exchange for work that allegedly defrauded the government, a court document shows.

Therien was charged with committing fraud over $5,000 against the school and with creating false documents.

UPAC said in a statement that the investigation was conducted in collaboration with the provincial Revenue Department.

The Canadian Press