The lawsuit brought by Alfonso Graceffa, the former manager of Otéra Capital, a subsidiary of the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec (CDPQ), against this Quebec institution began this week. Removed from his post for “serious ethical breaches” in 2019, he alleges that he was unjustly dismissed and defamed by his ex-employer. He is claiming $6.9 million from him. Presentation of this trial in a few key points.
“Not having had the opportunity to defend myself, having been associated with the mafia… I find it highly deplorable for an institution of such caliber to have done this to me,” Mr. Graceffa said on Tuesday, on the second day of hearings. “Now this is my version of that story,” he added.
Questioned by his lawyer, Me Marie-France Tozzi, on how his dismissal had affected him, Mr. Graceffa burst into tears. “They threw me under the bus,” said the former manager of Otéra, who considers that he was “sacrificed to save [l’]public image [de la Caisse] and quell the media frenzy”.
“They said it was a broad investigation. It wasn’t wide at all, in my opinion. It was very targeted and the target was on me,” he said.
Dismissal
After a series of reports published by the Montreal Journal Starting in February 2019, the Caisse de dépôt launched an investigation, at a cost of $5 million, to shed light on allegations concerning employees of Otéra, its subsidiary specializing in commercial loans.
In May 2019, a five-page summary of this investigation was then made public by the Caisse, but not the entirety of it. Without identifying anyone, the Caisse explained that “four people linked to Otéra” who had committed “failures” and “who would have acted independently of each other”, “no longer hold positions within the subsidiaries of the box “.
In this summary, the Caisse mentions, among other things, the involvement of a person “who has, or had, direct and/or indirect links with known actors in the organized crime community. »
It also refers to a person who allegedly met, in the offices of Otéra, an individual with a criminal history, and was given $15,000 in cash, “in connection with the collection of a debt to a company in which she has an undisclosed interest. »
Among the four people to whom the Caisse refers: Alfonso Graceffa, who until then was CEO of Otéra. At his side, an ex-v.-p. d’Otéra, Martine Gaudreault, and the economist Edmondo Marandola. The identity of the fourth person is not known.
According to Montreal JournalMartine Gaudreault, is the person who maintained a link with a known member of organized crime, namely her spouse, “a private lender” who would have maintained links with the Montreal mafia.
Alfonso Graceffa – who is the person to have received the payment of $15,000 from an individual with a criminal history – believes that by not naming the individuals targeted by the allegations in his summary, the Caisse led the public to believe that he was fired “for specific reasons, such as doing business with organized crime, causes which, in fact, are not attributed to him. »
Confrontation
In June, Mr. Graceffa then published a press release in which he contested his dismissal, which he considered “unjustified” and which caused “considerable damage” to his reputation.
The Caisse immediately defended its decision because of the “serious ethical breaches identified in the investigation report” and warned that it and its subsidiaries “will not pay any penny of compensation” to Mr. Graceffa. The institution also announces that it is ready “to demonstrate in detail [sa] evidence and facts that led to the dismissal for cause before the court”, if Mr. Graceffa decides to launch legal proceedings.
The defendant’s procedural document also lists the shortcomings alleged by the Caisse against Mr. Graceffa and which led to his dismissal.
Among the reasons given for dismissing him from his position, the Caisse invokes in particular the collection of a payment in cash from an individual with a criminal past, but also the “undeclared control and financing of a company” – in the occurrence of Construction Sainte-Gabrielle, the “approval and [la]| recommendation of loans in contravention of codes of ethics”, the presence of “conflict of interest in connection with the negotiation of personal mortgage financing”, as well as the “failure to declare offers of bribes” .
Trial
The trial between Alfonso Graceffa and his ex-employer began on Monday at the Montreal courthouse, and is expected to last twelve days.
Among the witnesses who will be called to the bar: Michael Sabia, who was the CEO of the Caisse de depot when this affair broke out. Salvatore Graffeca, Mr. Graceffa’s brother, as well as Paul Chin, the current first v.-p. and chief investment officer at Otéra, and Daniel Fournier, former president of Ivanhoé Cambridge, are also expected to testify over the next two weeks.
Wednesday, after two days of hearing during which Mr. Graceffa was able to present his version of the facts, the latter will have to answer the cross-examination of the lawyer for the Caisse de dépôt, Mason Poplaw, of the firm McCarthy Tétrault.