The former director general of the Office municipal d’habitation de Gaspé was sentenced this week to an 18-month prison sentence to be served at home, after being found guilty of breach of trust, theft and production false documents in the course of his work.
Daniel Samuel, 70, was arrested by the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC) last February. The acts with which he was accused had spread over several years.
The civil servant headed the organization responsible for social housing in Gaspé until 2017. From the 1990s, he had multiplied public outings to demand more resources to help his fellow citizens who needed housing.
“Here in Gaspé, there has always been a long waiting list, but the situation is increasingly deteriorating,” he declared daily. The sun in 1993.
In 2011, he explained on Radio-Canada that there was a shortfall of $ 500,000 to complete a major affordable housing project that was overdue.
The police eventually discovered that he had misappropriated resources for himself. Mr. Samuel finally pleaded guilty to three counts on Monday at the Percé courthouse. As part of the plea negotiated by his lawyer Marie-Laurence Spain, an additional charge of fraud was withdrawn by the prosecution.
In addition to his period of detention to be served at home, Mr. Samuel has pledged to pay $ 5,000 to community organizations and to respect a two-year probation period during which he will have to stay away from the offices of his former employer.