Former Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt is out and about again, less than a year after going to jail on corruption charges.
The Journal de Montreal reports that the 76-year old was released to a halfway house in Laval last week and is able to come and go during the day for personal business and to do the volunteer work that is part of his release conditions. He must abide by a nighttime curfew, however.
Vaillancourt was sentenced to nearly six years in jail and served his time at a federal lock-up in eastern Laval. He was paroled on the basis of his good behaviour behind bars.
The former mayor returned more than $8-million in ill-gotten gains to the city when he switched his plea to guilty.
Prosecutors say he ran a scheme whereby contractors and engineering firms doing business with the city would pay kickbacks to Vaillancourt and his party.