This article was published more than 11 years ago. Some information may no longer be current. The replacement mayor of Laval, Que. He says he was the victim of an extortion attempt. Criminal charges have been laid against two women involved in an alleged prostitution scandal that brought down the mayor of Laval, Que.
The suburb's interim mayor resigned last month, just hours after issuing a denial he'd had sex with a prostitute. Alexandre Duplessis said at the time he had been the victim of an extortion attempt. Thirty-two-year-old Julie Cadieux and year-old Nathalie Paquin were charged last Friday with extortion, break and enter and conspiracy.
Cadieux also faces a charge of drug possession, with intent to traffic. The prosecutor's office alleges she was found in possession of methamphetamine.
Duplessis was mayor for barely half a year. He took over after longtime city boss Gilles Vaillancourt stepped down amid a corruption scandal last November after 23 years at the helm. But Duplessis was swiftly gone, announcing his departure in a June 28 letter to the city clerk's office. This was after he had just told reporters he would not resign despite a controversy allegedly involving extortion and a prostitute. I received nothing sexual. There was an attempt to extort me. But political rivals had spent the day urging him to step down.
Media had also begun scrutinizing the denial from Duplessis, a father of two, that he had ever solicited sex. One TV network carried two on-air interviews with a woman claiming to own the escort agency involved. The woman said there were dozens of cellphone text messages from the client. She said the man had requested an escort for his remote country cottage. She said the customer asked if he could wear women's underwear, and whether the escort enjoyed white wine.
