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The trial before Quebec Court Judge Louise Provost heard that Tremblay met with one of the developers, Anthony Keeler, and wrote the figure $35,000 on a piece of paper

It’s going to work. We’re going to have a nice Christmas

Tremblay said Keeler looked at the paper and said that it was a steep price and he would need to check with investors in New York. Later, Keeler called him to say, “It’s going to work. We’re going to have a nice Christmas.”

They arranged that the kickbacks would be paid in three installments corresponding to phases of approval of the project, Tremblay told the court.

The first payment came in December 2007 at a cafe meeting during which Keeler gave a Christmas parcel containing a video game case. Tremblay said he opened the case at home to find $8,000 cash.

He said his arrangement with Applebaum was that he would keep one-third and Applebaum would take the remaining two-thirds. He said he would tell Applebaum they should go for a drive, and Applebaum would take his share of the cash from the glove compartment.

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A similar pattern was followed for all three payments, Tremblay testified, but in the end the payments totalled $30,000 instead of the $35,000 agreed upon. He said Applebaum was angry and told him to collect the balance, but Keeler told him they had run out of cash.

“I was uncomfortable with it, but he was asking me to do it,” Tremblay testified of the kickbacks. “My boss is asking me to do this. I have to do it.”

Applebaum, 53, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which relate to the residence project and a contract to manage a new borough sports centre. Tremblay testified that in 2010 he and Applebaum split $25,000 in cash paid by the firm that won the sports-centre contract.

A real estate agent, Applebaum served as chairman of the executive committee under former Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay and was named interim mayor in 2012 when Tremblay resigned over corruption allegations against his administration.

“I solemnly vow that I will erase this stain on our city,” Applebaum said as he was sworn in. Instead, he wound up with a deep stain on his reputation. The trial will determine whether it can be erased.

• Email: ghamilton@nationalpost.com | Twitter: grayhamilton