MONTREAL — NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair admitted Thursday he was offered cash-stuffed envelope by a scandal-ridden mayor in 1994, despite denying the allegations three years ago.

La Presse newspaper says Mulcair was offered the bribe just after he was first elected to the Quebec legislature for the Liberals in a Laval, Que., riding.

Citing an investigator's report, La Presse said Mulcair was presented the envelope by then-Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt. Mulcair did not check to see if it contained "money or a letter, but for him it was clear that this was money," said La Presse.

Mulcair rejected the cash.

In a statement Thursday, Mulcair confirmed the allegations and said he met with police in 2011 to discuss the matter.

"I gave to them my account of a meeting I had with Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt dating back to 1994," he said in a statement. "As is indicated, I effectively and immediately ended the meeting with Mr. Vaillancourt."

But he told a different story during a November 2010 press conference. Mulcair replied "No" when the reporter asked him: "Were you ever offered cash in an envelope by the mayor of Laval? Did you ever see envelopes of cash around the mayor of Laval?"

Vaillancourt and 36 others were arrested last week and charged with running a massive criminal operation out of city hall.

Vaillancourt is charged with gangsterism and fraud.

Police claim Vaillancourt and other city officials took kickbacks from construction contractors.

Investigators are also trying to locate $15 million allegedly hidden offshore.

-- With files from Dominique La Haye