Hells Angel allegedly taped talks with ex-Montreal officer

An incriminating conversation caught on tape helped lead to the arrest of a former sergeant-detective accused of selling information to the Hells Angels, CBCs French serviceRadio-Canadahas learned.

Quebec provincial police said an investigation into information leaks from inside the Montreal police force led them to BenoitRoberge,who retired from the Montreal police force in August and now works for Revenue Quebec.

Roberge was arrested on Saturday andfacestwo charges ofgangsterism, one count of obstruction of justice and one count of breach of trust.

Radio-Canada haslearned Roberges arrestis intertwined with the case of ahigh-ranking Hells Angel member who was recently found dead after escaping from a Laval prison last month.

While in prison, Hells Angel Ren Charlebois allegedly recorded several incriminating conversations he held with Roberge.

According to Radio-Canada, Charlebois brought that recording with him when he escaped andhanded it over to a thirdparty,asking that the recording be made public if anything should happen to him.

Less than two weeks later,Charleboiswasfound dead by policeinside a home several kilometres north ofSorel-Tracy, Que..

Radio-Canada reportsthat the thirdparty, terrified to have the recordingon hand, handed it over to police.

Thatsame recordingallowed an undercover officer to set up a sting operation and catchRoberge, according to Radio-Canada.

The undercover officer allegedly met withRobergeand told him he would hand over the recording for $50,000. Radio-Canada reports that Quebec police tookRobergeinto custody after hesaid he would be willing to pay $10,000 up front and$40,000later.

Montreal police feel 'betrayed'

Montreal police Chief Marc Parent told media thatRoberge'sclosest colleagues never suspected him ofwrongdoing.

"Everyone feels betrayed, the only consolation is that he has been caught and that he will be judged," Parent said.

"But it's perhaps a small consolation compared to the damage he did to police organizations as well as the entire justice system."

Everyone feels betrayed, the only consolation is that he has been caught and that he will be judged.Marc Parent,Montreal police chief

Parent said Montreal police have begun discussions withotherpolice forces to enhance security around information sharing.

Hesaid other officers who were in close contact with Roberge are also under investigation, and he can't rule out the possibility of morearrests within the Montreal police force or elsewhere.

For more than a decade, Roberge was part of a mixed regional squad charged with fighting organized crime in Quebec.That squad included members of the Montreal police force, the Quebec provincial police and the RCMP.

Parent called for a nationwide review of methods used to ensure the integrity of police officers, "to specifically identify some weaknesses that may affect police officers over time."

He called for the use of more polygraphs and credit checks, as well as random investigation of officers.

Former Montreal police chief Jacques Duchesneau, theanti-corruption investigator who became a provincial politician with the opposition Coalition AvenirQubec, agreed with Parent that regular checkups are necessary for investigators handling sensitive files.

"Polygraph tests should be mandatory," Duchesneau said. "A person knowing he has to go through a lie-detector test yearly it would probably refrain him from doing something wrong."

Duchesneau said there have always been huge temptations forpolice officers to become corrupt.

"For certain people, money talks."

"I had to go through the same thing 30 years ago, when I arrested my own boss for drug trafficking. It's a major blow," he said.

Roberge is to appear in court in Montreal tomorrow for a bail hearing.