No extortion trial for Montreal businessman

The owner of one of Quebec's biggest construction firms, Paolo Catania, will not be tried for extortion following his court appearance Thursday.

Charges of extortion, uttering death threatsand harassment have been withdrawn by prosecutors.

They have up to a year to reissue the charges against Catania.

Catania, the head of Construction Frank Catania and Associates, which has several contracts with the City of Montreal, appeared at his morning preliminary hearing.

He was arraigned in September 2009 after businessman Elio Pagliarulo accused him of trying to extort money with death threats.

The two men have known each other for years, and Pagliarulo owes Catania about $1.4 million.

Crown prosecutor Natalie Thibert said she decided to withdraw the charges after meeting withPagliarulo last week.

"After the meeting, [we] decided the prosecution did not have enough evidence to meet the burden of proof," Thibert said.

Thibert told reportersshe could not explain what changed, saying if Pagliarulo wishes to, he will speak to the media.

Catania's company is a partner with the cityin the controversial Faubourg Contrecoeur housing development project. The city-owned property was sold to the construction companyfor a fraction of the property's value.

Following an investigation, Montreal's auditor general called for a police probe into the Socit d'habitation et de dveloppement de Montral, the city's housing and development corporation.

A special squad investigating allegations ofcollusion and corruption in Quebecs construction industry searched the offices of Catania's firm in March.