A Quebec Superior Court judge has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for laundering more than $1 million in drug money.
Robert Flahiff, 51, was convicted of laundering the money between 1989 and 1991 while he was a lawyer for a cocaine dealer.
The judge, free on bail pending an appeal, is still receiving his salary despite his suspension from the bench two years ago. He became a judge in 1993.
Flahiff’s defense lawyers had pleaded for leniency, but Quebec Court Judge Serge Boisvert said Friday the offense deserved a stiff sentence.
According to testimony, Flahiff began taking satchels of cash to a branch of the Bank of Montreal in 1989. A former bank official testified Flahiff was allowed to enter the branch after business hours with a sports bag containing thousands of dollars.
The bills were turned into bank drafts that ended up in Swiss banks.
