Former mayor Michael Applebaum in court to try to have charges thrown out

For the first time since he resigned as mayor of Montreal after being arrested in 2013, Michael Applebaum is talking publicly about the personal toll the criminal charges he's facing have taken on him.​

Applebaum testified Monday at a hearing in which he is requesting charges against him – including fraud, conspiracy and breach of trust – be tossed due to an unreasonable delay in proceeding to trial.

He wiped tears and his voice broke at several points during the hearing, particularly when talking about the effect the trial delay has had on his home life.

"You have to take it day by day," he said. "It's very wearing on me."

Applebaum was arrested in June 2013 while still serving as mayor. He resigned after police filed 14 charges tied to his time as borough mayor of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce from 2002-2012.

Search warrant documents show police believed Applebaum was asking real estate developers for cash in return for zoning changes. Those allegations have yet to be tested in court.

"I was arrested, all of the media were there," Applebaum said. "It's a fall from grace."

His trial is set to begin in September 2017.

'I get anxious'

Applebaum said he only has a few friends left and that he and his wife don't go out to restaurants anymore, for fear of being stared at.

He described himself as a "workaholic" but said his habits had changed.

"Now I'm at home all the time," Applebaum said. "I get anxious, I don't sleep well at night."

He said the delay has even affected his life with the family dog, Ruby.

"I walk the dog. I speak to very few people.  People run their dogs in the park, and I don't speak to them," Applebaum said.

Financial strain 

During his testimony, Applebaum said he had been trying to work as a real estate agent since he was charged, but that the delay in the trial has made that difficult.

"I was mayor of Montreal. I was known by a lot of people. It's extremely difficult because of my situation to approach people as a real estate agent and get their confidence," Applebaum testified.

"I'm recognizable. Every time I go outside, people look at me."

Applebaum also talked about the difficulty he's faced with a business venture that he's been trying to get off the ground.

He wouldn't say what type of business it was, other than to say it was an innovative small business idea, and he was looking for a bank loan or private investor.

Applebaum says it's hard to attract investors when you're under a cloud of suspicion, and he said he met with a bank, but it wouldn't approve a loan without investors.

"I was told this was a very feasible project, but I cannot put the project together because it takes investors and it takes money," Applebaum testified. "I'm stuck."

He added that he had sold his country house and that there was a financial strain on his family.

"I'm not able to do what I'd like to be able to do, what I should be able to do," Applebaum said.

'My life is on hold'

Applebaum also testified the delay has affected his health. He noted that he has been a longtime sufferer of ulcerative colitis, a condition exacerbated by stress.

"It's stressful for me to have to wait this long," Applebaum said.

His voice rose when he spoke next.

"It's all because of the delay: It's 51 months – 51 months," Applebaum said. "My life is on hold. It's going backwards."

For all these reasons, Applebaum's lawyer Pierre Teasdale argued that the long delay in the trial was causing unreasonable prejudice and that the charges should be set aside.

"I'm ready for a trial tomorrow," Applebaum said. "Years ago, I was ready for a trial."

Crown prosecutor Nathalie Kleber countered that most of the difficulties Applebaum testified about were attributable to the charges against him, not to the delay in the case getting to trial.

She also noted that while Applebaum was having a difficult time, most of the defence's arguments were general and not specifically tied to the delay in the process. Applebaum has also not actively sought work outside of real estate since he was charged, Kleber argued.

Quebec Court Judge Robert Marchi said he would take some time to consider the arguments and render a decision June 28.