He's the boss, the *real* boss of Québec.

To paraphrase Dorothy Parker: "What fresh scandal is this?"

Though it may be today's 'fresh', it's the latest revelation of an ongoing effort by several journalists to investigate rank influence-peddling, allegedly by Dimitri Soudas.

On Thursday morning, several audio recordings appeared on YouTube purporting to be conversations between two businessmen prominent in the Quebec construction industry, Tony Accurso and Bernard Poulin.

In what sounds like a telephone conversation, two people discuss how they would work to influence the appointment process to choose the next chief executive of the port authority. Their choice, just like that of the federal government and the city of Montreal, was Abdallah, a former executive director of the city until 2006. He was subsequently employed by one of Accurso’s companies.

The voice reported to be that of Poulin says he would talk to Montreal Tory Senator Leo Housakos, then a prominent party fundraiser, and ask him to bring Soudas, his good friend, on board.

“It’s not through Leo’s relationship to (Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence) Cannon that he’s good, it’s through Dimitri Soudas,” says the voice identified as Poulin. “So far, he appears to be very capable of delivering the goods.”

They discuss “compensation” for Soudas if he can “deliver something” for them on the appointment process.

When questioned about the latest development in this unfolding scandal, Contempt Party leader Harper said allegations about Soudas' actions are "categorically false" ... which might actually mean, in true Con fashion ... *correct in a different category* ... *untrue, but only in the details* ... or something else along those lines.

Wonderful pic found at Pushed To the Left and Loving It.