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His name isn't well-known in Quebec political circles, but the days when Franco Fava could quietly operate in the backrooms are officially over.

Former Quebec justice minister Marc Bellemare described the retired lawyer and businessman on Tuesday as a friend of Premier Jean Charest and an influential, if discreet, political player, "the king - and he didn't try to hide it."

Mr. Fava, 59, became a household name in Quebec when allegations surfaced last winter that he aggressively sought to influence Mr. Bellemare on judicial appointments in 2003.

The former head of Neilson Excavation Inc. laughed off the suggestion that he put undue pressure on Mr. Bellemare in a recent Radio-Canada interview, saying "I don't know where Bellemare gets this."

What's clear is that Mr. Fava, who formerly sat on the provincial workers compensation board, is well-connected and active politically - for years he has overseen an annual fundraising campaign that typically hauls in $300,000 or more for the Quebec Liberal Party.

Described by friends and associates as a boisterous bon vivant - he keeps a regular table at Michelangelo, an Italian restaurant in suburban Quebec City that's a favourite haunt of politicos and lawyers - Mr. Fava is also a relentlessly private person.

According to Quebec City's Le Soleil, he once helped raise money for a new $100,000 soccer field at his sons' private school, but refused to attend the ribbon-cutting.

The son of Calabrian immigrants, Mr. Fava arrived in Canada at the age of 8. His construction contractor father chose to settle in Quebec City because its Italian community was so small that his family would be forced to integrate. By 16, Franco Fava was driving heavy equipment on his father's building sites.

Mr. Fava earned a bachelor's degree in commerce from Concordia University, followed by a law degree from McGill.

He practised law from 1975 until the early 1980s, when he and two brothers took over their father's firm.

Around that time, Mr. Fava made one of his first forays into politics at the request of an acquaintance, paving entrepreneur and former QLP treasurer Tommy D'Errico.

Mr. Fava, an avid golfer and occasional fishing companion of late premier Robert Bourassa, is to testify at the Bastarache commission next month. He could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

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