Mayor Michael Applebaum told reporters today that the ongoing anti-corruption investigators is taking its toll on city workers.

He spoke to the media a day after news broke of the suicide of Cote-des-Neiges-NDG borough employee Richard Rousseau, not long after meeting with UPAc officials.

Applebaum says he did not know Rousseau well, and would only say that he was a devoted family man and conscientious worker.

But Rousseau's death has deeply shaken city employees.

Applebaum pointed out that the city has 29,000 employees and that the alleged actions of a few are tarnishing the reputations of many others who have done nothing wrong.

"It's very disturbing for the different workers of the city of Montreal," Applebaum says. "It's a very stressful time."

The mayor is currently reaching out to city workers to let them know that counselling and psychological help is being made available to them.