Construction magnate to be freed pending appeal
Crown argued releasing Accurso would undermine confidence in justice system
Construction magnate Antonio Accurso will be released while he appeals the recent conviction and four-year prison sentence that put him behind bars last week.
Quebec Court of Appeal Judge Manon Savard rendered her nine-page decision on Thursday after hearing arguments from the Crown and defence earlier this week.
Accurso, 66, will need to respect several conditions while released, including not leaving the province of Quebec and handing in his passport.
He will also be barred from communicating with a list of more than 50 people, including former Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt, and needs to post a $150,000 bond, paid for by himself, his son and a close friend, Mario Boyer.
The Crown had objected to Accurso’s release, questioning certain aspects of his request and arguing Accurso being let out of jail could undermine the public’s confidence in the justice system.
Though she noted the crimes are “certainly serious and shake the public’s trust in public institutions,” Savard disagreed with the Crown’s argument, ruling that a reasonable citizen would understand the appeal process is an integral part of the Canadian justice system.
Given the time the process could take, Savard wrote, if Accurso weren’t released, he would potentially serve a good portion of his sentence before a ruling is made on his appeals.
Considering Accurso’s behaviour since his arrest in 2013, Savard wrote she has “no reason to believe” he won’t respect the ordered conditions.
In late June, a jury found Accurso actively participated in a system of collusion in Laval between 1996 and 2010.
The jury convicted Accurso on all five of the corruption-related charges he faced. He was sentenced to four years in prison on July 5.
While delivering his sentence, Quebec Superior Court Justice James Brunton had described Accurso’s case as one of the worst examples of municipal corruption ever seen in Canada.
Accurso’s lawyer, Marc Labelle, had argued his client should be released since he doesn’t work in the construction industry anymore, is no longer heading the “litigious companies” in question, and that the crimes he was convicted for are economic in nature, not violent.
Savard agreed with all but one of the conditions suggested for Accurso’s release.
Accurso had requested permission to communicate with his cousin, Giuseppe (Joe) Molluso, for “common and legitimate work” at Louisbourg Construction Ltd.
Molluso, who was president of the company when the system of collusion existed, pleaded guilty to fraud and municipal corruption charges last year.
“This condition doesn’t seem justified to me,” Savard wrote, given Molluso’s “role in the scheme.”
The judge added the request also didn’t match how Accurso argued he would spend his time if released — managing his assets and investments and helping his children with their companies.
Accurso will have 48 hours to turn himself in to authorities if his appeals are rejected.