Turnaround: An ex-franchisee admitted this morning to taking part in the kidnapping and seizure of the president of the Cora restaurant chain for an $11 million ransom.
• Also read: Back to the beginning after more than two months trial period
On March 8, 2017, Paul Zaidan pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping Nicholas Tsouflidis for ransom and forcible detention.
Photo archive Martin Alari
Nicholas Tsouflidis and his mother Cora Tsouflidou
As of December 2016, the 54-year-old man made several gestures of help and encouragement involved in the kidnapping, Judge François Dadour stated at the Laval courthouse.
Just after 9pm that evening, three people appeared at the Breakfast King’s home in Mirabel, where they laid him on the floor and held him down before loading him into the trunk of a Volvo car. Tied with zip ties in the trunk of the vehicle, Nicholas Tsouflidis then managed to call 911 to report that he had just been kidnapped.
The kidnappers also stole a presidential safe. He was transported to a residence in Laval, where he was held in the basement overnight. He was attached with cables and chains, said Crown Prosecutor Me Karine Dalphond.
During the night, his mother, Cora Tsouflidou, received an $11 million ransom note that was ultimately never paid. Early the next morning, Mr Tsouflidis was released in a ditch in Laval.
By pleading guilty, Zaidan avoids a second trial, which was due to start next month. Recall that the jury failed to reach a verdict during his first trial last year.
More details to come…
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