Who blames Tony Accurso? While his family was stalked by another looming crime yesterday, the fallen entrepreneur says he owes more than $107 million, our investigative office found.
• Also read: Tony Accurso’s daughter’s house burned down
• Also read: Bullet-riddled home of ex-businessman Tony Accurso’s son
• Also read: Shots near the Accurso clan
Tony Accurso’s daughter’s house across from her father’s was completely destroyed early this morning. Police declined to investigate the cause of the fire, but said traces of fire accelerant were found at the scene.
This is the fourth criminal event to target this normally peaceful residential area of Deux-Montagnes on Montreal’s North Shore since this summer. Another suspicious fire and several gunshots were reported there.
Photo agency QMI, Maxime Deland
The fire at Tony Accurso’s daughter’s home broke out just before 3:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. The house caught fire and the roof collapsed.
Surely Tony Accurso is saying behind the scenes that he owes a lot of money to a lot of people. He recently took steps to settle with his creditors under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
According to documents we’ve seen, Accurso ranks its debts at $107 million against assets of just under $10 million.
The man who once owned a business empire with annual sales of nearly $1 billion had already protected his companies from their creditors by 2020.
This time, the steps taken by the entrepreneur under the Bankruptcy Act are carried out on a personal basis.
- Listen to Guillaume Lavoie’s interview with Pierre Fortin, President of Jean Fortin and Associates, on QUB radio:
Million dollar wine cellar
According to his trustee, Raymond Chabot, Accurso claims to own two residences in Deux-Montagnes that together are worth nearly $7.9 million. He also has a wine collection estimated at $1 million.
However, these luxuries pale in comparison to the former construction magnate’s hefty debt.
For example, Accurso says it owes tax authorities in Quebec and Canada $51 million, the city of Montreal $34 million and the city of Laval $13.5 million.
Photo agency QMI, Pascal Girard
He is no longer even able to pay his municipal taxes and his school fees to the city of Deux-Montagnes.
LIVE ON $50,000 a month
He says his financial difficulties stem from “government grants,” which he has also contested, as well as “multiple lawsuits alleging fraud, collusion and corruption related to obtaining certain contracts.”
He says he needs about $50,000 a month to make a living.
At the same time, Accurso was sentenced to four years in prison for involvement in a fraudulent scheme by ex-Laval Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt, a sentence he is currently appealing to the Supreme Court.
– With the collaboration of Philippe Langlois
Always bullied
Since this summer, threats against Tony Accurso’s family and their homes in the same area of Deux-Montagnes have increased.
- At the beginning of July, a vehicle in front of his son Giovanni’s house was the target of an arson attack.
- On August 24, the neighboring house was the target of shots. Housings were found on the ground and projectile impacts were visible on the building and vehicles.
- Two days later, in the middle of the night, about ten shots reached Accurso’s son’s home.
- Tony Accurso’s daughter Lisa’s home was ravaged by a suspicious fire on Monday night. Since the house was unoccupied, no one was injured.
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