Former contractor Tony Accurso will soon be released from prison after serving one-sixth of his four-year sentence, or about eight months.
Tony Accurso was sentenced to four years in prison on July 5, 2018, after being found guilty of participating in a major collusion and corruption scheme in the awarding of public works contracts in Laval under the leadership of former mayor Gilles Vaillancourt.
The entrepreneur immediately took the case to the appeal court, which in May 2022 confirmed the guilty verdict made against him in the first instance almost four years earlier.
His lawyers then appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
Tony Accurso was ordered to surrender to prison authorities after his appeals court setback and escaped prison by securing his release while he awaited the Supreme Court judges' decision. It was understood he would have to face prison authorities if his case was rejected by the country's highest court. What's happened.
On July 27, 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear Tony Accurso, forcing him to serve the sentence imposed on him five years earlier.
Why only a sixth of his sentence?
Although it is no longer possible for an inmate to apply for release after serving one-sixth of their sentence under an old process called “accelerated review,” which was abolished under Stephen Harper's government, inmates convicted of crimes are committed before 2011 are still valid.
According to prison lawyer Pierre Tabah, who spoke Friday on the Isabelle Richer show on ICI RDI, all inmates who are in their first federal sentence for a crime committed before 2011 and not violent are, by definition, eligible for expedited processing. However, that doesn't mean they will get it.
It is the Parole Board of Canada (CLCC) that makes the decision after reviewing the file. Several criteria are taken into account, including in particular the risk of recidivism and public safety.
It therefore appears that Tony Accurso has fulfilled all the conditions as the PBC granted him day release on Friday until he is eligible for full release.
According to the CLCC's decision, he must meet at least four conditions, including the prohibition to come into contact with certain people, to own or operate a business and to be responsible for investments or investments for persons other than himself, as well as the obligation to all to provide financial information necessary for its supervision.
The former construction magnate made headlines last April after shots were fired at his home in Deux-Montagnes. Fortunatly nobody was hurt. In November 2022, four people were also arrested with Molotov cocktails near his home.
Tony Accurso's relatives who live near his home were also the subject of numerous threats in 2022 and 2023.