Jury acquits Quebec construction mogul Tony Accurso of breach of trust
JOLIETTE, Que. — The jury in the trial of well-known Quebec construction magnate, Tony Accurso, who was accused of breach of trust, needed less than 24 hours of deliberations to come back with an acquittal Tuesday.
Defence lawyer Marc Labelle said in response to the verdict, “the people have spoken.”
Accurso was accused of giving a $300,000 cheque and other gifts to the late mayor of Mascouche, Que., in exchange for contracts for his construction company, which used to be one of the biggest in the province.
He was initially charged with six counts in 2012 but the charges were reduced to a single count of breach of trust in the trial that began Jan. 15. at the courthouse in Joliette, Que., about 75 kilometres north of Montreal.