CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Canadian Supreme Court won't hear appeal of ex-construction boss convicted of corruption

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear an appeal from a former construction boss who was convicted of corruption, breach of trust and conspiracy to commit fraud. 

Tony Accurso was sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 30 months and four years in 2018 in what a Quebec judge called one of the worst examples of municipal corruption to come before a Canadian court. 

A jury convicted Accurso of charges tied to a kickback scheme that saw companies receive lucrative public contracts in exchange for bribes to elected officials, including Gilles Vaillancourt, the former mayor of Laval, Que. 

The kickback and fraud scheme lasted between 1996 and 2010 and was run by Vaillancourt, who pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges and received a six-year sentence. 

The Quebec Court of Appeal upheld Accurso's conviction last year, and he was ordered to report to prison.

However, the Court of Appeal said it would not harm public trust in the justice system if Accurso were free on bail during his appeal to the Supreme Court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2023.

The Canadian Press