Since 2022, Accurso’s home has been targeted by arson fires and bullets. He asked that his release plan be kept secret.
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Construction magnate Antonio (Tony) Accurso has been granted parole and will be released from a federal penitentiary soon, just months after he finally began serving the four-year prison term he received years ago in the Laval municipal corruption case.
On July 5, 2018, Accurso was sentenced to a four-year prison term for his role in a rigged bidding scheme that involved former Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt, other city officials and dozens of contractors seeking construction contracts from the municipality.
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A jury found him guilty of taking part in a conspiracy between 1996 and 2010 with more than 60 people, including Vaillancourt, “to commit acts of corruption in municipal affairs” and breach of trust. He was also found guilty of conspiring with 56 people to commit fraud; defrauding the city of Laval; bribing Laval city officials and helping Vaillancourt and Claude Deguise, Laval’s head of engineering from 1997 until he resigned in 2008, to commit a breach of trust.
It was Laval city officials who came up with the scheme and contractors were left to arrange who would win contracts by sharing the amounts they would bid on a contract.
Accurso, now 72, appealed the verdict and his sentence and lost. He was required to start serving the sentence last summer, after the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear his case.
Most offenders in Canada serving time in federal penitentiaries are required to serve at least one-third of their sentence before they become eligible for parole, but Accurso had access to an accelerated parole review. The legislation that granted offenders such access was repealed years ago but Accurso was eligible because he committed his crimes while it was still on the books. This meant Accurso became eligible for day parole after having served just one-sixth of his sentence.
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He was granted both day parole and full parole.
Since 2022, Accurso’s home in Deux-Montagnes and the homes of some of his relatives have been the targets of arson fires and bullets. According to a written summary of the Parole Board of Canada’s decision, this problem was brought up during his hearing. When he began serving his sentence, Accurso expressed concerns for his safety. Correctional Service Canada made arrangements to address those concerns and Accurso reported to the board that his time behind bars has been uneventful.
However, he asked that his release plan be kept secret and a large section of the written decision obtained by the Montreal Gazette was redacted.
“At present, no information can lead the board to believe that these concerns could lead you to commit an offence accompanied by violence. In addition, you collaborate well with your case management team, law enforcement and secure intelligence agents. Everything indicates that if security issues arise, you would turn to legal and prosocial means to resolve them,” the board wrote.
“No negative comments have been made towards you and your disciplinary record is blank. You do not present any adaptation difficulties (behind bars). No particular intervention was therefore necessary in your case.
“The board notes that despite the absence of a targeted (rehabilitation) program, you were able to make progress in relation to your risk factors.”
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