Tony Accurso denies Laval contract corruption allegations

Tony Accursoinsists he didn't participate in any corruptionrelated to public contracts in Laval.

The 66 year-old former construction mogul, who is facing charges of fraud, two counts of conspiracy, breach of trust and corruption, testified in his own defence during his trial on Monday.

Soon after stepping into the witness box, Tony Accurso was asked nine quick-fire questions by his lawyer Marc Labelle, including the central issue of the trial, whether he had participated in a system of collusion in Laval's municipal contract process.

To that question, Accurso calmly answered "no."

My goal was to create a multinational Quebec company, that could work all over Montreal, all over Quebec, and all over the world,which we did.- Tony Accurso, former construction executive

The Crown alleges that between 1996 and 2010, Accurso was part of a system of corruption that eliminated all competition for municipal contracts in Laval.

Accurso told Superior Court Justice James Brunton, and the 12-person jury, that he had heard about a system of corruption in Laval on two occasions: once in 1997, and again in 2002.

Both times, he said,he went to the presidents of his construction companies to ask if they knew about such a system.

He recalled asking "is there something I should know about?"

Both times, Accurso said,the answer he got back was no, and he let the matter drop.

Focused on building successful companies

Accurso said his focus was on growing his construction business, not dealing with day-to-day operations.

He said he left those details to his company presidents,Joe Molluso and Frank Minicucci, including dealing with contract bids.

"My goal was to create a multinational Quebec company, that could work all over Montreal, all over Quebec, and all over the world,which we did," Accurso said in court. "My dream was always to do a billion dollars in business."

Accurso spoke enthusiastically and smiled often as he described his construction business to the jury.

No cash payments for contracts

His lawyerMarcLabellealso asked Accurso if he had ever handed out $200,000 in cash in exchange for construction contracts, as alleged during testimony by Crown witness Marc Gendron.

Gendron, who was described as a former collector for former Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt, pleaded guilty to fraud on the government, breach of trust, conspiracy and fraud in 2016.

Gendron testified that Accurso handed him two envelopes filled with cash about 15 years ago in a restaurant parking lot.

Accurso denied the payment took place.

The Crownbegan its cross-examination of Accursotoday, and it is expected to continue on Tuesday.

Closing arguments for the defence and Crown are scheduled for the end of the week.