Tony Accurso sees some charges dropped in Mascouche fraud case

Construction magnate Tony Accurso will be facing two criminal chargesinstead of fourin his trial connected to price fixing and rigged contracts in the city of Mascouche, Que.

According to court documents filed in December, Accurso is charged with:

• One count of influencing a municipal official using illegal means. It covers a period between 2005 and 2012.
• One count of breach of trustwhich, according to the Crown, occurred between 2006 and 2008.

Both charges are directly related to acts allegedly involvingthe late mayor of the municipality, Richard Marcotte.

Marcotte, who was arrested in April 2012 on fraud-related charges, died of cancer in 2016 before his criminal trail ever began.

Accurso was arrested in the same anti-corruption sweep as Marcotte in 2012. Several of the accused in the fraud case tried to have their chargesthrown out of court for lengthy delays. But ajudge turned down the request, saying the delays were reasonable due to the complexity of the case.

Accurso is also facing charges in Laval for fraud, conspiracy, breach of trust and corruption. That trial got underway in October, but an issue with three jury members forced a mistrial. A new trial will take place at a later date.