Tony Accurso says he donated to political parties using cheques signed by employees

Former construction magnate TonyAccursosaidhe gave $75,000 a year to fundraiser MarcBibeaufor financing Quebec's Liberal Party.

During his trial on Friday, Accursoclaimed he would give the party the money in the form of 25chequesof $3,000 each signed by employees of his, who he would then reimburse.

The 66-year-old man faces charges offraud, conspiracy, breach of trust and corruption in the trial.

He testified hehad a budget dedicated to donating to Quebec's political parties at thetime. Accursoalso told the court he gave to theActiondmocratiqueduQubecand thePartiQubcois.

• Tony Accurso part of 'immense system' of corruption in Laval, Crown says

He said he could not remember whether he'd contributed to former Laval mayor GillesVaillancourt'scampaigns or not.

Auditors assured him the practice was perfectly legal and that the expenses were openly recorded in the books, Accurso said.

Accursosaid the practice came to a halt in 2010, when then-minister of justice and democratic institutions Jean-Marc Fournierintroduced legislative changes prohibiting political fundraising using other people's names.

The Quebec LiberalParty, for its part, says it reimburses all donations the Directeur gnral deslections du Qubec(DGEQ) deems not to conform to the Election Act.

The party said it wouldnot comment onAccurso'scase because it was before the courts.

"However, thePLQwishes to underline its full collaboration withUPACand theDGEQas it has always done," the party said in a written statement sent to media.

Only found out about Laval corruption in 2013, Accursoclaims

Along with Accurso, 36other people were arrested in a UPAC sweep in 2013, but some have since died or have seen charges against them dropped.

Many others, including Vaillancourt,have since pleaded guilty. Accurso is the only one to go to trial.

Accurso told the court he only learned about the widespread corruption in Vaillancourt'sadministration upon his own arrest in 2013.

He said he got in touch with his cousin, JoeMolluso, who was the president of his company,LouisbourgConstruction, and demanded Mollusoturn himself in.

AccursoadmittedMollusostill works for him, now as consultant for his children's companies, which are unrelated to the construction business.

"I didn't have the heart to kick him out, he's a member of the family," the former construction bosssaid.

Accurso'sdefence is based on the claim he knew nothing of the system of collusion taking place in Laval and that the blame for his companies' implication in it lies squarely on the presidents of those companies.

His lawyer, MarcLabelle, led him to repeatthat he had never handedtwo envelopes containing $200,000 to Marc Gendron, a fundraiser connected to Vaillancourt.

'I wasn't one of his favourites'

During Accurso's trial appearance, he testified that he had a falling out with Vaillancourtbecause the former mayor wouldn't help him re-zone agricultural land near his quarry in 2000 in order to expand it.

"I would give him solutions and he would present problems," Accursoexplained. "I wasn't one of his favourites."

Contrary to what JosianePesant, Vaillancourt's secretary, said in her testimony, Accursodenied the meetings he had with the former mayor were secret.

He said he would show up to Laval's City Hall and that Vaillancourtwould then insist on holding their meeting at a restaurant where the former mayor was a regular and where they were greeted by fans of his.

Vaillancourt'never paid' for his meal

Vaillancourt would launch into monologues about his accomplishments that lasted "50 minutes out of 60," Accurso claimed, adding the former mayor"never paid" for his meal.

Labelle, Accurso'slawyer, submitted documents he said showed Accursosigned "piles" of forms in advance for bids his companies would make which averaged at between 40 and 50 per week.

As Labelle was giving a drawn out explanation of the companies' procedures and how they related to Accurso, Justice James Bruntonintervened, saying the jury didn't need all those details.

Labelleraised his voice, countering that his exposserved to "distance ourselves from an envelope of money handed over in a parking lot;the transactions, there's a life behind all that."

The prosecution is expected to continue cross-examining Accursoon Monday.