Jury acquits Tony Accurso of bribing mayor of Mascouche

CTV Montreal: Accurso acquittal Tony Accurso was found not guilty of breach of trust, the sole charge he faced in Mascouche

A jury has acquitted Tony Accurso of bribing the late mayor of the north shore town of Mascouche.

The former construction magnate was accused of showering Richard Marcotte with gifts and bribes in exchange for a multitude of city contracts.

Accurso was initially charged with six crimes, but most of the charges were dropped. In the end the jury had to determine whether he was guilty of breach of trust.

During the trial the Crown provided witnesses who explained how Accurso arranged all-expenses-paid trips for Marcotte about his yacht.

The Crown also showed that Accurso gave the mayor $300 000, money that transited through a Swiss bank account.

Accurso's defence hinged on demonstrating that Accurso became friends with Marcotte in 1978, long before Marcotte became the mayor of Mascouche.

He also said the $300,000 was a personal loan, and that the pair never discussed city contracts.

Crown prosecutor Pascal Grimard said Tuesday that he would evaluate the jury's decision before deciding whether or not he would appeal the verdict.

Accurso, Marcotte, and 13 others were arrested and charged in 2012. Ultimately four people were convicted, with two spending time in jail.

Marcotte died while awaiting trial, and many of the others charged were given immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony.

When Accurso was arrested in 2012 he was the head of a construction empire that had revenues of $1.2 billion each year.

Last year another corruption trial involving Accurso ended in a mistrial.

The judge had to make the ruling when, days before the jury was to begin deliberations, it turned out a juror's relative used to work with one of the witnesses -- and this person told stories about events that hadn't been discussed in court.

The second trial has been scheduled to begin in May.