Tony Accurso granted bail while he appeals fraud conviction and sentence
MONTREAL — After spending one week behind bars, Quebec construction magnate Tony Accurso was released on bail Thursday while he appeals his conviction and four-year prison sentence in connection with a vast Montreal-area municipal fraud scheme.
Despite recognizing that the trial judge said Accurso participated in “one of the worst examples, if not the worst, of municipal corruption that has ended up in a Canadian court,” Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Manon Savard ruled he should be released.
Savard cited judicial precedent stating the seriousness of the crime doesn’t necessarily mean the accused should be incarcerated while waiting for an appeal to be heard.
Accurso, 66, was sentenced to four years in prison earlier this month after a jury convicted him on five fraud-related charges in connection with the contract kickback system in Laval, north of Montreal.