Revenue Quebec raids businesses linked to Tony Accurso
CBC News
Posted: Oct 3, 2012 9:36 AM ET
Last Updated: Oct 3, 2012 12:15 PM ET
Authorities say evidence will determine if charges will be laid after the investigation. (Radio-Canada)
Related
Ninety Revenue Quebec investigators are executing search warrants at various businesses seemingly controlled by businessman Tony Accurso in Laval, Saint-Eustache and Montreal.
The investigation began at 8:30 a.m. ET.
One of the buildings visited by investigators houses construction firms Simard-Beaudry and Louisbourg Construction in Laval – two companies owned by Accurso.
In January, both companies had their licenses temporarily suspended by Quebec's building authority, the Régie du bâtiment, more than a year after the construction firms pleaded guilty to tax evasion worth $4 million.
At that time, the companies were ordered to pay a total of $8 million in fines and back taxes.
Authorities confirmed they are looking for possible tax fraud, and evidence will allow them to determine if charges are warranted.
Accurso was arrested in early August on charges linked to a multimillion-dollar tax-evasion conspiracy, and was released by police the same day.
RCMP arrested Accurso along with another Quebec construction magnate, Francesco Bruno, and former Canada Revenue Agency auditor Adriano Furgiuele on the same charges, as part of the still-unwinding saga of corruption in the province's construction sector that touches all levels of government.
Accurso's name has been mentioned in testimonies during the Charbonneau commission, an inquiry currently looking into corruption allegations in Quebec's construction industry.
On Monday, Lino Zambito, the former vice-president of construction firm Infrabec, told the commission he had met with Accurso and Montreal Mob boss Vito Rizzuto to discuss issues surrounding bids on a contract.
Last April, Accurso was charged with fraud, conspiracy, influence peddling, breach of trust and two counts of defrauding the government after Quebec's anti-corruption unit found out that public officials benefited from gifts and money given in exchange for favourable decisions and privileged information.Share Tools
Latest Montreal News Headlines
- CBC's Top Tweets: Tell us what you're doing for the long weekend
- CBC Montreal asked members of the Twitterverse to share their photos and stories from the May long weekend. more »
- Construction hotspots to avoid on May long weekend
- The all-too-familiar sounds of construction work will ring in the May long weekend for Montrealers. more »
- Apartment fire leaves 3 children, father in critical condition
- Emergency crews responding to a fire in Sainte-Thérèse, Que., said they found five family members unconscious in their apartment on Saturday morning. more »
- Pierre's picks: 5 don't-miss events in Montreal this weekend
- Every Friday, CBC Montreal's Homerun arts reporter Pierre Landry brings you the top five things to see and do in Montreal this weekend. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Search continues for 2 missing New Brunswick fishermen
- A search effort has resumed for two missing fishermen off the coast of New Brunswick, after a distress call was issued from their boat early Saturday. more »
- Virginia parade crash driver likely had medical problem
- Authorities believe the driver who plowed into dozens of hikers marching in a Virginia mountain town parade suffered from a medical condition and did not cause the crash intentionally, an emergency official said Sunday. more »
- Senior Pakistani politician shot dead
- Gunmen in Pakistan have killed a senior member of Imran Khan's Movement for Justice (PTI) party outside her home in Karachi. more »
- Spectator killed at Edmonton Jeep event
- A 20-year-old woman died Saturday during an event for Jeep enthusiasts held in a parking lot just west of downtown Edmonton. more »
Most Viewed/Commented
- Apartment fire leaves 3 children, father in critical condition
- Behind the scenes: Community fights Hydro-Québec plan
- Construction hotspots to avoid on May long weekend
- Bomb defuser from FLQ crisis remembered by friends, family
- PQ's proposed changes to Bill 14 leave critics skeptical
- Pierre's picks: 5 don't-miss events in Montreal this weekend
- Woman accused of murder testifies that she was too drunk
- 2 earthquakes felt in Ontario and Quebec
- Body found in burning car in Laval park

