The former LR mayor of Corbeil-Essonnes, Jean-Pierre Bechterformer right-hand man of the late Serge Dassault, and former deputy mayor Jacques Lebigre appeared for a case of corruption and electoral fraud.
The two men were sentenced on Tuesday to two-year suspended prison sentence for buying votes during the municipal elections of 2009 and 2010, a lighter sentence than at first instance.
They are both accused of having “personally involved in electoral fraud” in this commune of Essonne.
L’ex-deputy Christelle de Oliveirawas sentenced to 18 months suspended sentence, for laundering illegal campaign financing and concealment.
She also agreed to confuse the two-year prison sentence of Younes Bounouarasentenced for his role as an intermediary, with that of 15 years he is serving for a assassination attempt linked to these vote buyingwhich was refused at first instance.
A pyramid scheme of electoral corruption
A total of six people had been convicted in 2020 of participating in a pyramid scheme of electoral corruption. It was fed with several million euros by the billionaire Serge Dassault, who died in 2018.
According to the prosecution, it consisted of recruit neighborhood teams to convince residents to vote Bechter in exchange for money, promises of housing, or jobs.
Declared ineligible at the end of the 2000s, after 14 years at the town hall, Serge Dassault had handed over to Jean-Pierre Bechter. The latter had won the election in 2009 but the ballot had again been canceled. Jean-Pierre Bechter finally won in 2010.
Lighter sentences than at first instance
At first instance, in December 2020, the two men were sentenced to two years in prison. They had to purge it under an electronic bracelet.
During the hearing before the Paris Court of Appeal in February, the Advocate General had requested two years’ imprisonment, including six months under an electronic bracelet against Jean-Pierre Bechter, 77, and one year including two firm month against Jacques Lebigre, 80 years old.
The two ex-elected escape the electronic bracelet and the fines
The Court of Appeal held that there was “no need to ask them to wear a bracelet or to assign them to their home“, given their personal situation, while emphasizing that it was not about”an acceptable or trivial offense“.
The court has confirmed the five-year sentence of ineligibility against them, but canceled the fines to which they had been sentenced.