The president of the Chez Cora breakfast restaurant was kidnapped from his home and forced into the trunk of a car four years ago. His captors then demanded a ransom of 11 million from his mother, Cora Tsouflidou. Who is behind this crime straight out of a Hollywood movie? The former franchisee Paul Zaidan intends to prove to the public prosecutor.
It was the start of the jury trial of the 52-year-old man on Tuesday at the Laval courthouse. Paul Zaidan is accused of having kidnapped and kidnapped Nicholas Tsouflidis on March 8, 2017 in Mirabel and Laval, and of having extorted Cora Tsouflidou. At the time, Paul Zaidan was a shareholder in a franchise of the restaurant Chez Cora in L’Île-des-Sœurs, in Montreal.
According to the prosecution theory, Paul Zaidan played a “role” in the kidnapping of the president of Chez Cora, without specifying which one. “No direct evidence implicating Paul Zaidan in the kidnapping and extortion will be presented to you. I remind you, the evidence is circumstantial ”, thus warned the prosecutor of the Crown Mr.e Sarah Beaudry-Leclerc in her opening statement to the jury.
At around 9:30 p.m. on March 8, 2017, Nicholas Tsouflidis answered his door when a man claimed to “be lost”. This person then carries what the complainant believes to be a weapon and orders him to lie on the ground, according to the Crown. Other people then entered Mr. Tsouflidis’ residence.
“Nicholas Tsouflidis will be taken by force in the trunk of a car, his hands tied behind his back”, told the jury Me Beaudry-Leclerc, who teams up with Me Karine Dalphond. But the big boss of Chez Cora manages to break away and calls 9-1-1 saying that he was forcibly taken by several individuals in a Volvo vehicle.
Meanwhile, the plaintiff’s mother, Cora Tsouflidou, receives two calls from the kidnappers around 1 a.m., according to the Crown theory. She is told that her son has been abducted and that she must go home to find a letter with directions. In the letter found by the police, it is about a ransom of 11 million dollars payable over a period of three days. Nicholas Tsouflidis was found safe and sound the next day at 6:10 am, on the Champagne climb in Laval.
The president of Chez Cora is expected to testify later today. He will tell the jury, according to the prosecution, important details about his kidnapping regarding the description of the premises, the items used to kidnap him and the surveillance system.
The police linked Paul Zaidan to this case through the email address written in the letter. According to the Crown, this address could be linked to a specific device, a Samsung tablet purchased at a Best Buy store by Paul Zaidan on February 7, 2017. This tablet was then returned on March 9, “at the same time Mr. Tsouflidis is found, ”said the Crown prosecutor.
The lawsuit also invites the jury to keep “special attention” to what Paul Zaidan’s credit card was used to buy on March 8 in relation to the Volvo vehicle, at the hardware store used to physically hold it and the system. allowing to monitor it.
“This will tell you a lot about the role that Paul Zaidan played in this kidnapping, this kidnapping and this extortion”, maintained Mr.e Beaudry-Leclerc.
The trial takes place before judge François Dadour. The accused is defended by Me Hovsep Dadaghalian and Me Christopher Lerhe-Mediati.