Turnaround: an ex-franchisee admitted this morning to having participated in the kidnapping and sequestration of the president of the Cora restaurant chain in order to obtain a ransom of $11 million.
• Read also: Back to square one after more than two months of trial
Paul Zaidan pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping for ransom and forcible confinement of Nicholas Tsouflidis on March 8, 2017.
Photo archives Martin Alarie
Nicholas Tsouflidis and his mother, Cora Tsouflidou
As of December 2016, the 54-year-old man made several gestures of help and encouragement which participated in the kidnapping, explained judge François Dadour, at the Laval courthouse.
Shortly after 9 p.m. that evening, three individuals showed up at the breakfast king’s home in Mirabel, where they laid him on the ground and restrained him before loading him into the trunk of a Volvo car. Handcuffed with tie wraps in the trunk of the vehicle, Nicholas Tsouflidis had then managed to call 911 indicating that he had just been kidnapped.
The kidnappers also stole a safe from the president. He was transported to a residence in Laval, where he was kept overnight in the basement. He was attached with cables and chains, said Crown prosecutor Me Karine Dalphond.
During the night, his mother Cora Tsouflidou, had received a ransom demand of $11 million, which was ultimately never paid. Early the next morning, Mr. Tsouflidis was released in a ditch in Laval.
By pleading guilty, Zaidan avoids a second trial, which was due to start next month. Recall that during his first trial last year, the jury was unable to come to a verdict.
More details to come…