Criminal proceedings brought against Montreal businessman Vincenzo Guzzo for criminal harassment and breach of condition have ended.
The prosecution requested a stay of proceedings in both cases, a proposal which was approved by the Court in November.
On Monday, Mr. Guzzo said he received the news “with a lot of relief.” He specified that the complaints had been filed “in the context of a family dispute”.
The 54-year-old man was arrested last June and charged with one count of harassment and one count of breaching conditions.
The acts of criminal harassment accused of the big boss of Guzzo cinemas allegedly took place in Terrebonne between the months of November 2022 and June 2023. He was also accused of not having respected his commitment last June, made in court, not to not communicate with a person — the alleged target of his harassing actions — whose identity the media cannot reveal.
The entrepreneur and philanthropist, who became known to the public thanks to his role as “dragon” on the show Dragons’Den of the CBC, had no criminal history.
Contacted to find out the reasons which prompted the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) to request a stay of proceedings, the DPCP declared, through its spokesperson, Audrey Roy-Cloutier, declared that it was more confident that he could reasonably obtain a conviction since “new material was brought to our attention”.
“This decision was announced to the victim and we took care to explain the reasons and answer their questions,” added Ms.e Roy-Cloutier.
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