The Sûreté du Québec has opened an investigation into an extortion attempt targeting ex-construction magnate Tony Accurso, several of whose family members have been targeted by criminal acts in recent months.
It was last week that the fallen businessman, who is contesting a four-year prison sentence for fraud and corruption, contacted the Régie de police du Lac des Deux-Montagnes (RPLDM) after receiving a series of threatening text messages asking him for money. According to the daily The Pressa sum of more than 100,000 dollars would have been claimed from the former contractor, information that The duty was unable to confirm on Wednesday.
Tony Accurso was then met by the police to collect evidence concerning his complaint, however confirmed to the To have to on Wednesday the inspector in charge of the Criminal Investigations Division within the RPLDM, Jean-Philippe Labbé. However, since it is a question of threats of extortion, the file was transferred Tuesday to the Sûreté du Québec, “which is responsible for preventing this type of crime there”, he explained in an interview. The investigation into this case is therefore now in the hands of the first police force in Quebec.
The Deux-Montagnes police officers also intercepted a vehicle at the beginning of last week in which were four individuals who had incendiary material in their possession. “We have reason to believe that they were going to commit arson,” said Mr. Labbé, without being able to confirm whether Mr. Accurso’s home was targeted by the individuals in question, who were met by the police. One thing is certain, “a few days later, that’s when Mr. Accurso filed a complaint for attempted extortion,” adds the inspector.
However, it is impossible for the moment to make a link between the complaint sent by Tony Accurso and the arrest of these four individuals, specifies Mr. Labbé. “There are a lot of investigative steps that need to be taken. Maybe eventually, we can make a link, but not for the moment, ”he notes.
This investigation for attempted extortion comes at a time when the ex-construction magnate is heavily in debt. According to a survey by Montreal Journal published last October, the former businessman would be in debt for more than 107 million dollars. He owes in particular tens of millions to the revenue agencies of Quebec and Canada, as well as to the City of Montreal and that of Laval, according to the daily.
Gunshots and fires
At the same time, the RPLDM retains responsibility for several investigations concerning two arson attacks and “two events where firearms were discharged at the residences of members of the Accurso family” since the beginning of the summer. No suspect has yet been found in the context of these investigations which, agrees Mr. Labbé, “do not always take place at the pace we would like”, in particular because of their complexity.
Last July, a car that was in front of the home of Tony Accurso’s son, Giovanni, was the target of an arson attack. The home of the son of the ex-construction magnate was then riddled with bullets, as well as a neighboring residence. The property of Tony Accurso’s daughter Lisa Ray was then completely destroyed by arson last October.