A commercial conflict between members of Tony Accurso’s family involved in a construction company is the main hypothesis currently being studied by investigators from the Lac des Deux-Montagnes Police Board to explain the wave of misdeeds targeting children in the area. entrepreneur, learned The Press.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
The doubts supporting this theory are such that, at the request of the family, Tony Accurso’s daughter, Lisa, and her partner, Karol Fortin, agreed to submit to a polygraph examiner’s polygraph test recently. private.
According to our information, the man and the woman would have passed the test successfully. The same exercise will probably be asked of the other members of the family.
The Press tried to reach Lisa Accurso without success. On the phone, Karol Fortin did not want to comment on the events.
“The first hypothesis, we are looking carefully whether the events could be linked to a potential conflict in the business activities of the Accurso family”, declared to The Press the head of investigations at the Lac des Deux-Montagnes Police Department, Inspector Jean-Philippe Labbé.
The latter did not want to reveal the details of the investigation.
He says, however, that other hypotheses are being considered, in particular that the misdeeds are related to the potential illicit activities of a relative of members of the Accurso family.
“Following the last event [l’incendie de la maison de Lisa Accurso mardi], considering that a second family member has been targeted, our investigators will verify the links of all family members. »
“We will also see if it would not be someone who wants to send a message to the Accurso family in general,” added Inspector Labbé.
Debts at the bottom of the list
On Tuesday, media, including The Press, reported that Tony Accurso recently filed for bankruptcy protection. Ottawa, Quebec and the cities of Montreal and Laval are claiming 107 million from the former construction magnate and his company Simard-Beaudry Construction inc.
Although plausible, the track of a debt was not favored at the Régie de police du Lac des Deux-Montagnes to explain the misdeeds.
“Following meetings with members of the Accurso family, nothing led us to believe that they are connected to their financial situation. At this stage of the investigation, the hypothesis of debts contracted by Mr. Tony Accurso was not something that was studied,” said Mr. Labbé, who added, however, that witnesses still have to be questioned.
The wave of mischief began in early July, when the white Range Rover SUV of Tony Accurso’s son’s wife, Giovanni, was targeted by an arsonist.
On August 24, shots were fired at the neighboring house, without causing any injuries.
Two days later, more shots were fired, this time at Giovanni Accurso’s residence, just hours after Tony Accurso contacted The Press to say that he was not the target of these attacks.
Two days ago, the residence of his daughter Lisa and Karol Fortin was completely destroyed by fire. Traces of an accelerant were found. The couple no longer lived in the house, rented, but unoccupied at the time of the disaster. Moreover, most of the time, during the misdeeds, the occupants were not present in the residences.
PHOTO OLIVIER PONTBRIAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Tony Accurso
Mr. Accurso refused to grant us an interview, but two people close to him told The Press that the businessman continues to say that he is not targeted by these misdeeds and that he has never received any threats or messages.
“I would like the SQ to investigate. Let her get in there and do a real investigation. Me, I have nothing to do with it, “said Tony Accurso on August 25 at The Pressthe day after shots were fired at the house next to that of his son.
But at the Régie de police du Lac des Deux-Montagnes, we were told that the hypothesis of a link with organized crime would have to gain momentum for the investigation to be transmitted to the Sûreté du Québec. .
With Francis Vailles and Hugo Joncas
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.