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Construction magnate Antonio (Tony) Accurso has been sentenced to a four-year prison term for his role in Laval’s system of collusion when it came to awarding municipal contracts.

While delivering the decision on Thursday, Superior Court Justice James Brunton cited the duration of the conspiracy, the fact public funds were involved and the impact on the public’s confidence on political institutions as being among the factors that contributed to his decision.

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Following a lengthy trial that began in May, Accurso, 66, was convicted by a jury on all five of the charges he faced: two conspiracy charges, fraud, municipal corruption and breach of trust. The jury was obviously convinced Accurso actively participated in a system of collusion that was created and run by former Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt between 1996 and 2010. Accurso testified in his defence and claimed he had no knowledge that two of his companies — Louisbourg Construction and Simard-Beaudry Inc. — were the two biggest colluding companies to take part in the scheme revealed by a UPAC investigation dubbed Project Honorer.