Contrecoeur fraud case again pushed back over recordings between defence, accused
Proceedings against former top Montreal official Frank Zampino, 5 others face another hurdle
The fraud trial against Frank Zampino and five other men is facing further delays following revelations of police recorded conversations between the defence and the accused.
Quebec Court Judge Yvan Poulin agreed to delay proceedings until Friday after the defence requested time to file a motion in regard to the wiretaps.
The recordings were made as part of a separate, ongoing police investigation.
Zampino was arrested, along with several others, in the spring of 2012 on charges of fraud, conspiracy and breach of trust in connection with the Faubourg Contrecoeur land transaction in Montreal's east end.
The other co-accused are André Fortin, Pasquale Fedele, Martin D'Aoust and Pascal Patrice. The construction firm Frank Catania & Associates is also among the accused.
On Tuesday, the Crown told the court that 25 conversations involving defence lawyers and their clients had been recorded. Of these, 11 were deemed pertinent to the Contrecoeur case.
The Crown protested against the delay in proceedings, saying all the relevant information has already been disclosed.
However, Zampino's lawyer, Isabel Schurman, told the court she was already preparing a motion to review the content of conversations between her and her client, as well as how the civilian agent was instructed to carry out the surveillance.
"I feel like I'm in a parallel universe in terms of everything I've ever seen and heard about attorney-client privilege and about wiretaps," said Schurman.