Jury selection complete, Tony Accurso's fraud trial gets underway in Laval

With the jury selection done, opening arguments in the trial of Tony Accurso got underway Friday afternoon at the Laval courthouse.

The 12-person jury, five women and seven men, will decide the fate of the 66-year-old former construction mogul, who is facing charges of fraud, two counts of conspiracy, breach of trust and corruption.

It's alleged that between 1996 and 2010, he was part of a system of corruption that eliminated all competition for municipal contracts in Laval.

The first witness to take the stand late Friday afternoon was Gilles Théberge, a former top executive for an asphalt company called Sintra, who began explaining to the court how companies obtained municipal contracts. His testimony will resume on Tuesday.

Quebec Superior Court Justice James Brunton is presiding over the trial.

During jury selection, he told potential jurors that the prosecution alleges former mayor Gilles Vaillancourt was the mastermind of the scheme.

The Crown says Vaillancourt demanded a percentage of the value of the contracts awarded by the city of Laval be paid in cash, the price contractors and engineering firms had to pay for contracts that weren't subject to competition.

Vaillancourt pleaded guilty to fraud on the government, breach of trust, conspiracy and fraud in 2016. He was sentenced to six years in prison.

The jury selection process was specific — among other things, the court has to make sure no potential juror or their spouse worked for the city of Laval at the time of the alleged offences. 

Potential jurors who signed contracts with the city or worked for a construction company linked to the city of Laval also had to be excluded.