July 12, 2021 – The fraud case against former Montreal construction boss Tony Accurso, along with four co-accused, has been stayed by the Crown.

Prosecutors had accused Accurso, Francesco Bruno, Francesco Fiorino, Antonio Girardi and Adriano Furgiuele of being part of a corruption scheme at the Canada Revenue Agency.

The case was suspended in April, after the judge ordered the Crown to hand over 600 boxes of evidence to the defence.

Crown prosecutor François Blanchette asked for a stay of procedure on Thursday, saying that it wasn’t possible to hand over that much evidence within a reasonable delay.

Considering the charges were brought in 2012, the maximum time limit provided for by the Jordan ruling had been exceeded, but the Court recognized the complexity of the case — one of the exceptions to the application of the maximum time limits imposed by the Supreme Court — and allowed it to go ahead. CBC News reports. | READ MORE