Court of Appeal orders new trial for former city exec committee chair Frank Zampino
Police recordings of conversations Zampino had with his lawyers violated his rights, but did not require a stay of proceedings. The Quebec Court of Appeal has ordered a new trial for former city exec committee chair Frank Zampino, following a ruling by a judge in 2019 that his rights were violated during a police wiretap investigation. The court ruled that police recordings of conversations Zampsino had with his lawyers violated his rights, but did not require a stay of proceedings. This decision comes after the court reversed a previous decision by the judge four years ago and has now ordered a trial on fraud and corruption charges. Five other people charged in the same case will also have to undergo a trial. The charges allege that Zampinos and his co-accused were involved in a scheme to hand out municipal contracts to engineering firms in exchange for political financing, kickbacks and other benefits.
Published : 2 years ago by Paul Cherry, Montreal Gazette in Business
Court of Appeal orders new trial for former city exec committee chair Frank Zampino
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Police recordings of conversations Zampino had with his lawyers violated his rights, but did not require a stay of proceedings, the court ruled.
In 2019, Quebec Court Judge Joëlle Roy ruled that Zampino’s rights were violated during a UPAC investigation because police recorded 39 conversations Zampino had with his lawyers. Roy placed a stay of proceedings on the charges filed in the case against Zampino and other accused.
In a decision delivered on Friday, the Quebec Court of Appeal has reversed a judge’s decision made four years ago and has ordered that former city of Montreal executive committee chairperson Frank Zampino undergo a new trial on fraud and corruption charges.
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The Crown appealed Roy’s decision and on Friday the Quebec Court of Appeal ordered the new trial.
“Although it finds the respondents’ rights were violated, the court is of the view, however, that such violations were not so serious as to warrant a stay of proceedings. Although the police’s conduct during the wiretap operation may be marked by negligence, the seriousness of the conduct was considerably less than that found by the trial judge, such that a stay of proceedings is not the only remedy,” the appellate court wrote in a special summary of its lengthy decision.
The court also decided that five other people charged in the same case will also have to undergo a new trial.
The UPAC investigation began as a probe into the city’s controversial water-meter contract and broadened into an investigation into political financing. The charges alleged Zampino and his co-accused were involved in a scheme to hand out municipal contracts to engineering firms in return for political financing, kickbacks and other benefits.
This story will be updated.
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