Former Quebec construction mogul Tony Accurso was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday, following his conviction on fraud and corruption charges.
A jury recently found Accurso guilty on all five charges he was facing stemming from a municipal corruption scheme in the Montreal-area community of Laval.
The Crown had requested Accurso receive a five-year suspended prison term and have to pay $1.6 million in restitution.
The scheme was orchestrated by former Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt and the charges involved a kickback scheme between 1996 and 2010 where companies paid off city officials in exchange for public contracts.
The judge cited the length of the fraud scheme as well as the amount of money involved when reading out the sentence.
Accurso's lawyer told the court his client should serve a suspended sentence in the community.
He also cast doubt on Accurso's ability to pay such a sum given several outstanding civil cases.
Accurso was found guilty of conspiracy to commit corruption in municipal affairs; conspiracy to commit fraud; fraud of more than $5,000; corruption of municipal officials; and breach of trust.
Vaillancourt pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Crown prosecutor Philippe-Pierre Langevin called the case a "success."
"It took time, but I think it was a success," he said. "We had 37 accused, 36 pleaded guilty. Only one had a trial, Mr. Accurso, who was found guilty."
Accurso's attorney said he plans to appeal both the verdict and sentence on Tuesday.
