A Laval man convicted for a drunken disruption on a Sunwing flight to Cuba may have to pay dearly for his actions.
Charalabos Nassios, 40, returned to court Tuesday for a sentencing hearing.
The prosecution is recommending a suspended sentence and probation for the next three years on top of the few months he already spent in jail following his arrest last July after the plane landed.
The prosecution also wants Nassios to reimburse the cost of his disruption. Sunwing has determined that flying back to Montreal, paying overtime for the employees, booking hotel rooms for passengers and paying for their meals ended up costing the airline $17,000.
It's not unusual for convicted criminals to be forced to pay damages, but in this case, the Crown wants to ensure Nassios gets the message that being drunk and disruptive on board a flight is prohibited.
“It's just a case where a crime brought some expenses to Sunwing and a way to repair is to reimburse the sums that have been paid by Sunwing for that,” said prosecutor Cynthia Gyenizse.
Defence lawyer Tom Pentafountas said there's no way Nassios can afford to pay back what he owes.
Pentafountas argued his client is now destitute. He lost his job following the incident, is still unemployed and recently filed for bankruptcy.
Forcing him to reimburse Sunwing would be excessive, his lawyer claimed, adding that he’s outraged that the Crown wants to prevent his client from travelling outside Quebec during his probation.
Justice Pierre Dupras will issue his decision on April 18.
