Frank Zampino, ex-Montreal politician, tries again to have court drop fraud, corruption charges
Zampino's defense team says his Charter rights were violated when police taped conversations with his lawyer
The former second-in-command at Montreal city hall, Frank Zampino, was back in court Tuesday, trying again to convince a judge to stay fraud and corruption charges against him.
Zampino was accused in 2017 of having helped steer municipal contracts to certain to engineering firms, in return for political financing and other favours between 2002 and 2008.
In June, Quebec Court Judge Joëlle Roy rejected an application by Zampino to have those charges tossed because of unreasonable delays.
On Tuesday, Zampino's lawyer argued he deserved a stay because police violated his Charter rights by taping 39 phone conversations he had with a lawyer.
In a 43-page document submitted to court, Zampino's legal team says the authorization to intercept solicitor-client communications was invalid because it "failed to include safeguards to ensure the protection of privileged communications."
Zampino's lawyers worry that information gleaned from these conversations could be used by the prosecution.
Zampino was arrested on the fraud and corruption charges in September 2017 while he was being cross-examined in another criminal trial, known as the Faubourg Contrecoeur case. He was eventually acquitted in that trial.
Lawyers for the defense and the Crown will debate the motion to stay the charges over the next two days.
The motion asks the court to quash the authorization to record conversations and declare it illegal. It also asks that the contents of the 39 conversations in question be placed under seal, and that the proceedings against Zampino be halted.
If the the stay of proceedings isn't granted, Zampino's trial is scheduled to begin September 30.