Tony Accurso denies Mob links on final day of testimony

Former Quebec construction mogul Tony Accurso denied Monday ever paying a cut to the Mob and said he never worked on projects involving alleged Mafia kingpin Vito Rizzuto.

Testifying for a fifth and final day at Quebec's Charbonneau Commission, Accurso also insisted he was never implicated in a collusion system whereby public contracts were divided up among firms in Montreal.

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"I don't have any link with organized crime," Accurso told the inquiry. "I've never ever paid a cent for any reason whatsoever to Mr. Rizzuto or a member of his entourage, or to an acquaintance of his."

Accurso said he never had a problem bidding on contracts in Montreal or anywhere else in Quebec and didn't need to pay off anyone to get a bid in.

He testified he always found diplomatic ways to get out of associating with those connected to the Rizzuto clan.

"I never wanted to work for Mr. Rizzuto or any project he wanted to do, be it directly or indirectly," Accurso said.

In testimony last week, Accurso described Rizzuto and his son Nick as "minor contacts."

Vito Rizzuto, who was alleged to be a leading organized crime figure in Canada and leader of the Rizzuto crime clan in Montreal, died in 2013. His son Nick was gunned down in a Montreal street in 2009.

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Once the owner of several influential construction companies, Accurso had argued unsuccessfully that testifying at the commission would jeopardize his right to a fair trial in pending criminal proceedings.

Accurso faces criminal charges in several municipal corruption cases and is also charged with tax fraud.