He is the first to react after the verdict of the Bastia-Poretta double assassination trial. Sentenced to 10 years in prison for criminal conspiracy to commit a crime, by the Bouches-du-Rhône Assize Court, Jacques Mariani, presented as a figure of organized crime, announces, through his lawyers , appeal.
The attorneys general had requested the same sentence as that which was imposed. “At the announcement of this very surprising verdict, I have in my heart a feeling of injustice, indicates Mr. Jean-Sébastien de Casalta. The debates had made it possible to give depth to his protests of innocence, especially since the investigators had admitted at the bar that no material preparatory act could link him to this association of criminals.”
“It’s a decision that surprises us”
The criminal lawyer appears almost fatalistic: “Does the defense still have a place, however modest, in the criminal trial when it comes to pleading the cause of Jacques Mariani?”
And expressed his astonishment: “QWhat more could the defense have brought to convince the court and the jury of the merits of an acquittal? I painfully imagine that his personality, locked in a sulphurous family legend, and his criminal record undoubtedly contributed to the pronouncement of this particularly harsh sentence. Which would be extremely worrying in the light of our best-established principles.”
Mr. Hedi Dakhlaoui, another counsel for Jacques Mariani, is on the same line: “This is a decision that surprises us. We were faced with an empty file. The personality elements of Jacques Mariani, the role and the aura attributed to him, fully justified this decision.”
“Mr. Menconi should have had his case dismissed”
For his part, Me Amaury Auzou, one of the two lawyers of Joseph Menconi, presented as a figure of organized crime, expressed his satisfaction. The prosecution had requested a six-year prison sentence for criminal association with a view to committing a crime. “I am very happy for him and his family. His innocence is recognized, underlines Me Auzou. There is still a bitter taste since Mr. Menconi should not even have been sitting on the defense benches. He should have had a dismissal. I remain convinced that everyone knew he was innocent.”
