Ah, love ... It was Cupid's arrow that won Patrick Antonelli in the scam. At least, so explained the former manager of a driving school in Neuilly-sur-Seine, tried since Wednesday in the case of trafficking in driving licenses at the prefecture of Hauts-de-Seine. Judged for corruption and money laundering, Patrick Antonelli, companion of the singer Amel Bent, was questioned for more than four hours, this Thursday at the bar.
When he meets the singer, in 2013, "it's the beginning of the tumble", the defendant unrolls, impeccable, chic and relaxed. Just before, Patrick Antonelli wanted to go back on his journey.
Arrived from Marseille at the age of 17, he quickly worked in a driving school belonging to a cousin, in Puteaux, then he set up on his own, seven years later. Business is booming. Flamboyant, he spends happily.
“And 2013, the worries. Tax controls, fewer registrations at the driving school… ”, he continues. But he meets Amel Bent. "I fall in love with her, I have less means but I want to be up to date when we go out with the people she frequents. "
A few months later, without the trial having yet made it possible to define precisely when, or exactly how, Patrick Antonelli came into contact with Rabiah B., an official in the prefecture's driver's license service. She is also on trial in this case.
The two interested parties agree in a bar restaurant in the 16th arrondissement. "The arrangements were made from the start," said the defendant. In fact, she needed a driving school for filing driver's license applications. She immediately told me that she wanted 4,000 euros per permit. "
People came by "word of mouth", according to the defendant
The court lingered on the driving license circuit before it was issued. First, the driving school files a stamped file at the prefecture as soon as the candidate registers. When the driver has obtained the driving test, there is a new transmission of documents and the prefecture starts editing the license.
Hauts-de-Seine Newsletter
Every morning, the news of your department seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
"At first, I had no clients for fraudulent permits," says the former driving school manager. "But how did you develop this clientele, among famous people? Wants to know the president.
"Personalities, there are not that many," defends the defendant, who immediately ruled out having benefited from the singer's network. We will therefore not know everything about Patrick Antonelli's client portfolio, but with certainty, the existence of the vein of the driving school in Neuilly has circulated in the world of TV and football.
Ali Baddou heard about the combination at Canal +, when he was working on the channel. In fact, some of his colleagues, whose names were not mentioned at trial, succumbed to the license purchased. In the world of football, we have also been tempted. “Jérémy Menez [ Editor's note: Paris FC footballer and former PSG player ], he came from someone, I don't know who, continues Patrick Antonelli. It was through word of mouth that people came to me. "
The motorcycle license was more expensive
From the end of 2013 to spring 2015, between 250 and 300 fraudulent permits were thus sold, according to what appears from the instruction. But these quantities are disputed. Patrick Antonelli recognizes a hundred, or a little more.
If we stick to a hundred permits, fraud has earned hundreds of thousands of euros. "I did differentiated rates," said Patrick Antonelli. For most customers, it was 8,000 euros. For Mr. W., it was 6,000 euros. "
Mr. W., a 40-year-old Chinese man, introduced several dozen clients to Patrick Antonelli. He too is on trial in this case. “For the motorcycle license, it could be more expensive: 10,000 euros, resumes the former boss of the driving school at the helm. For example, Ali Baddou [ Editor's note: now a presenter at France Inter and France 5 ], he paid 10,000 euros. "
The scheme was revealed in 2015 thanks to a verification of demand, after a roadside check in the provinces. The administrative investigations had then led the prefect to make a report to the prosecution. And the judicial machine has started.
The Chinese intermediary and the one, who put Rabiah B. and Patrick Antonelli in contact, also appears in court in this trial which ends this Friday. Like two other employees of the prefecture, who deny having ever been involved in the scam.
However, their personal codes were used for computer validation of fraudulent permits. This Thursday afternoon, a former employee of the service, whose codes were "usurped" she said, said in essence that all the service and hierarchy could connect with the codes of a colleague.