A former Marseille hospital executive was given a two-year suspended prison sentence on Monday for favoritism and illegal taking of interest for favoring a company in which he was a partner, during several public contracts he controlled.
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"
When we serve the public interest, there is a form of example to respect that you have not had for several years
", specified the president of the court, Céline Ballérini, to the defendant who is also banned from the public service for five years.
From 2007 to 2011, this former director of technical services at the Edouard-Toulouse psychiatric hospital center had signed 1.2 million contracts, including three public contracts for a total amount of 547,000 euros for the benefit of D2G Construction, a company in which he held a quarter of the shares.
“An inappropriate and illegal proximity between a public official and a friendly entrepreneur”.
"
It does not matter that you did not derive a substantial profit from this company, but by not saying that you had shares in a company which was bidding for public contracts, you committed the offense of unlawful taking of an interest and from that of favoritism which is deduced from it
”, explained the court.
During the proceedings, on April 25, the prosecutor had denounced “
a Marseille-style system marked by an inappropriate and illegal proximity between a public official and a friendly entrepreneur
”.
The latter was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence, a fine of 20,000 euros and an exclusion from public contracts for five years.
His company D2G Construction, sentenced to a criminal fine of 30,000 euros and to a definitive exclusion from public contracts, used a subcontractor who did not declare his employees for the sites, in particular those of the Edouard Toulouse hospital, from which convictions also pronounced for concealed work.
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The hospital center whose lawyer had denounced “
a betrayal
”, consequence of “
small arrangements between friends
”, is allocated 15,000 euros in damages in compensation for the damage to its image.
The hospital executive who had admitted in court to have been "
negligent
" had received gifts from the company in which he was a shareholder and which he favored, namely purchases of model making for an amount close to 2,500 euros.
