Jean-Pierre Maggi, 76, former deputy (PS) for Bouches-du-Rhône, was sentenced Thursday, January 21 to six months in prison and five years of deprivation of civil and civic rights, including eligibility for having in particular recruited relatives from the Bouches-du-Rhône firefighters.
To read also: In the Karachi affair, "nothing will have been spared me", says Balladur at his trial
Sentenced for seven offenses relating to illegal taking of interest, favoritism and embezzlement of public funds, Maggi who was mayor for 43 years (1977-2020) of Velaux, near Aix-en-Provence, seen imposing a sentence of thirty months in prison including 24 months suspended, the six months to be served at home under electronic surveillance, said the president of the court Céline Ballérini.
The court also ordered the confiscation of an apartment owned by the elected official in Paris worth 245,000 euros.
During the debates, the elected official admitted to having committed errors by signing decrees for the recruitment, tenure and promotion of his partner, her son and son-in-law, hired within the departmental fire service and aid (which he chaired from 1997 to 2013).
On the other hand, he contested any electoral interest in the priority hiring of young inhabitants of his municipality for the “
summer jobs
” positions within the public establishment.
In some years, these represented more than half of the 60 to 90 seasonal workers.
"
Every citizen must be assured that the one who represents the general interest serves only the general interest
", indicated the court adding to the attention of the elected: "
This public interest which you alone had to serve was put in competition with political patronage interest and private and emotional interest.
You give the unbearable feeling that you are using your public functions for private interests
”.
The prosecutor had requested against the former mayor of Velaux four years in prison, including thirty months suspended.
The court did not order the confiscation of a parcel of the commune of Velaux sold by the town hall, "
through a covering
", to the children of Maggi's partner.
Director of the SDIS from 1997 to 2014, Colonel Luc Jorda, 71, was sentenced to two years in prison including eighteen months suspended, the firm part being to be served at home under electronic surveillance.
Found guilty of favoritism and embezzlement of public funds, the former boss of the Bouches-du-Rhône fire department was also prohibited from exercising any public function for five years and the court confiscated the undivided share of an apartment he owns with his wife in Montpellier.
The two defendants were accused of having violated the rules of public contracts for the construction in 2008 of a training center for industrial fires.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/2C5HI6YHNFHDLJSBNWHOIAS2AE.jpeg)
