The Italian restaurateur sentenced to 18 years in prison for having ordered the kidnapping of a hotelier in Nice in 2016, seven years after a stinging bankruptcy at the head of an establishment she had rented to him, appealed, announced Tuesday February 2 his lawyer.
Read also: Veyrac affair: the astonishing cast of suspected kidnappers
At the end of three and a half weeks of trial, on January 25, the Assize Court of the Alpes-Maritimes found Giuseppe Serena, 67, guilty of complicity in the kidnapping of Jacqueline Veyrac, 80, and of a first failed attempt in 2013. Each time, the facts took place in broad daylight, near her home.
Thirty years of imprisonment had been required against him.
A "question of principle"
“
While Serena is willing to admit his share of responsibility for 2016, he refuses to be seen as the instigator.
It's a matter of principle.
Even if the Advocate General required 30 years and received 18, this means that we remain on the highest sentence, which considers him to be the mastermind of the case.
However, we have no element that allows us to say with certainty that Serena is the sponsor of this kidnapping,
”underlines to Le
Figaro
the lawyer for the restaurateur, Me Corentin Delobel, who confides in having advised his client against appealing.
“
But in view of the fragility of his state of health, I will obtain his freedom, regardless of the penalty.
Whether it is 18 or 30 years old, there is no difference, since the little that remains for him to live is screwed up
”, continues the lawyer.
The Assize Court also handed down sentences ranging from 17 months to 15 years in prison against the other protagonists in the case, in particular a British accomplice Philip Dutton, sentenced to 14 years in prison, and had ordered five acquittals.
"
It is certain that all the worst penalties will appeal, in particular Ben Hamroun and all those of the Moulins district
", comments Me Delobel.
Read also: At 80 years old, Jacqueline Veyrac recounts her kidnapping with guts
The debates led by President Patrick Véron were interrupted by several interventions by Giuseppe Serena, corpulent and talkative, who proclaimed his innocence before sketching the beginning of a confession during the trial and apologizing.
The old lady, who had never been talked about before, owns the Grand Hotel on the Croisette in Cannes with her children as well as a whole heritage including La Réserve, a seafront restaurant in Nice.
From 2007 to 2009, she had entrusted the management to Giuseppe Serena before it collapsed under the weight of the charges, the fruit of its mismanagement.
