Charles Pieri, the alleged former head of the FLNC, was sentenced to six months in convertible prison and a fine of 5,000 euros on Tuesday, October 19 in Bastia, for having benefited from “
free
” car
rentals
.
Condemned for "
concealment of breach of trust
", Charles Pieri should not go to prison, the sentence pronounced being "
immediately adaptable
".
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At the hearing on September 21, before the Bastia Criminal Court, the prosecutor Arnaud Viornery had requested one year in prison and 10,000 euros fine against Charles Pieri, "
in view of his participation but also of his well-stocked locker
”. He did not attend the hearing for health reasons. "
We are going to appeal this decision
", told AFP Me Marc-Antoine Luca, one of Charles Pieri's counsel, who had pleaded for acquittal.
A search at the end of May 2019 in the premises of the company Filippi Auto, Hertz franchised car rental agency at Bastia-Poretta airport, had allowed the seizure of "
21 vehicle rental contracts in the name of Charles Pieri, entered into between May 22, 2017 and May 22, 2019, without the corresponding invoices being established and recorded in the accounts,
”said Caroline Tharot, the prosecutor at the time.
A "judicial relentlessness"
Two employees of the rental agency, tried for "
breach of trust
", were respectively sentenced to a fine of 3000 euros for the manager of the agency's operations and 3000 euros of suspended fine for the manager of the billing. The prosecutor had requested a year of suspended sentence and 10,000 euros fine against the first and a fine of 5,000 euros against the second. Their lawyers had also pleaded for acquittal.
Pointing out the difference between the convictions of the “
principal perpetrators
” and that of the “
simple receiver
”, Me Eric Barbolosi, other counsel for Charles Pieri, told AFP that this showed “
the nonsense of this decision, only motivated by the desire to condemn Charles Pieri again heavily
”. During his custody, the billing manager explained that she had "
put the payment of invoices on hold
" to Charles Pieri "
on the instructions of her husband and hierarchical superior
", which the latter had confirmed. At the hearing, the agency manager admitted "
having acted in an emotional case
": "
Charles Pieri is a childhood friend.
I did this for him.
I admit that I left this file lying around.
"
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During the arrest of Charles Pieri in July 2019 in connection with this case, weapons and a bulletproof vest had been seized from his home, according to the Bastia prosecutor's office.
But "
irregularities
" during this search had led the prosecutor to give up any prosecution and to seize the General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN).
"
This umpteenth sentence imposed on + Carlu + (Charles; Editor's note) demonstrates the judicial harassment he has suffered for decades,
" denounced the Sulidarita association for the defense of Corsican prisoners.
In September 2018, Charles Pieri was fined 15,000 euros for a message insulting the widow of Prefect Erignac posted on a Facebook account assigned to him.
This controversial figure of Corsican nationalism had already been sentenced on several occasions, notably in 2001, with a 5-year prison sentence for criminal association in connection with a terrorist enterprise.
In 2005, he was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for, in particular, "
extortion
" and "
criminal association
".
A sentence finally reduced to 8 years on appeal.
