Three men were sentenced on Wednesday by the Bastia Court of Appeal to two years in prison for their role in the fire at the Ajaccien restaurant Le Globo in 2017, against the backdrop of links with the criminal gang known as the "Petit Bar".
The magistrates confirmed the sentence pronounced at first instance before the Ajaccio Criminal Court.
Jacques Pastini, 62, Philippe Porri, 58 and Jean-Laurent Salasca, 69, were prosecuted for
"complicity in degradation or deterioration of the property of others by a means dangerous for people".
The “Petit Bar” criminal gang
On the night of September 22, 2017, CCTV cameras filmed two people wearing hoods, gloves, dressed all in black and trying, in vain, to break down the door of the establishment on the eve of its grand opening night, before to set fire to the terrace.
If the perpetrators, who fled through a passageway leading to the parking lot, were never identified, two white jerrycans with red caps, a red and gray crowbar and an orange screwdriver had been spotted in the images.
The investigation showed that identical tools had been bought the previous days by the three defendants in a DIY supermarket.
Searches also led to the discovery at Jacques Pastini's home of a beep with a key allowing access to Jacques Santoni's apartment and parking lot: the latter is presented by the authorities as the quadriplegic leader of the criminal gang known as the " Petit Bar” and neighbor of the burnt restaurant.
During the hearings, the three men denied the charges, acknowledging having made these purchases but ensuring that they had been used for work in a cemetery.
Defense lawyers pleaded for release.
Read alsoThe alleged leader of the “Petit Bar” criminal gang authorized to travel to Corsica
Jacques Pastini and Jean-Laurent Salasca were previously sentenced in 2011 in Marseille respectively to two years in prison including 18 months suspended and 18 months suspended for their role in an attempted murder of former nationalist activist Alain Orsoni.
Philippe Porri was indicted in early October 2020 with four people, including Jacques Santoni, in the investigation into the attempted assassination in September 2018 of Guy Orsoni, the son of Alain Orsoni, but also in the investigation concerning the financial aspect of the Petit Bar.
