INTERVIEW
Snipers and reinforced security, the tone is given in front of the courthouse of Aix-en-Provence. Monday opens the trial of part of the history of Corsican banditry. Claude Chossat, a repentant who decided to break the omerta, takes place on the bench of the accused of the court of seat of Aix-en-Provence. He is accused of murdering Richard Casanova, a debris of the Sea Breeze gang.
Claude Chossat has broken the omerta for 11 years
On April 23, 2008, Richard Casanova was shot dead by a sniper as he headed for his car. Casanova had his hand on some of the illegal Corsican activities. The first suspicions are Francis Mariani, himself murdered in 2009. A series of assassinations then occur, leading to the decline of the sea breeze gang.
Claude Chossat is now accused of murdering Richard Casanova. He decided to break the omerta, for 11 years, and to collaborate with the investigators and the magistrates: "I decided to cut with this medium, it was a personal choice for my family, for my entourage and for me. cut off this terrible environment that has plagued Corsica for 30 years, "says Claude Chossat on Europe 1 Monday.
He continues: "I put this life of thug behind me, I have no problem with that, I made this choice and I assume it".
"The people who underestimated them are dead"
The former gangster may collaborate with the law, but the state has not granted him the status of legal repentant. He says he does not enjoy police security and must protect himself. "Today I am a real estate consultant and I have a social security number very far from home, I have to put up barriers because in front of me I have thugs who hunt me and have eyes and I do not underestimate these people, the people who underestimated them are dead today. "
Claude Chossat regrets his status as a de facto repentant and not of right because he believes that people are "ready to speak" in Corsica but that they must benefit from an accompaniment. "It takes a message of strong state," he insists. He concludes, "I'm afraid of being in jail, the people who have decided to break the omerta are not safe, and that decision is not mine, anyway. justice".