Bastia (AFP)

"Only two people helped me, my mother and my older sister": the ex-senator Joseph Castelli denied Monday in Bastia having obtained free work and financed part of his villa against the granting of public contracts to three entrepreneurs judged by his side.

"I've never lost an election. I wonder what I'm doing in this mess. If I was that bad, you think these people would not have realized?" at the helm the former 72-year-old senator from Haute-Corse, who is being prosecuted before the Bastia criminal court for passive influence peddling, concealment of property from a crime, aggravated money laundering and forgery.

The president of the Bastia criminal court, Jean-Bastien Risson recalled that Mr. Castelli was suspected of having partially paid for his villa and of having benefited from "200,000 euros" for the financing of this house paid by companies "via false invoices ".

"It is suspected that the financing was made in exchange for the award of public contracts by Mr. Castelli" estimated at 10 million euros, he continued.

"I trusted Mr. Presa," said Mr. Castelli, referring to the now deceased contractor who was responsible for the construction of the villa, now seized by justice.

The defense of Mr. Castelli and two entrepreneurs accused this third entrepreneur to be responsible for embezzlement.

"Only two people helped me, my mother and my older sister", assured Mr. Castelli at the helm, claiming to have paid 80,000 euros in cash to the entrepreneur who then "allocated" the payments to different companies without any inform the ex-senator.

"I have nothing else to do with Mr. Presa's salads," he hammered.

Along with Mr. Castelli, three business leaders are prosecuted for active corruption and abuse of property or credit of a company by a manager for personal purposes.

If two deny the facts, a third admitted in custody to have "made a pact of corruption with Joseph Castelli", committing to carry out the joinery for his house for 12,500 euros while the real cost was 74,000 euros, in in return for obtaining a market for a media library of 344,000 euros, recalled the president.

At the hearing, this entrepreneur chose to remain silent.

Asked about the non-payment of the missing 62,000 euros, Mr. Castelli said he "often requested the invoice but he never sent it".

As for the public market obtained from the media library, Mr. Castelli assured that if two entrepreneurs sued had had the market, "it is because they were certainly the lowest bidder".

In October 2018, Mr. Castelli had already been sentenced to two months suspended prison sentence and a fine of 30,000 euros for having deliberately underestimated the value of his main residence, at the heart of this new trial.

The requisitions are expected Tuesday.

© 2021 AFP