The judge Del Negro had forgotten that he still had 800 000$

Photo Chantal Poirier
The judge Manlio Del Negro has delivered his testimony with a deductible, said the investigative Committee of the judicial Council, on Friday.

Michael Nguyen

Friday, 2 February 2018 16:51

UPDATE
Friday, 2 February 2018 22:56

Look at this article

A judge had forgotten that a man owed him for 800 000 $ when he came to the title last year, he defended Friday before the judicial Council.

“I learned that he owed me money when I read the article in the Journal de Montréal [June 2017], he said. I was really surprised.”

The magistrate was hearing before the inquiry Committee of the council, following a complaint filed by the minister of Justice Stéphanie Vallée in June of last year.

This complaint arose from a report of our Bureau of investigation, which revealed that the judge Del Negro had lent more than $ 9 million in the last few years while he was a lawyer, and he was still a creditor after having been appointed a judge in march 2017.

The question in dispute before the judicial Council is whether the judge Del Negro has carried out a commercial activity, which would be incompatible with its function.

Lender

During his testimony, the judge Del Negro said he made investments in real estate during his career as a lawyer. And at one time, it started to become a private lender.

“Often, it is for small entrepreneurs who do qualify not to the rigid rules of the banks”, he told the Committee of inquiry.

The loans at issue relate to a certain Jean-François Germain, a businessman who buys dilapidated houses, restores it, and resells it in order to make a profit.

“I’ve done in the past on a project with him and it had been, explained the judge. There has been another project, it has been also.”

It is for these reasons that the judge, while defence lawyer, has agreed to finance new projects, that would have made him lose 83 000 $.

“It was a bad investment, I didn’t want to think of it, he said, adding to have forgotten that Mr. Germain owed him more money.”

Diligence

The judge added that it had acted with due diligence when he came to the bench. He quickly informed the chief judge of his situation, and it is removed from the family trust that he had with his wife.

To avoid problems, he says he even stopped to collect fees for the work he had done as a lawyer, but for which he had not yet been paid.

“I don’t want to do anything that will tarnish the image of justice, I am ready to do everything necessary for things to be made in the rules of art, he assured. I have nothing to hide.”

For his lawyer, Giuseppe Battista, the judge Del Negro has done nothing wrong.

Photo courtesy

Giuseppe Battista

Lawyer

“The entire record demonstrates that there has been no breach, he did nothing inappropriate, he argued.

The attorney assisting the inquiry Committee, for its part, minimized the actions of the judge Del Negro, seeming even to doubt of a possible mistake of any kind.

“If ever there has been a contravention of, this is quite minor”,-he said.

►The investigation Committee took the matter under advisement without saying when a decision will be made.