He is a man marked by his “ descent into hell” who advances this Friday to the bar of the Toulon criminal court. In 2019, the fifty-year-old was still a prison guard. He crossed a red line by allowing himself to be corrupted.
One Saturday morning at the Toulon-La Farlède penitentiary center, two packages were discovered in a room on the second floor of a remand center building. The supervisor was confused by video surveillance elements in particular.
The packages contained six cell phones and as many chargers, a screen and several pairs of headphones. “There could have been a weapon or drugs”naively recognizes the official who would have received 500 euros to bring these two tightly closed packages.
“His life turned upside down”
“All the supervisors turned their backs on him”underlines Emily Linol-Manzo, the defendant’s lawyer, painting the portrait of a man whose “[la] life turned upside down” following this affair.
The use of data linked to the official’s telephone line allowed investigators to identify the briber. This thirty-year-old, living in the Alpes-Maritimes, is a former inmate of La Farlède.
The two men had “hit it off” behind the prison walls. “We both practice fishing, we stayed in touch [après ma sortie]”, explains the thirty-year-old Maralpin.
“The safety of agents in danger”
The two men say they acted out of “humanity”. “I know what it’s like to be incarcerated, to be deprived of your family,” says the ex-inmate. And it turns out the prison officer was facing money problems.
“Introducing telephones into detention encourages trafficking, extortion, pressure… All of this, the defendant knows. It also jeopardizes the security of agents with the dissemination of sensitive information.” underlines prosecutor Samuel Finielz.
The former detainee, whose criminal record includes nine entries (weapon, drugs, etc.), refuses to name his sponsors. “These are people who live near me, and it will be known [si je les dénonce].”
The defendants were sentenced to a flexible sentence of one year’s imprisonment. The corrupt agent, aged 59, is also permanently banned from working in the public service.
2023-09-30 16:39:54
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