Contrecoeur case pushed to Monday as delays over recordings persist

The fraud case against Frank Zampino and five other men will only return to court Monday morning as the prosecution and defence continue todeal with the fallout of an important revelation in the case.

The case was delayed earlier this week after defence lawyers learned police recorded conversations between them and the accused.

The prosecution was ordered to disclose details of the recordings, which were made as part of a separate investigation.

• Contrecoeurcase delayed after defence learns of recorded conversations with accused

The accusedare facing charges in connection with 2007FaubourgContrecoeurland transaction in Montreal's east end.

Zampinois alleged to have fixed the bidding process to favour construction company FrankCatania& Associates.

On Friday, prosecutor Marlne Archer discussed how the evidence in the recordings will be presented to the court.

Quebec Court Judge Yvan Poulin will unseal the documents, but some of them will have to be redacted before disclosure to the defence.

They include the affidavit asking for the recordings, the judge's authorization and the content of certain recordings.

Zampino was arrested, along with AndrFortin,PasqualeFedele, MartinD'Aoustand PascalPatrice, in the spring of 2012 on charges of fraud, conspiracy and breach of trust in connection with the land deal.Frank Catania & Associates, the construction firm, is also among the accused.

The trial was supposed to begin last year, but so far it has yet to hear its first witness.

Last month, Judge Poulin denied a request by the defence, arguing thecase is taking too long to go trial,to throw out the case.

The defence based its motion on the Supreme Court of Canada's Jordan ruling, which set an upper limit on how long it should take before a case goes to trial.