A FRENCH masonic lodge is at the centre of a murky trial as 22 people face a jury over murder and other serious crimes.
The pack of defendants appeared in court on Monday accused of carrying out the violent crimes on behalf of a mafia network inside the former Athanor Masonic Lodge.
A £60,843 hit was allegedly put out for the murder of Marie-Helene Dini in July 2020Credit: AFP
Defendant and French military member Pierre Bourdin arrived to court for the opening of the so-called Athanor trialCredit: AFP
Defendant Jeremy Ferretti also appeared in court on MondayCredit: AFP
Prosecutors allege the lodge served as a hub for a tightly organised network that carried out violent acts ranging from assaults to contract killings.
Thirteen of the 22 defendants face life imprisonment.
The group has been accused of murdering a racing driver, the attempted murder of a coach and a trade unionist, aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy.
Most of the accused, aged between 30 and 73, have no previous criminal record.
Several members of the freemasons lodge – located in the Parisian suburb of Puteaux – have appeared in the dock.
Four military personnel from France’s foreign intelligence service (DGSE), two officers, a retired domestic intelligence officer, a security guard, a doctor, an engineer and two business executives make up the group of defendants.
The alleged ringleaders have been identified as Athanor freemasons Jean-Luc Bagur, Frédéric Vaglio and Daniel Beaulieu.
If they are convicted, they face life in .
Sébastien Leroy, Beaulieu’s right-hand man, also faces life in prison.
He was not a member of the lodge.
Leroy has been accused of carrying out the trio’s dirty work himself, or through a network of hitmen.
A botched contract killing in July 2020 led police to uncover the network, when two members of the military were arrested in possession of weapons near the home of business coach Marie-Hélène Dini.
They told police during questioning that they had been asked to murder Dini on behalf of the French state.
According to the suspects, they were told she was working for the Israeli spy agency, the Mossad.
Investigators then unearthed a link to Bagur, 69, who was a rival business coach to Dini and the “venerable master” of the Athanor lodge.
Bagur allegedly asked fellow freemason Vaglio to arrange for his rival to be killed, offering to pay a fee of £60,843 (€70,000).
Defendant Donovan Lefranc in courtCredit: AFP
Antoine Ory, lawyer for Sebastien Leroy, arrived to courtCredit: AFP
Marc Pantaloni, lawyer of defendant Daniel Beaulieu, arrived to court for the opening arguments on MondayCredit: AFP
Vaglio, a 53-year-old entrepreneur, faces accusations of working as the intermediary between the big boss and a hit squad working for fellow Athanor freemason Beaulieu.
Beaulieu is a 72-year-old retired agent for the domestic intelligence service (DGSI).
The leader of the hit squad, Leroy, told cops he or his associates carried out most of the assaults, robberies and murders for the Athanor mafia, including the 2018 killing of racing car driver Laurent Pasquali.
His body was found in a forest after he allegedly failed to pay a debt to one of Vaglio’s friends.
Crimes ordered by the organised group escalated with time, beginning as petty revenge attacks and escalating to homicide, according to the .
One of the charges relating to industrial espionage alleged that Leroy’s gang assaulted a businesswoman in the street and snatched her computer.
In 2019, the car of one of Bagur’s associates was set on fire after she found evidence of financial fraud within his company.
Leroy, a security guard, told investigators he was under the impression he had been acting on behalf of the French government.
He claimed Beaulieu had “manipulated” him using the idea of him becoming an informant for the DGSI domestic spy agency.
Jean-William Vezinet, lawyer for the targeted business coach Dini, said his client had been “terrified” that “people who are supposed to act for the good of society” were the key figures in the crime.
It remains unclear what evidence the prosecution has gathered from their interviews with Beaulieu, the accused ringleader.
He allegedly made an attempt to commit suicide in police custody.
The attempt has left him disabled with “impaired concentration”, according to his lawyer.
The trial is slated to run for a minimum of three months.
Marie-Helene Dini -the alleged target of a failed assassination attempt – attended court on MondayCredit: AFP
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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