Jacques Moretti, owner of the Le Constellation club in Crans-Montana, has been released from prison after paying a 200,000 franc bail. Investigated for manslaughter, negligent injury and fire, he remains subject to precautionary measures
The Coercive Measures Court of Sion has ordered the release of Jacques Moretti, owner of the Le Constellation club in Crans-Montana, the scene of the New Year’s Eve tragedy in which 40 people lost their lives and 116 others were injured. Moretti, investigated together with his wife Jessica Maric for manslaughter, negligent injury and negligent fire, left prison after paying a bail of 200 thousand Swiss francs, equal to approximately 215 thousand euros.
The court’s decision does not entail full freedom: precautionary measures were in fact imposed on the entrepreneur, including the obligation to sign and hand over identity documents, to guarantee his stay on Swiss territory during the continuation of the investigation.
The controversy over the bail amount
The amount of the bail has sparked a heated debate in Switzerland in recent days. At first, some of the press had hypothesized a much higher figure, up to one million francs. However, the Sion Prosecutor’s Office justified the choice of the final amount by underlining the economic situation of the suspect: Moretti, according to what was reported by the investigators, currently has no income and, together with his wife, owns properties encumbered by mortgages and leased vehicles.
From the documents it emerges that two properties attributable to the spouses, both at the center of the investigation for the New Year’s Eve massacre, have mortgages for a total of 1 million and 350 thousand francs, respectively 1,100,000 and 250,000. A financial framework which, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, would make the bail set “adequate”.
Moretti’s words to the judges
During the hearing, Jacques Moretti firmly rejected any hypothesis of escape. He explained to the judges that he had never thought of leaving Switzerland, claiming his personal and family roots in the country. «My family and friends are here. I don’t have a life anywhere else, because my life is here,” he said, adding that he was willing to look for a job if the proceedings were to take a long time.
Moretti also recalled how, despite having the possibility, he never attempted to leave: “My father came to visit me in the car and I could have left with him”, he said, reiterating that he wanted to stay to allow “the truth about this whole affair to come out”. A defensive line that aims to exclude the risk of escape, a central element in the decision on release.
The investigation into the Crans-Montana tragedy now continues with Moretti at large but subject to checks, while all the legal issues linked to one of the most dramatic pages of recent Swiss news remain open.
