Crans-Montana fire: bar owners face forgery charges

The Valais Public Prosecutor’s Office conducted a confrontation hearing between the two owners of the Crans-Montana, which was the site of a deadly fire on January 1. Swiss public television RTS reveals the key details of the interrogation.

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It was perhaps the most anticipated hearing since the start of the criminal investigation into the January 1 tragedy. Owners of the Le Constellation bar Jacques and Jessica Moretti were summoned on Friday by the Valais Public Prosecutor’s Office for a confrontation hearing.

The interrogation began shortly after 8:30 am and ended around 7:30 pm. According to information from RTS’s investigative unit, confirmed to Keystone-ATS news agency by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, a dramatic turn of events occurred during the morning.

The prosecutors investigating Le Constellation fire informed the establishment’s owner that she was now also charged with forgery for having issued a false invoice for the polyurethane acoustic foam purchased in 2015, which caught fire on January 1 in Crans-Montana.

Respect for victims

This new charge against Jessica Moretti has drawn a strong reaction from the lawyers representing the victims’ families. “We’re not talking about a preliminary indictment for just any invoice, but specifically for an invoice related to the origin of the foam,” notes Attorney Romain Jordan.

“When will we get even slightly sincere statements from the Morettis? When will they stop producing forged documents? Where is the respect for the victims?”

Christophe de Galembert, another attorney for the plaintiffs, also has questions. “Who bought this foam? When? Who is the supplier? Could it have been used in an establishment like Le Constellation? We still have no answers to these essential questions. This is not normal.”

A non-event

In a statement released to the media on Friday evening, the Moretti couple’s lawyers addressed this false invoice. “This is a genuine purchase that was simply recorded in the accounts under a different heading,” assert attorneys Yaël Hayat, Nicola Meier, and Patrick Michod.

Speaking to numerous journalists around 8:30 pm, Nicola Meier referred to it as “a non-event”. “We’re talking about an issue with an invoice and how it was supposedly recorded over ten years ago. It has absolutely no connection to the tragedy in Crans-Montana.”

In any case, Jessica Moretti is now being prosecuted for negligent homicide, negligent arson, negligent infliction of serious bodily injury, and forgery of documents.

Warning messages

According to RTS reports, numerous damning messages against the Moretti couple were read by prosecutors during the hearing. These messages were primarily taken from discussions between Jessica Moretti and her employees.

According to corroborated sources, one of these messages, reportedly from 2019, mentions the sparkler candles placed on bottles – the very candles that set the foam in Le Constellation’s basement ablaze on New Year’s Eve.

In this exchange, Jessica Moretti warns an employee about using sparklers. “If (the customers) want sparklers, be very careful. Stay there until the sparkler goes out. Because if it falls on the floor or the couch, or if they hold it up high and set the foam on the ceiling on fire, the Constellation will burn down.”

For many lawyers representing the victims’ families, this message sends a chill down the spine. When asked by RTS about this exchange, Attorney Yaël Hayat declined to comment “on a specific message” since lawyers are prohibited from discussing the content of the proceedings.

But generally speaking, she says it’s as if a parent were telling a child holding a candle to be careful. “If someone is carrying a device, an object that can transmit fire, it seems basic to me to tell them to be careful. I think the employees were perfectly capable of understanding these messages of caution.”

Emergency exit

Another message stunned the plaintiffs’ attorneys present in the hearing room. It was an exchange between Jacques Moretti and an employee. In this exchange, it appears that Jacques Moretti asks his interlocutor “if the emergency exit at Le Constellation across from the restrooms is still blocked”, and if no one is using it.

The employee replies that it is still blocked. Jacques Moretti then sends the thumbs-up emoji.

When confronted by the media about this message, Patrick Michod, who is defending Jacques Moretti, replied that he would not comment in detail on this point due to the prohibition on discussing the content of the proceedings ordered by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The lawyer adds, however: “In a tragedy of this magnitude, the meaning and weight of words play an enormous role. Above all, people ascribe meanings to them that they do not have. Jacques Moretti explained this very clearly to the prosecutors. There isn’t much more to say.”

The prosecutors will determine the weight to be given to the numerous messages they have between the Moretti couple and their employees.

‘Chermignon connection’

Speaking to the media, the Morettis’ lawyers pointed out that their clients had already been questioned numerous times, whereas the other defendants had been interviewed only once.

Attorney Nicola Meier did not hesitate to lambast the former elected officials and employees of the municipality of Chermignon who refused to answer the Public Prosecutor’s questions, invoking their right to remain silent.

“I don’t know if we can call it the ‘Chermignon connection,’ but in any case, the people connected to this municipality are not answering any questions. However, the origins of this tragedy lie in the opening of Le Constellation in 2015, which was then located within the territory of Chermignon. I believe that the defendants linked to Chermignon possess information that is crucial.”

Translated from French by AI/jdp