Former mayor questioned again in Crans-Montana fire probe

Savoy has now appeared before prosecutors three times as investigators examine events connected to the deadly fire at the Constellation bar in Crans-Montana. The former mayor of Chermignon was questioned on October 20 at the Energypolis campus in Sion, where around 30 lawyers were present.

The inquiry has returned to work carried out at the bar in 2015, years before the fire that killed 41 people and injured 115. Investigators questioned Savoy about the building work and the operating licence issued after the refurbishment. His role as mayor, and his signature on that licence, have put municipal decisions under scrutiny alongside the actions of the bar’s owners.

Savoy served as mayor of Chermignon from 2009 to 2016. The former municipality is now part of Crans-Montana, one of the communities whose current and former officials are included in the investigation.

The inquiry is focused on renovations and licensing decisions made in 2015. Prosecutors revisited building work undertaken by the owners of the Constellation, including refurbishment and soundproofing. Savoy co-signed the bar’s operating licence after those works.

At his first appearance, on May 13, Savoy chose not to answer questions because he and his lawyer had not yet been given access to the case file. After leaving court, he acknowledged “political responsibility” in the case. He cooperated during a second hearing on July 16.

The latest questioning brings investigators back to the municipal process surrounding the venue’s operation. The inquiry is examining whether decisions tied to the 2015 work and the licence have a bearing on the tragedy. Savoy’s hearings form one part of a wider investigation involving former and current elected officials, municipal employees and the bar’s owners.

The investigation currently names 17 people as accused of complicity in the fire. The group includes eight former or current elected representatives from Crans-Montana or the former municipality of Chermignon, and seven former or current employees of the two municipalities. The bar’s owners, Jacques and Jessica Moretti, are also among those accused.

All face charges of manslaughter through negligence, causing bodily harm through negligence and arson through negligence. Since her last hearing in early June, Jessica Moretti has also been charged with forgery.

Jacques Moretti has been in pre-trial detention since mid-August on suspicion of violence against his wife. His and Jessica Moretti’s next appearances before prosecutors are scheduled for November 2 and December 2. The case has drawn lawyers for the accused into repeated hearings as prosecutors continue examining the decisions and work linked to the bar.