His trip to Cuba could have been the trip of a lifetime. Instead, Charalabos Nassios got drunk first, boarded his flight to Cuba and then caused a mid-air kerfuffle so bad that he got the plane turned around under a fighter jet escort.
The Crown prosecutor asked the judge to throw the book at Nassios, saying the 40-year-old Laval resident should pay a heavy price for his foolishness. Judge Pierre Dupras of the Court of Quebec agreed and ordered Nassios to pay $17,453.02 to Sunwing by 2021.
Justice Dupras also gave him a suspended sentence and three years of probation.
Nassios’ defence lawyer said he “disagrees profoundly” with the judgement imposed on his client.
“I think the fact that he spent 113 days in prison is more than enough to encourage all of us to not drink and jump on planes and act like fools.”
He added that his client “is not criminal by nature” and that he was just going through a “dark period,” which he said could happen to anyone.
“He paid a price by being incarcerated, by losing his job and now he is trying to get himself back on his feet and adding hurdles, I don’t think is helpful.”
Nassios time in custody is the equivalent of 5½ months according to the prison system.