Controversial Tapie Fined For Bad Mouth

Bernard Tapie, the flamboyant businessman and politician entangled in legal troubles, was fined $5,000 by a court Wednesday for badmouthing police during an arrest.

The court fined Tapie for defaming police who entered his Left Bank home before dawn in June 1994, took him from bed and put him in handcuffs.

Tapie, an urban affairs minister in the former Socialist government, called the police “jackasses” - among other things. The policemen sued.

Tapie, whose parliamentary immunity has been removed, is also being questioned about possible tax fraud regarding his multimillion-dollar yacht, the Phocea.