https://www.en24.news/news/2019/11/...cky-imbert-known-as-the-mat-is-dead.html"Free man" and formidable bandit, Jacky Imbert, known as "Le Mat", is dead
November 11, 2019
Jacky Imbert in 2006, during his trial in Marseille for extortion. – A.-C. Poujoulat / AFP
Jacques Imbert, one of the last figures of the Marseilles banditism of the years 60-70, died this Monday in Aix-en-Provence.
Back on the career of a man considered "formidable" but has been very little condemned by justice.
"Jacky Imbert killed about 90 people from his hand. The accusation is anonymous, but it gives you a reputation. That of one of the greatest men of the middle of Marseille, yet very little condemned. Jacques Imbert, nicknamed Jacky "The Mat" (the madman) or "The Matou", died on Monday at Aix-en-Provence, at 89, according to Provence.
"Everyone was elbowing when he arrived at the restaurant, he had this reputation as a godfather, tells 20 minutes his former lawyer Michel Pezet. But he was someone very respectful, with a nice touch. "
"Little Jesus protected me"
It was also a miracle. On February 1, 1977, three hooded men shot at him repeatedly on the parking lot of his residence in Cassis. "When mentioning this episode, an examining magistrate told him:" you received 21 bullets, "recalls Michel Pezet. He had corrected: "22! Little Jesus has protected me. "" The episode triggered a series of settling of accounts, "the war of the middle hundred years," in the language of the Marseille police. "Jacky Le Mat" was talking about this ironic murder, years later:
I BELIEVE IN DIVINE JUSTICE. I NEVER KNEW WHO WERE THE ONES WHO SHOT ME, BUT THE RUMOR HAS BLAMED THEM. THEY DIED SOMETIME LATER. "
For the crime specialist Thierry Colombie *, "Tany Zampa and his relatives tried to kill Imbert first because it was the most formidable of his team, the one who was able to kill in cold blood. Former "best friend" of Zampa, Jacky Imbert, who also rubbed Francis "The Belgian", was a "free man, the figure of French organized crime that best represents freedom, who soon learned not to depend on a team. "
Plane pilot, boss of a shipyard and close to Alain Delon
In turn, an airplane pilot, a car driver, a jockey, a stuntman, an equestrian coach, a nightclub boss advisor and a shipyard boss, Jacky Imbert managed to get through the bullets of the bandits through the nets of the nets of justice. At the end of his life, his criminal record was almost virgin, through the play of prescriptions and amnesties. In 2008, he was sentenced to two years in prison for a crime of extortion dating back to the 1990s. Close to Alain Delon, he presented himself as "retired show-biz. "
At the end of the court, her lawyer, Sophie Bottai had said that Jacques Imbert was sentenced "on the basis of a legend that has a hard life", that of his membership in organized crime. Recorded under the number 909/68 in the files of organized crime, Jacky "Le Mat" "was undeniably in the middle," recognizes today his other lawyer, Michel Pezet. He pretends to question himself: "Was he a big boss of banditry? Or a justice of the peace? "
Jacky Imbert, known as Le Mat, during his trial for cigarette smuggling in connection with the Russian mafia, in 2004. – B. Horvat / AFP
In any case, "the term of godfather is totally misleading," says Thierry Colombie: "A sponsor is someone who leads a structured team that supports 500 families and is associated with politicians or cops. Jacques Imbert did not meet any of these three criteria. "
* Thierry Colombie is the author of the book The Belgian guy, published by Stock (in two volumes, 2002 and 2003)
