200 Quebec police officers issued 32 arrest warrants today against members of the Montreal mafia. The arrests targeted members of two active & violent cells - Guiseppe De Vito's crew and the Bastone brothers. The raid was called Project Clemenza and according to reports, looked to break up the group responsible for a lot of violence around Montreal & Quebec City.
Apparently, they once again traced Blackberry messages to gather evidence. Maybe this explains why there was so little communication from the police after De Vito was poisoned and died in prison.

They're talking about their business over text messages?

In the press conference that just concluded, the RCMP said that they started the investigation in 2010, after they noticed the increase in violence in Montreal. There are more charges pending relating to kidnapping and perhaps murder, so we may be zeroing in on the major player in the Rizutto aftermath. Tracing pin messages on Blackberry was how they tied Desjardin to Sal the Ironworker's murder. They mentioned they had intercepted over a million pin messages since 2010. So the police have been sitting on a treasure trove of information! There is likely more to come..

That was flat out STUPID! Why would you talk business on Blackberry pin messages? Hell these days anything can be hacked or traced...

finally

any link?

http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/#!

Just saw this

The RCMP give a shout out to The Godfather, Project Clemenza

LE couldn't hack them at one point. But I think they figured it out a while ago.

Police intercept one million organized crime BlackBerry messages; 29 arrests
TU THANH HA
The Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Jun. 12 2014


Police in Quebec intercepted more than a million BlackBerry PIN-to-PIN communications as part of a crackdown against organized crime that culminated with 29 arrests Thursday.

The RCMP said it was the first time that such a technique had been used on such a large scale in an investigation.

Each BlackBerry device has a unique eight-digit number called a personal identification number or PIN.

Direct PIN messaging is perceived to be a more secure communications route because it allows BlackBerry users to send messages directly between devices over wireless networks, bypassing e-mail servers.

Thanks to their wiretaps of BlackBerry PIN messages, “investigators were able to identify the suspects in relation to a series of violent crimes committed on the Montréal territory between 2010 and 2012: arson, weapon cache, forcible confinement, drug trafficking, gangsterism and conspiracy,” the RCMP said in a communiqué.

Blackberry communications have also drawn the attention of Communications Security Establishment Canada, the country's electronics eavesdropping spy agency.

In a CSEC slide obtained by the Globe and Mail last year, the agency notes that Blackberry messages are scrambled and not encrypted and adds that PIN-to-PIN is "subject to same vulnerability."

Codenamed Operation Clemenza, the operation by a joint anti-mob squad of Mounties and Montreal police targeted two organized crime cells.

One cell was associated with the late mobster Giuseppe De Vito.

A captain in the Rizzuto mafia family, Mr. De Vito died suddenly of cyanide poisoning at the Donnacona federal penitentiary in July, 2013.

His death came two weeks after his wife, Adele Sorella, was found guilty of first-degree murder for killing their two girls while he was a fugitive from authorities in 2009.

The other cell involved in the latest operation is alleged by police to be headed by two brothers, Antonio and Roberto Bastone, who were among those arrested Thursday morning.

The 29 suspects face 87 criminal counts, on charges such as drug trafficking, assault, extortion, kidnapping and arson.

Three other suspects are still at large.

Reports that the police had managed to intercept PIN-to-PIN messages first surfaced two years ago, in court proceedings in the murder case against convicted mobster Raynald Desjardins.

A former associate of Montreal godfather Vito Rizzuto, Mr. Desjardins became involved in the bloody power struggle between pretenders to the leadership of the Montreal Mafia, following Mr. Rizzuto’s 2006 extradition to the U.S.

Mr. Desjardins was arrested in December of 2011 on first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of Salvatore (Sal the Ironworker) Montagna, identified by the FBI as the former acting head of the notorious Bonanno crime family of New York.

In 2012, La Presse and CTV Montreal reported that prosecutors planned to include BlackBerry text messages in their case against Mr. Desjardins.

↓http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nat ... e19134465/

I think RIM gave them everything, I truly don't think LE hacked any of this.

I agree. I think Blackberry has made deals with India and other middle east countries to allow their e-mails & texts to be intercepted. Why not the RCMP?

Followup re: Project Clemenza.

This news is one day old but is quite significant.

Links to English-language articles and RCMP press release:

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/qc/nouv-news/com-rel/2015/02/150204-eng.htm

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/loca...rafficking-ring

http://www.montreal.ctvnews.ca/rcmp-bust-major-cocaine-trafficking-ring-1.2220418

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2015/02/20150204-121857.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/c...treal-1.2944667

Links to French-language articles and GRC press release:

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/qc/nouv-news/com-rel/2015/02/150204-fra.htm

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justic...e-lasphalte.php

http://fr.canoe.ca/infos/societe/archives/2015/02/20150204-105351.html

http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justic...-par-la-grc.php

The final phase of Project Clemenza culminates in 15 arrests. One of those accused, Liborio Cun-trera (Agostino's son_), is in Italy; another, Riccardo Preteroti, is wanted.

"RCMP's Project Clemenza breaks up cocaine trafficking ring"

http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/rcmp-s-project-clemenza-breaks-up-cocaine-trafficking-ring-1.2897241

Are any of these guys inducted lcn members?

Random question: what is the main language of most of these guys? French, English or Italian? They probably can speak all 3, but just curious what they mainly speak?

Most of the younger Italians or Italian Canadian decents in Montreal speak three languages. English is the most predominant when speaking among themselves.

Thanks

Paul Cherry, reporter for the The Gazette, indicated on Twitter that Liborio Cun-trera was arrested yesterday, upon his return from Italy, at Montreal's Dorval Airport. Stay tuned.

^^^^
"Alleged Montreal Mafia leader Liborio Cun-trera to appear in court on Monday"

Link: http://goo.gl/AfG1z8

^^^^
Link to French-language article:

La Presse article

"Clemenza: Liborio Cun-trera accusé"

^^^^
Some of those recently arrested were living the high life.

Link to French-language article:

http://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2016/05/19/train-de-vie-somptuaire-pour-de-presumes-narcotrafiquants

Bail hearing to last two weeks.

http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-ne...hy-bail-hearing