Major Mafia players have been repeatedly targeted by mischief, arson or gunfire in the past month in Montreal and Laval, an unequivocal expression of a new wave of tension within organized crime. traditional Italian. WHAT THERE IS TO KNOW Two vehicles were burned in the entrance of a residence located very close to that of Francesco Del Balso, formerly of the Rizzuto clan. At least eight arson attacks, attempted arson attacks and shooting episodes in just a month have been directed against two high-ranking mob bosses, Marco Pizzi and Davide Barberio. The number of arson attacks would be on the rise in Montreal since the beginning of the year compared to last year.
La Presse learned that the most recent event would have taken place on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, in Laval, in the street where Francesco Del Balso lives, a former lieutenant of the Rizzuto clan sentenced to 15 years for gangsterism and importing cocaine into the wake of the major anti-Mafia operation Colisée by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police carried out in 2006.
Two vehicles were burned in the entrance of a residence located very close to that of the mafia and the authorities do not exclude that the arsonists were in the wrong house.
“Around 4:05 a.m., a call was made to 911 for two luxury vehicles on fire in a house entrance. Our crime scene technicians went to the scene to investigate, ”described to La Presse the spokesperson for the Service de police de la Ville de Laval (SPL), Érika Landry, who did not want to confirm the incident. hypothesis that Del Balso could be the one who was targeted.
Del Balso is suspected of being involved in the attempted murder of Leonardo Rizzuto, youngest son of former godfather Vito Rizzuto, which occurred on March 15 on Highway 440, near Highway 13, in Laval.
He is also the subject of a major drug investigation led by the National Organized Crime Squad (ENRCO), headed by the Sûreté du Québec.
Eight events in one month Moreover, according to our information and a compilation made by La Presse , at least eight arson attacks, attempted arson attacks and episodes of shootings that occurred in barely a month, between the end of March and the end of April, were obviously directed against the clan leader Marco Pizzi, present in Rivière-des-Prairies and Laval, and the one whom the police consider to be the street boss of the mafia, Davide Barberio.
In Montreal, fires reportedly targeted businesses or vehicles belonging to them, or belonging to relatives, particularly in the boroughs of Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles and Montreal-Nord.
Shots were also fired at a massage parlor on Rue De Lorimier in late March.
In Laval, three suspects went to the property of a relative of Marco Pizzi on Lévesque Boulevard, on the night of Saturday to Sunday last.
They were surprised by one of the occupants of the place and an altercation ensued.
“The suspects then set fire to one of the vehicles parked in the entrance to the residence and stole the other vehicle. But as they fled, two of the suspects in one of the vehicles crashed into a house. They were arrested, ”explained to La Presse Stéphanie Beshara, also spokesperson for the SPL.
The two suspects, Kervens Raphaël and Raphaël Massé-Beauvais, both 20, have been charged with arson, possession of a firearm and absconding.
It appears that individuals linked to the Mafia have hired guards to guard their property.
According to our information, the number of arson attacks has increased significantly in Montreal since the beginning of the year compared to last year.
About fifteen of them seem linked to the mafia, according to our information.
