Jarry St. E. shooting may be Mafia-related

By Jan Ravensbergen, The Gazette December 14, 2011 9:42 AM

MONTREAL – Police refused Wednesday morning to confirm a report that the 48-year-old man shot and critically wounded outside a Jarry St. E. restaurant Tuesday night is Antonio Pietrantonio – a reputed mobster with links to the embattled Rizzuto clan.

Police were called to the scene, corner Chambord St., at 8:50 p.m.

The shooting took place near the entrance to the Imperio restaurant, a Portuguese dining spot just south of the Metropolitan Expressway between Christophe Colomb and Papineau Aves.

The man remains in critical but stable condition in hospital, Constable Yannick Ouimet of Montreal police said.

Ouimet refused to confirm the target's identity.

However, he added, the method used in the gangland-style hit – one or more suspects escaped in a car that was found torched several blocks away – is consistent with organized-crime tactics.

Arson-squad investigators have been assigned to the burned-out vehicle, found about 9:20 p.m. near the corner of Jacques-Casault and Joseph-Quintal Sts.

Ouimet said that he might be able to confirm sometime later Wednesday a report that the car had been stolen prior to the shooting.

The victim was shot in the upper body, Ouimet said.

Ouimet said he couldn't say whether the victim had been hit by more than a single bullet.

Given his medical condition, Ouimet said, the victim hasn't yet been questioned by investigators.

Ouimet said he was not in a position to say how many gunmen were involved in the attack, or provide descriptions.

Pietrantonio is said to carry the nickname Tony Suzuki, apparently reflecting his association with one or more Montreal-region car dealerships.

Ouimet also wouldn't confirm a report that Lorenzo Lopresti, shot and killed recently while grabbing a smoke on his condo balcony in St. Laurent, had been the right-hand man of the Jarry E. victim.

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