http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/j...ait-ete-chef-interimaire-de-la-mafia.php

Andrew Scoppa would have been acting chief of the mafia

One of the most influential actors in the Montreal mafia for several years, Andrew Scoppa, was considered by the Sûreté du Québec to be the "interim leader of the Montreal mafia" before being arrested.

That's what an SQ officer said on Thursday during his testimony at the trial for possession of several kilograms of cocaine currently involving a former co-accused of Scoppa, at the courthouse in Montreal.

"Andrew Scoppa had the status of interim leader of the Mafia of Montreal at that time," repeated twice a lieutenant of the organized crime division of the SQ, in response to questions from Mr. Claude Olivier, counsel for the the accused Maxime Hébert.

It would be the first time a police officer has testified under oath that Scoppa was considered the acting head of the mafia, and not just an influential leader.

Andrew Scoppa, 54, was arrested without charge on October 26, 2016, in the Tower of Canada parking lot, as part of a cocaine smuggling investigation by the North Shore Regional Joint Squad (MRE). called Estacade, a survey aimed at Scoppa and accomplices. It was following one of them, Fazio Malatesta, that the bloodhounds were directed to Maxime Hébert's home on 13th Avenue in Montreal, where they found dozens of pounds of cocaine.

During the investigation, the police installed a microphone in the vehicles rented by Scoppa and his driver, Nicola Valiente, and intercepted many conversations between the two men.

Scoppa, Malatesta and Valiente were charged in February 2017, but on May 11, they benefited from a halt in the judicial process while the proceedings continue for the other co-defendants, including Hébert.

TORONTO AND ITALY AGREEMENT

According to police documents filed in the trial of Maxime Hébert, citing information compiled sources from 2012, Andrew Scoppa would have been a rising star of the mafia, respected by the late godfather Vito Rizzuto, and would have controlled the traffic of narcotics in Laval and several neighborhoods north of Montreal. His right arm would have been Steve Ovadia, aka The Jew or Ghost, murdered last June.

In May 2016, another source told the police that Andrew and his brother Salvatore would have received the approval of the Toronto Mafia and Italy, that they would be the leaders of the Montreal Mafia and "the decision-makers". Remember, however, that this is source information and that it has not been proven or tested in court.

In one of the conversations with his driver intercepted during the Estacade investigation, Scoppa claims however that he does not want to be the boss.

"I do not want to be the boss. To be, you must aim to become one, "he told Valiente.

"Andrew Scoppa is probably the closest to Vito Rizzuto in his organized crime strategies, and he and his brother, even though there is tension between them, make up one of the strongest clans in the mafia. For years. But they have always stayed behind and know everything about all organized crime actors. They are probably stronger in this position than the direction of the mafia, "said a police source for La Presse.

IN THE WAY OF POLICE HITCHES

In November 2015, the day of Operation Magot-Mastiff, which decapitated Montreal's organized crime, the police named Stefano Sollecito and Leonardo Rizzuto, from the Sicilian clan, as leaders of the Montreal Mafia. According to the Sûreté du Québec, which conducted the Magot-Mastiff and Estacade investigations, the direction of the Montreal Mafia would have changed a year later.

As was the case for all target groups during each major police operation against organized crime since Colisée in 2006, the Sollecito-Rizzuto clan was weakened and others would have taken over. Let's not forget that between March 1 and October 15, 2016, three important members of the Sicilian clan were murdered, Lorenzo Giordano, Rocco Sollecito and Vincenzo Spagnolo.

But if Andrew Scoppa was the interim leader in the fall of 2016, the situation could be different today, as things evolve and alliances are still fragile within the Montreal mafia.

The trial of Maxime Hébert continues on December 6 with the pleadings on three motions, including one in stoppage of the judicial process, presented by Mr. Olivier. The seasoned criminal lawyer, however, faces fierce opposition from the prosecution, provided by Karine Cordeau and Julien Gaudet-Lachapelle.

During the trial, presided over by Judge Linda Despots, a witness also told an anecdote: the investigators gave up the use of the sniffer dog during the search of Maxime Hébert's house, because he was infested with ... bedbugs bed.