Stumped in a long past bar. The place had already been the target of a Molotov cocktail in an attack linked to Italian organized crime.
The Rivière-des-Prairies bar, where a man was stabbed on Monday morning, has a troubled past that has resulted in two long suspensions of his liquor license and a criminal arson attack on the mafia.
At approximately 3:50 am, a 37-year-old man was stabbed in the upper body at 6th Ave. Bar & Grill for a reason that remained to be cleared up by the investigators.
Its liquor sales licenses had been suspended for 20 days by the Liquor, Racing and Gaming Authority (RACJ) because of multiple shortcomings last July.
In addition to tolerating the presence of miners on site, the tenant was exploiting one of the permits without having the required and functional layout. Among the many commitments that the owner had made to the RACJ to preserve his rights, he had to "actively collaborate with the police service" and "install and keep functional a surveillance camera system".
The commissioners had also banned the operation of the establishment for 23 days in April 2016 for the same reasons. A local employee had also tried to hinder the work of a police officer.
The SPVM investigators suspected that the beginning of the fire was a message sent to Marco Pizzi, a major player in the new Italian organized crime watchdog.
A month earlier, the 48-year-old man had been the target of a spectacular murder attempt in Montreal East. For several weeks, other businesses related to him had been hit by arsonists, just like his car.
