Mafia Salvatore Scoppa, brother of former Montreal Mafia leader Andrew Scoppa, was killed Saturday night in Laval.
49-year-old Salvatore Scoppa was attending a family party at the Sheraton Hotel off Highway 15, when at around 10 pm he was shot with at least two firearm projectiles in his head. at the thorax, in the lobby of the hotel.
When help arrived, the victim no longer had any vital signs. He was taken to the hospital where his death was noticed shortly thereafter.
Two suspects have fled aboard a dark SUV on the highway. At the time of writing, no one had been arrested.
In addition to the family party, a computer conference was held at the hotel at the time of the crime. Several people had to be treated for nervous shock.
The crime occurred at the Sheraton Hotel ... (PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS) - image 2.0 Enlarge The crime occurred at the Sheraton Laval Hotel.
Salvatore Scoppa escaped an attempted murder a little over two years ago, in February 2017, in Terrebonne. A man had opened fire at him, wounding him in the arm, while Scoppa was coming out of a restaurant and getting into his vehicle. An alleged hitman, Frederick Silva, was arrested by police last February and is currently charged with this attempted murder.
During the discussion between Stefano Sollecito, Leonardo Rizzuto and Gregory Woolley, a gang leader, there was talk of eliminating Scoppa and "putting a bullet in his chest" in order to "maintain control of the territory" and " keep the city, "but the younger son of the late godfather Vito Rizzuto had objected.
On more than one occasion, Salvatore Scoppa was notified by the police that his life was threatened. At one point, he even fled to Mexico.
In 2016, three close to the Rizzuto clan, Lorenzo Giordano, Rocco Sollecito and Vincenzo Spagnolo, were killed and police sources told La Presse that they suspected Salvatore Scoppa could be involved in at least one of these crimes.
However, since the situation stabilized in Montreal, and the storm is rumbling on the side of Ontario, the name of Salvatore Scoppa, who was nicknamed "Mental" in the criminal community, was less on the lips.
The Scoppa have long been considered to be at the head of one of the most influential clans in the Montreal mafia. In 2016, police regarded Salvatore's brother Andrew as the acting leader of the Montreal Mafia. Andrew was arrested and charged with possession of a hundred kilograms of cocaine in 2017, but was granted a stay of proceedings.
The murder of Salvatore Scoppa could provoke a stir in the Montreal mafia.
Drug trafficking and other crimes
In recent years, police have testified in court about alleged involvement of Salvatore Scoppa in drug trafficking and violent crime.
In December 2016, at the time of the trial of a gang leader, an investigator of the SPVM, Érick Lacoursière, had spoken of Scoppa while, during his testimony, it was about the murder of Marco Campellone, 24, committed in September 2015 , to Montreal. The murder of the latter, however, has not been elucidated to date and no one has been charged.
"One source tells us that this gang leader is doing contracts and collecting for organized crime, especially for Salvatore Scoppa. These are basically contracts of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, arson, home invasion and robbery, "said the witness Lacoursière.
