https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2019/05/10/la-retraite-paisible-du-roi-de-la-cocaineThe peaceful retirement of the "king of cocaine"
Released in 2018, the boss Desfossés remains calm
Éric Thibault
ÉRIC THIBAULT
Friday, May 10, 2019 01:00
UPDATE Friday, May 10, 2019 01:00
Raymond Desfossés seems to have been much more relaxed since he was convicted of commissioning murders to hitman Gerald Gallant.
The formidable 68-year-old gangster, dubbed "The King of Cocaine" by the Quebec police, received praise from the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) and the federal correctional service for his good behavior, earlier this week.
As a result, the PBC decided to relax or remove certain conditions it had imposed on the former West Gang leader when it allowed him to return home in January 2018.
At that time, the former coach had served most of the 18-and-a-half-year sentence for conspiracy to commit murder as well as the importation of cocaine.
Progress and respect
In its decision rendered Tuesday and which the Journal received a copy, the authorities underline the "progress", "the correct attitude", the "stability" and the "respect for the rules" that the boss of Trois-Rivières has demonstrated since he left the penitentiary.
As a reward, Desfossés was allowed to go shopping at the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) for the first time since his statutory release.
He will also be able to move within a radius of 50 km from his home and will have one more hour to go out at night, since the curfew he must respect will now begin at 11:00 pm.
The sexagenarian is still forbidden to go to criminal gangs and go out to bars.
His sentence will expire in 2023.
Retreat from the middle
Before his release, Desfossés said he wanted to leave the underworld to live quiet days with his family.
He was reported to the Sûreté du Québec in 2006 by the man who called him "the boss", Gérald Gallant.
Became an informer, he swore that between 1980 and 2001, Desfossés had ordered six of the 28 murders he confessed to the police.
The informer also said that Desfossés offered him $ 250,000 to try to eliminate former Hells Angels leader Maurice "Mom" Boucher during the biker war.
Desfossés was then teaming with the Rock Machine at the end of the 90s.
Considered to be one of Quebec's drug traffickers with the most contacts in organized crime abroad, Desfossés was also convicted of plotting to import 750 kilograms of cocaine.
