Trial for the murders of two mobsters | “The most compelling evidence comes from the accused himself”

The jury trial of Dominico Scarfo, accused of plotting and killing Mafia lieutenants Lorenzo Giordano and Rocco Sollecito in 2016, opened Tuesday at the Gouin Judicial Services Center in Montreal.

Daniel Renaud
The Press

In her opening statement, the prosecutor, Ms.^and Marie-Christine Godbout, said in particular that Lorenzo Giordano, killed when he had just arrived at his fitness center in Laval, on March 1, and that Rocco Sollecito, shot dead when he had just left his residence, also in Laval, on May 27, were murdered on the orders of Salvatore Scoppa, in a context of war with the Sicilian faction of the Montreal mafia.

According to the Prosecution theory, Giordano, 52, was shot five times in the head and neck by Scarfo and Scarfo then fled the scene in a white Mazda driven by an accomplice whose identity must be silenced.

In the case of Rocco Sollecito, Scarfo was driving a car and immediately drove in front of the victim’s. He stopped for a long time at an obligatory stop, thus forcing Sollecito to stop longer. The latter was then shot with several projectiles in the neck, chest and arm by an individual hidden in a bus shelter.

The latter then fled by getting on a motorcycle driven by the same accomplice whose name we must keep silent.

The killer turned mole for the police

But Rocco Sollecito’s killer began collaborating with Sûreté du Québec investigators in late 2018.

During the summer of 2019, this individual, whose identity cannot be revealed, discussed the murders of Giordano and Sollecito with Scarfo and recorded it without his knowledge with a portable device.

“This man obtained the confessions of Scarfo who said he killed Giordano with another individual. He told her that no cameras were rolling at the time of the crime and that they arrived in a white Mazda driven by the accomplice. As for Rocco Sollecito, they watched him for weeks,” said the prosecutor, adding that Scarfo complained that he had not received all the sums promised for these assassinations.

He said he received $17,500 for Giordano’s murder and $5,000 for Sollecito’s.

“Without the collaborator’s help, the police would not have been able to solve these murders. The most compelling evidence comes from the accused himself. The pieces will fall into place and the picture will become clear,” M added.^and Godbout, according to whom the evidence will show that Scarfo was an active member of the mafia.

The trial begins with the murder of Lorenzo Giordano and the testimony of civilians who assisted the victim or called 911.

A client of the fitness center testified and recounted that the weather was very nice on the morning of March 1, 2016. He had just arrived at the center, around 8:30 a.m., when he heard noises coming from a parked car near the door.

“It was fireworks and then it was death. We couldn’t hear anything. I saw a man go around the car and leave on foot. He was very calm, as if nothing had happened. I saw a woman get out of the driver’s side. She was full of blood and she started screaming,” the witness described the suspect as white and just over five feet and four inches (1.64 meters) tall. He left his weapon on the spot.

The killer who became a civil undercover agent (ACI) for the police will testify during the trial which is to last three months and which is presided over by Judge Michel Pennou of the Superior Court.

Even before it began Tuesday morning, two jurors asked to be excluded, but the trial nevertheless began with a jury of 14 people, seven women and as many men.

M^and Catherine Sheitoyan, M.^and Karine Cordeau and M.^and Isabelle Poulin also represent the lawsuit while Scarfo is represented by M^and Luc Trempe and M.^and Peter Georges-Louis.

To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.