Investigators of Crimes against the person of the Sûreté du Québec are asking for the help of the population to find a suspicious vehicle which could be linked to the attack of which Leonardo Rizzuto was the victim, in Laval, on March 15.
The police are looking more specifically for a Porsche Macan sport utility vehicle (SUV), red in color, seen in the area of boulevard des Laurentides and rue de Genève, in Laval, before the attempted murder of the youngest son of the deceased godfather of the Montreal mafia.
Leonardo Rizzuto was shot while alone in his Mercedes on Highway 440 West, near Highway 13, in the middle of rush hour, around 4:30 p.m.
Another Porsche Macan, this time black, drove alongside it and the SUV occupant, or one of the occupants, fired at least eight times through Rizzuto’s window and door, reaching to the legs and one shoulder.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Leonardo Rizzuto
The godfather’s youngest son managed to flee by rolling over obstacles before stopping in the parking lot of a funeral home, where he was rescued.
According to our information, before the attack, Leonardo Rizzuto would have been seated at the Rom Café, located on the boulevard des Laurentides, near the rue de Genève, and considered as one of the headquarters of the Sicilian clan of the Montreal mafia.
Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto was observed by police several times at the Rom Café after returning to Canada in October 2012, following his incarceration in the United States, and before his death in December 2013.
The police invite citizens who have information on this red Porsche Macan, but also on the other black vehicle of the same make from which the shots were fired at Leonardo Rizzuto, to come and meet them at their parked mobile command post starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning in the Super C parking lot, located at the corner of boulevards des Laurentides and Saint-Elzéar Ouest, in Laval.
Anyone with information on these vehicles can also contact the Criminal Information Center at 1-800-659-4264.
Revenge or conflict between groups?
Investigators believe the attempted murder of Rizzuto may have been ordered by Francesco Del Balso, a former lieutenant of the Sicilian clan now more associated with the group of Martin Robert and Stéphane Plouffe, two influential Hells Angels from the Montreal chapter.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Francesco Del Balso during his arrest the morning of the RCMP’s Operation Colisée, November 22, 2006.
Del Balso himself escaped murder attempts last November and January in Laval, and the police believe that the attack on Leonardo Rizzuto could be a response to these events.
A week after the attack on Rizzuto, SQ investigators arrested Del Balso at Montreal-Trudeau airport as he was about to leave the country for Italy.
He was released pending further investigation, but his passport and cell phone were seized.
In addition to the investigation into the attempted murder of Leonardo Rizzuto, Del Balso is the subject of another investigation for drug trafficking carried out by the National Repression Squad (ENRCO) of organized crime.
Since the beginning of this investigation called Ravager, ENRCO investigators have notably searched the residences of Del Balso, Martin Robert and Stéphane Plouffe, and a fruit and vegetable distribution company which would belong to the former mafioso and to Robert .
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.