Mafioso Francesco Del Balso, one of the former lieutenants of the Sicilian clan of the Montreal mafia convicted following Operation Colisée, was arrested by Laval police investigators on Tuesday evening for an alleged extortion case.
Posted at 7:33 a.m.
Del Balso, 52, who was apprehended upon his arrival at a restaurant in the Chomedey sector, offered no resistance. He was questioned Tuesday evening by investigators from the Laval Police Service (SPL), he would have spent the night in a cell and could appear at the Laval courthouse on Wednesday to face charges of extortion and threats.
According to our information, Del Balso went to the offices of a Laval religious community to claim valuable jewelry that was found in clothes that his ex-spouse gave to this community a few years ago.
Subsequently, Del Balso would have demanded a sum of $5,000 per week to replace the loss of these jewels.
In the wake of Operation Coliseum by which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police beheaded the Sicilian clan of the Montreal mafia in 2006, Del Balso was sentenced to 15 years in prison for gangsterism and drug trafficking.
He had been granted his parole in the mid-2010s, but it was revoked in 2017, after individuals broke into his home, presumably to kill him, and molested his family members.
Del Balso’s sentence has ended since 2019. Since then, he has reportedly returned to the good graces of organized crime leaders and has been observed on several occasions by the police in the company of influential members, including the Hells Angels of the Montreal section Martin Robert.
The Coliseum investigation had notably made it possible to demonstrate that Del Balso was one of those responsible for the very lucrative sports betting of the Montreal mafia.
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.