Murder of Arsène Mompoint | Other members of the mafia and gangs in the crosshairs of the police

Investigators from the Sûreté du Québec are clearly continuing to make progress in a major ongoing investigation that began with the murder of Arsène Mompoint, committed on July 1, 2021.

The gang leader was shot several times by a gunman who came up on foot behind him while he was sitting at a table with other people in a cannabis dispensary in Kanesatake, near Oka.

In a motion presented by the prosecution, which will be debated next week at the Montreal courthouse and in which the police are requesting that several items seized during their investigation be kept until March 7, we learn that other individuals linked to the mafia and gangs are being targeted by the police.

The co-chef and his driver

Among them, Stefano Sollecito, still considered by the police as one of the leaders of the Sicilian clan of the Montreal mafia, his driver, Charles Blanchette, and another lieutenant of the Rizzuto clan, Nicola Spagnolo.

The request also includes the names of Céline Nantel-Gagnon, widow of Samy Tamouro, killed in Mexico last December, and Samuel Anthony Jamahl Chand, awaiting trial for the murder of a cocaine importer close to the Hells Angels, Maxime Lenoir, killed in the parking lot of the Rockland Centre in Montreal in August 2022.

Finally, two other individuals are targeted by the request: Jahnye Hendricks and Daniel Fisher who, according to our information, are linked to the Rolling 90, a blue allegiance street gang present in the west of Montreal. According to the request, the latter are considered to be “executors” of the Mompoint murder.

It was also learned that the police used a false warrant to seize Stefano Sollecito’s property, after obtaining authorization from a judge to use this technique.

Other big names

As part of this same investigation called “Reprisals”, a judge last June allowed investigators to keep for several months property seized from other individuals linked to organized crime: Vito Salvaggio, Pietro D’Adamo and Davide Barberio, considered by the police to be important players in the mafia, as well as Jean-Philippe Célestin, Emmanuel Zéphir and Dany Sprinces Cadet, from the gangs.

A seventh individual, gang leader Gregory Woolley, was also targeted by the request, but he was murdered last November.

A complex investigation

The police are requesting that the seized items be kept for longer in order to continue the analysis of the devices and the data obtained, but also because of the complexity of the investigation, the upcoming disclosure and the limited legal timeframes since the Jordan ruling in 2016.

Charges that could be filed following the investigation include first-degree murder, attempted murder, discharging a firearm, conspiracy to commit murder and gangsterism.

It should be noted, however, that none of the above-mentioned individuals have been arrested and charged, and the content of the requests submitted by the Crown has not yet been tested in court.

A sworn enemy

Arsène Mompoint has already carried out contracts on behalf of the brothers Andrew and Salvatore Scoppa, who attempted a putsch against the Sicilians in 2016 and who were assassinated three years later.

It was also an open secret that Mompoint was the sworn enemy of the now defunct Syndicate gang and their leader, Gregory Woolley.

“Reprisals”, which began with the murder of Mompoint, is being carried out, according to our information, in parallel with the “Alliance” project, this major investigation conducted for more than two years now by the Montreal Police Department (SPVM) and the SQ around the revelations of the former hitman Frédérick Silva.

The latter is said to have provided the police with information on around thirty murders and as many attempted murders committed within Montreal organized crime since the end of the 1990s.

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