Murder of Francesco Del Balso | The shooter was 90 yards from his target

The murder of Francesco Del Balso, which occurred a month ago in West Montreal, was committed in circumstances rarely seen in the recent history of organized crime in Montreal and Quebec.

The Press has indeed learned from several credible sources that the killer, who probably used a long weapon, would have been about 90 meters from his target when he pulled the trigger.

In almost all of the cases of firearm attacks in the annals of organized crime in Montreal, the suspects acted in close quarters, using a handgun.

One of the only other – and possibly the only – known cases of remote shooting homicide in recent years occurred in November 2010, when former Montreal mob boss Nicolo Rizzuto, 86, was killed. in his kitchen by a sniper in a cedar hedge, in the courtyard of the family’s former home, rue Antoine-Berthelet, in the Bois-de-Saraguay sector, in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville in Montreal .

But in this case, the shooter, who has also never been arrested, would have been at a maximum of twenty meters.

He shot through the kitchen window.

On contact with the glass, the projectile would have exploded, and it is a shard that would have fatally hit Nicolo Rizzuto in the throat, according to information obtained over the years.

Crime from another level

Del Balso had just met a member of the Hells Angels in a fitness center on the Trans-Canada Highway in Dorval when he was killed on June 5.

He was not wearing a bulletproof vest and was hit by at least one projectile in the head, fired from a very long distance, presumably by an excellent marksman.

“The manner in which Francesco Del Balso was killed is unusual to say the least, indeed,” a source told us, who requested anonymity as she is not authorized to speak to the media.

“With this way of doing things, we have reached another level. The sponsor wanted to be certain that the crime would be committed efficiently and without error. He may have put a lot of money into it. If so, the question to ask is: who can afford it? added a seasoned observer of organized crime in Montreal.

Police believe Del Balso’s assassination is a response to the failed attack on Leonardo Rizzuto, youngest son of former Montreal mob boss Vito Rizzuto, which occurred in mid-March in Laval.

While driving his car on Highway 440 West, near Highway 13, Rizzuto was shot twice, in the legs and in the shoulder, by the passenger of a vehicle that had slowed down to his own.

According to the police, Del Balso would have been involved in this attack, in particular to take revenge for two attempted murders of which he had been the victim last November and February.

Since his release from prison, after his conviction in Operation Coliseum which decapitated the Rizzuto clan in 2006, Del Balso had associated with Martin Robert and Stéphane Plouffe, influential members of the Hells Angels of Montreal.

According to the police, a conflict between the group of Martin Robert and the Rizzuto clan for the control of sports betting would constitute, among other things, the backstory of the tensions between the two factions which would have started around the summer of 2022.

Two individuals, Kevin Rochebrun, 32, and Steve Emmanuel Barthélémy, 34, have been arrested and charged in connection with the attempted murder of Leonardo Rizzuto.

This investigation is led by the Sûreté du Québec, while that on the murder of Francesco Del Balso is carried out by the SPVM major crime investigators.

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